Here are five key focus areas and tactics that support the success of BWN’s D&I program.

Empower Employee Engagement

Organizations can promote employee engagement to advance their D&I strategies by cultivating a culture of inclusivity and belonging, providing opportunities for employee input and participation in decision-making processes, offering D&I training and education, and creating affinity groups or employee resource groups to support underrepresented voices. Additionally, organizations can establish mentorship programs, career development opportunities, and leadership roles for diverse employees to promote their growth and advancement within the company.

Central to BWN’s mission is building and maintaining a vibrant community of engaged members. Through a diverse array of chapter events and initiatives, highlighted in its , BWN facilitates networking, knowledge sharing, and skills development opportunities. By organizing over 543 chapter events globally in 2023, BWN has successfully engaged over 19,000 members, driving robust engagement across the organization. This effort not only amplifies the voices of women and our allies but also cultivates a culture of inclusivity and collaboration. This is highly valued by Supriya Jha, chief diversity & inclusion officer at SAP: “The Business Women’s Network has accelerated SAP’s journey toward its gender parity goal, which is a high priority within our overarching diversity and inclusion strategy. What makes BWN’s contributions to gender equality so impactful is its focus on business outcomes and elevation of 51·çÁ÷as a responsible organization that drives positive change and opportunities for all.”

Leverage 51·çÁ÷Technology to Achieve KPIs

51·çÁ÷can help organizations advance their D&I strategies by providing tools and applications that can enable organizations to track and measure diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, such as employee demographics and compensation data. Our solutions also help identify areas for improvement, create inclusive workplace cultures, and promote awareness and education on D&I topics. Additionally, 51·çÁ÷solutions can help organizations develop and implement D&I policies and initiatives, as well as build a listening program that collects feedback from employees in the flow of work, enabling them to monitor progress and report on their D&I goals and outcomes.

BWN strategically utilizes 51·çÁ÷solutions to help streamline operations and achieve key performance indicators (KPIs). Leveraging , BWN can simplify the membership onboarding process, helping to ensure a seamless experience for new members. enables the creation of a robust analytics dashboard, providing valuable insights into member engagement and program effectiveness. With , BWN gains access to comprehensive member data, facilitating targeted career development initiatives. Moreover, empowers BWN to understand key drivers of employee engagement, including D&I, to improve employee experience through data-driven insights and action planning.

Promote Career Development

To truly make opportunities meaningful for everyone, employees need to be skilled and ready for increasingly demanding roles and growth. That is why an organization’s D&I programs must include targeted programs to support the advancement of skills, especially for underrepresented groups, as well as create a culture that values and supports diversity in leadership positions. To enable this reality, organizations must implement inclusive recruitment and promotion practices, set diversity goals, and provide resources for employees to learn about distinct cultures and perspectives.

BWN’s efforts are an outstanding illustration of this commitment, as it strives to advance the careers of its members through mentorship and professional development initiatives. With over 55% of members participating in mentorship programs, BWN empowers individuals to reach their full potential. By providing access to role-specific data and development plans through , BWN facilitates personalized career growth opportunities, contributing to a more diverse and skilled workforce.

Foster Allyship and Partnerships

To achieve gender parity, we must view it as a collective effort. Organizations play a crucial role in encouraging allyship and forming partnerships to advance D&I strategies. Leveraging online platforms and communication tools can bridge geographical gaps, connecting employees and facilitating open dialogues about diversity and inclusion. Training and resources on allyship, unconscious bias, and inclusive leadership allow employees to gain a deeper understanding of D&I issues. Equally vital is the need for organizations to learn from peers and other industries players’ best practices related to D&I.

Recognizing the importance of allyship and collaboration, BWN actively engages male allies, partners, and customers to drive meaningful change. With 13.5% of its membership comprising of men – a 4% increase since 2022 – BWN cultivates a culture of inclusivity and mutual support. Moreover, through collaborative events with other Employee Network Groups and internal 51·çÁ÷groups, BWN promotes intersectionality and solidarity within the organization, amplifying its impact beyond borders.

Use AI to Break Bias

Recognizing the inherent biases that can impede progress, organizations must . AI offers numerous avenues for breaking bias within organizations. A notable example is the implementation of AI-driven recruitment and promotion processes, which minimize unconscious biases, allowing talent to shine irrespective of gender or background. It is also possible to standardize the interview process, reducing bias by providing structured questions and evaluation criteria. Anonymized decision-making, facilitated by AI, removes identifying information from candidate profiles, preventing unconscious biases from influencing outcomes. Through the responsible and ethical use of AI technology, organizations can leverage its capabilities to create fairer and more equitable workplaces where diversity thrives. This approach not only promotes inclusivity but also enhances the quality of decision-making, leading to a more diverse and innovative workforce.

By embracing these key focus areas and tactics, BWN continues to inspire change, create opportunities, and thrive together, driving SAP’s success and building a more equitable future for all. This is supported by its recent awards, including the prestigious , which is a testament to the exceptional efforts and contributions made by BWN in advancing gender equality and promoting women’s leadership within SAP, and the , which recognizes the outstanding contributions and influence of employee resource groups (ERGs) in driving positive organizational change and promoting an inclusive workplace culture.

BWN’s commitment to diversity and inclusion sets a benchmark for excellence in the corporate world. Together, we elevate possibilities and inspire realities, paving the way for a more inclusive and prosperous future.

Mayara Alves Tabone is global product marketing specialist at 51·çÁ÷SuccessFactors and BWN global communications director.

In the latest episode of the AHA! Moments for Diversity & Inclusion video series, 51·çÁ÷Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer Supriya Jha talks to Houghton about how her first job started a lifelong advocacy for people with disabilities and how accommodations can make all the difference.

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Seventy percent of the world’s population – 1 billion people – has an invisible disability, including anxiety, depression, hearing issues, or autism, to name but a few. Houghton, who has a learning disability, is one of them.

Houghton was lucky; accommodations at school meant that she had the extra time needed to process information in exams. But when she took her law school entrance exams, her luck ran out. With no extra time or accommodation, she fell behind. This changed the trajectory of her life. Instead of legal studies, an internship followed. Instead of a career in law, her first job was in Indianapolis, Indiana, placing people born with disabilities into employment.

The AHA! Moment

During her time in Indianapolis, Houghton recalls one client in particular, Erica, and how the job for her “wasn’t just about a paycheck, but that it was about respect and it was about being included in her community and having friends.” And, says Houghton, it “was at that moment that I knew why I existed, and I never turned back.” She has been a disability inclusion activist ever since.

As president of Disability:IN, Houghton has been a driving force in promoting disability inclusion in companies and with the Disability Equality Index (DEI), a tool for measuring and offering best practices for disability inclusion. The DEI analyzes disability inclusion practices and processes in leadership and culture, employment practices, community engagement, and supplier diversity. It also offers advice on how to better disability inclusion.

In 2023, more than 480 companies participated in the DEI, including 69 Fortune 100 companies with more than 14 million U.S.-based employees and nearly 9 million non-U.S.-based employees. 51·çÁ÷was awarded the top score in the 2023 DEI rankings.

Workplace Accommodations and Leadership Culture

Only 5% of employees with a disability choose to disclose, and SAP’s Jha was keen to get Houghton’s insights on how to create a culture where disabled employees feel that they can articulate their needs and reach their full potential.

Houghton says the solution is twofold. First, leaders must use their platforms to be a disability inclusion ally or have the cultural space to own their identity – disabled or not. And second, workplace accommodations must be the norm.

Processes for requesting accommodations must be transparent and easy to follow. Managers must clearly understand how to arrange accommodations and, more importantly, budget must be available. If these processes aren’t easy, there is a risk that talent will be lost and that disabled employees will not have a sense of belonging.

Avoiding Microaggressions and Discrimination

To avoid microaggressions and discrimination against disabled employees, Houghton advocates using the best resource possible – your own employees, in particular disability employee groups. At SAP, there are Employee Network Groups such as 51·çÁ÷HEAR and Friends and Enabled@SAP.

Disability is a true cross-collaborative task. After all, Houghton concludes, becoming disabled is the “one team that anybody can join at any time in their life.”

In the latest episode of the AHA! Moments in Diversity & Inclusion video series, 51·çÁ÷Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer Supriya Jha and Lengler discuss what inclusion awareness means to him.

On the Trail

The World Economic Forum estimates that more than 150 million people are homeless globally and, for Lengler, meeting one of them further cemented his passion for diversity and inclusion.

During his 162 days on the Appalachian Trail, Lengler discovered that another hiker he met had been homeless for more than 10 years. Initially, he was a little apprehensive about this fact – and the hiker. However, he quickly discovered that sharing a common goal – in this case to complete the trail – meant that any preconceptions or concerns about this formerly homeless individual ceased to be relevant. They were to spend the next four weeks hiking the trail together.

“On the trail,” Lengler explains, “you have the same goal, and you are open to all people there.”

Unlearning Ingrained Behavior Patterns

Lengler reflects on those groups of individuals he refers to as “old white men clubs” who have never consciously suffered exclusion and have no understanding of the barriers that others face. Identifying unconscious biases and unlearning ingrained behavior patterns is critical to sustaining the success of diversity and inclusion initiatives.

For Lengler, the important aspect of inclusion is not just to increase the number of employees from diverse backgrounds but to create a culture of true inclusion. Passionately, he explains that for him true inclusion means 100% acceptance for all team members, regardless of their backgrounds. Only team members who are 100% accepted and truly included in all aspects of team life will be able to bring their best selves to work and can be “open in their voice and their mind.” 

The AHA! Moment

On the Appalachian Trail, Lengler experienced first-hand how a common goal and common hardship can bring people together. Above all else, someone who has different life experience or is in some way different from the rest of the team will bring another point of view and, says Lengler, “will look at the same problem in a different manner,” crystallizing his conviction that when you share your goal, “you can reach it together more easily instead of making it alone.”

Diversity and Inclusion at SAP

In its , 51·çÁ÷states its mission to become “the most inclusive company in the world.” In the U.S., for example, more than 40% of employees are from underrepresented groups. 51·çÁ÷is on track to achieve long-term gender goals and has a five-generation workforce. 

One of the initiatives that the Global Diversity and Inclusion Office has launched to help further SAP’s progress towards becoming the most inclusive company in the world is the Inclusive Mindset Challenge. This challenge allows employees to learn about inclusion topics and the importance of becoming an ally for marginalized groups at their own pace. The challenge comprises a broad range of micro-learnings, such as menopause, transphobia, or sexism to name a few. In 2022, more than 11,000 employees completed this challenge. New challenges are added regularly; recent additions include indigenous inclusion and infuse D&I with AI.

51·çÁ÷Inclusion Month

51·çÁ÷has designated October 2023 as 51·çÁ÷Inclusion Month. All employees are invited to join the inclusion journey and to get involved in an Employee Network Group (ENG) journey, allyship journey, and, for leaders, the intentional inclusion journey.

With more that 40,000 employees, ENGs are voluntary, employee-led diversity and inclusion initiatives representing groups such as visually impaired employees, caregivers, or Latinos.

With the allyship inclusion journey, employees are invited to use their privilege and power to support marginalized groups. With the intentional inclusion journey, leaders learn about intentional inclusion practices that can help further advance SAP’s journey to become a truly inclusive workplace.

Top photo courtesy of 51·çÁ÷employee Celia Carillo.

51·çÁ÷will work with the Tent Partnership for Refugees, a , the CEO and Chairman of Chobani. As a Turkish immigrant, Ulukaya saw firsthand the power of immigrants finding appropriate employment and how it benefits the refugee and the businesses who hire them.

I’m excited to be a part of this for several reasons.

For me, working with Tent is a deeply personal cause. As a soldier in the US Army’s 75th Ranger Regiment, I deployed twice to Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom. I saw a beautiful country full of incredible people torn apart and ravaged by war.

In August 2021, I was also one of the thousands of people worldwide who worked feverishly to help evacuate as many Afghans from Kabul as we could. In those two frantic weeks, we did everything possible to save our friends. These men and women were not strangers, but people we had forged deep relationships with. They were some of the bravest and hardest-working men and women I have ever met.

The men and women this program will mentor are incredibly intelligent and hard-working professionals. Their command of the English language is excellent. They bring technical skills and professional expertise to the table.  Like so many before them, they are eager to embrace the American dream.

But they are in the challenging position of rapidly learning a new culture after being ripped out of their homes — some literally in the middle of the night — while trying to do whatever they can to support their families, both here and, in many cases, back home in Afghanistan.

Tent Trains Corporate Mentors to Help Refugees Find the Right Employment

Led by Veterans@51·çÁ÷and in partnership with Autism Inclusion Network, Black Employees Network, Business Women’s Network, 51·çÁ÷Interfaith Alliance, Latinos@SAP, and Pan-Asians@SAP, this initiative will be working to help these Afghan mentees starting in May.

Volunteers will provide mentorship, interview prep, resume review, coaching, and access to a more robust professional network as the refugees work to find new employment in the U.S. that is better matched to their skills and expertise. 51·çÁ÷is excited and honored to be a part of this important initiative.

Help Tent by Joining the Cause

This is an opportunity to help these amazing human beings integrate into the American workforce, to enrich this nation through their talents and experiences. That is why Tent’s work is important. It’s why we are so excited to work with them.

If you are so moved, consider as they continue their mission to help refugees and immigrants more easily transition into the American work force.

Tom Amenta is a field marketing specialist for Cloud ERP at 51·çÁ÷North America.