13 minute read
DIVERSITY, EQUITY INCLUSION
DEI values impact on future generations
Our aspirational vision for DEI
“We are each unique in our perspectives and passions, and united in our relentless desire to see a world wherein all people are embraced for who they are and what they aspire to achieve.
“We welcome one another, readily embrace differences, and learn from and appreciate one another. We are slow to judge. By making room for everyone to succeed and responding with empathy, we perform better as a company.
“At Cummins, we consider diversity, equity and inclusion to be business imperatives. Leaders are accountable for advancing the vision, setting goals, achieving results, coaching, and being role models.
– Joyce Chen, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Leader
Watch this video featuring global employees, including Bronwyn Elverd and others from the Asia Pacific region.
By Jonathan Lee | Employee Benefits Specialist Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) is an imperative element in our history as an organisation.
Our mission to power a more prosperous world has always been for the sake of all people and to leave a legacy for future generations. Read some of the inspiring, thought-provoking ways our Asia Pacific employees have been impacted during their time with Cummins in the DEI space.
Ram Kirubasankar | CBS HR Services Intern
Studying Human Resource Management and Psychology
Position
CBS HR Intern Three words to describe yourself Honest, loyal, supportive
One thing that motivates you
A quote that inspires you
Doing work that impacts on others and letting others know I care and am there to help. “Life is 10% what happens to us and 90% how we react to it.” – Charles R Swindoll
Ram’s DEI journey began at five years old when his family immigrated to Australia. Being young, adapting came easily for him while his family had more difficulty. Experiences like schools buddying individuals based on assumed ethnic backgrounds inspired Ram to promote inclusion throughout secondary school. On hearing about ways Cummins has championed DEI, Ram couldn’t help but smile and feel pride in being one of us. He also appreciates that we have open and confidential channels for people to raise concerns. Ram has been impacted by our DEI culture through embracing the idea that everybody can contribute to discussions, regardless of seniority. That contrasted with his prior experiences which favoured following those older than him without question. While he has always valued collaboration, his experiences have inspired him to be a more facilitative leader. DEI is important to Ram because it enables all people to belong and thrive. When people struggle with adapting and belonging, their wellbeing, relationships, and mental health suffer. The facets of DEI that Ram is most passionate about are culture, neurodiversity and mental health.
Tanasha Walters | CBS Regional PFR Analyst
Studying Commerce (Accounting) and Law (graduated March 2022)
Position
CBS Regional PFR Analyst Three words to describe yourself Organised, logical, independent
One thing that motivates you
Building a life that enriches and inspires me every day. A quote that inspires you “Be a go-getter.” – Gracie O’Connor Having moved to the diverse city of Darwin at five, Tanasha was exposed to DEI from an early age. A constantly emphasised message she learned was that supporting marginalised people is important and the right thing to do. Her parents championed DEI and there were many family discussions exploring the topic. Sadly, Tanasha also saw prejudice, with marginalised individuals being verbally abused and treated as unworthy of respect. At Cummins, Tanasha’s DEI experience has been rich from her first day. She said it was wonderful to see how diverse our teams were in race, age and educational background and knowing our focus on DEI was not just lip service. The experience reinforced how important it is for people to look
past initial impressions and take the time to learn about each other as individuals. Another impactful experience was engaging in our Every Employee Every Community initiative, where her whole team was eager to band together and make a difference in the community. Through her experiences at Cummins, Tanasha believes each person has a key role in creating and maintaining an environment where every person can belong and be their best selves.
Studying Mechanical Engineering
Position
On-highway Automotive Engineering Intern Three words to describe yourself Energetic, passionate, flexible
One thing that motivates you
A quote that inspires you
Addressing small challenges that have a positive impact on the people around me. “Luck favours the prepared.” – Louis Pasteur
Marcus had many DEI experiences while growing up. His grandparents were actively involved in supporting Sudanese refugees to settle in. He learned that many refugees aren’t trying to recreate their homeland but are simply capturing reminders of a home that brought them comfort and joy. He has two openly gay family members, with his family having gone on a journey of acceptance before he was born. What is especially heartfelt about that journey is the courage and love it took for family members who initially rejected them to eventually learn to embrace their differences.
While he admired Cummins’ aspirations to do the right thing, Marcus was initially apprehensive about some DEI initiatives. He discussed that with his housemates and parents and discovered the initiatives were essential for helping Cummins become the organisation it aspires to be. He realised his initial reservations were based on socially perpetuated stereotypes. Those stereotypes were further challenged when he saw his coworkers’ professionalism – a far cry from other workplaces he’d seen, where the sentiment was that employees from different backgrounds were token hires and did not have the skills to be assigned meaningful work. Being at Cummins has given Marcus the opportunity to witness how false stereotypes are and how often the issues marginalised groups face are created by our own biases and assumptions.
DEI strategy
Uyen Vu | CBS IT Intern
Studying Business and Information Technology Position CBS IT Intern Three words to describe yourself Introverted, eager, passionate
One thing that motivates you
Developing myself as a professional through expanding experi-ences, exposure and learning.
A quote that inspires you
“We don’t make mistakes – we just have happy accidents.” – Bob Ross With her family migrating to Australia from Vietnam when she was nine, Uyen’s first exposure to DEI was cultural. She fondly remembers excitedly exploring the different foods and customs that Australia’s multicultural community offered. When a friend came out to her in later years, Uyen was unbothered and sought to understand her friend’s story and experiences. Uyen has embraced Cummins’ value for DEI and particularly enjoys the way we celebrate our cultural diversity through food and learning. She would also love to see Cummins celebrate culture through traditional music and attire. Our large number of female leaders has inspired her and expanded her sense of what she can achieve. In her time with Cummins, Uyen has experienced that we are all encouraged to contribute our thoughts and perspectives, something interns are not always welcome to do in other countries and organisations. She believes forging cross-cultural connections is vital for advancing together as a society that protects and nurtures everyone. Cummins’ value for DEI impacts on our people, even after just months of being with us. Not only do we expand our sense of what is possible, our ways of working and our interest in others, our understanding of our collective responsibility to improve the lives of others is enhanced.
In reflecting on these interviews, I am struck by how transformational conversations can be when we take the time to understand others. Those conversations carry the potential to change the lives of the participants and their effects can span across families, organisations, communities and even generations. Our Global DEI Strategyaddresses Cummins’ many systems, processes and people and includes a range of initiatives designed to hold each of us accountable for creating a welcoming workplace that makes room for everyone to succeed. Make a difference by listening, asking questions, speaking up and taking action. Visit the Asia Pac DEI page for more information.
Making a difference APAC DEI page
What you see isn’t what ‘you see’
By Davis McConnell | Talent Acquisition Intern I am the Talent Acquisition (TA) intern based in Scoresby. Here is my story with vision impairment. How it began ...
My vision impairment journey began in 2011 when I started getting into trouble at home for not doing my school reading due to headaches. I was diagnosed with Stargardts disease shortly after and gave my family a tall glass of “I told you so”, not being old enough at the time to realise the potential impact it would have on me.
After experiencing 20/20 vision for the first half of my life and living as a ‘normal’ kid, it eventually sunk in that I had a degenerative eye disease with no available cure.
A visual on how I see.
Key message:
Find a way to accept the life you have been given and learn how to make the most of what you can. For me it is not stressing about things I can’t control.
Accepting
Growing up with the constant “do I or don’t I tell people” argument in my head, I finally decided to embrace my circumstances as there was nothing I could do about it. After my adaptability instincts – something all people who live with a disability have to develop – eventually kicked in, I started to think about my future and the changes I had to make. I decided against going into a trade and instead use my mind by studying a degree at RMIT.
RMIT Melbourne where Davis is studying his degree.
Adapting
Before starting university, I researched the resources available to help me achieve my full potential in my coursework. My first semester was largely about learning the ropes and knowing what services I could turn to. After connecting with the equitable learning services at RMIT, I was quickly able to put things in place. One big lesson from first semester was knowing how to manage my workload was paramount in receiving good grades. Therefore I decided to study part time to ensure I had the time required to prepare high-quality work. Fast forward three years of study and I was doing better than I originally expected with support from RMIT teaching staff. I came across a work-integrated learning course that focused on connecting with organisations to work on real-life issues companies were facing. That is how I stumbled on the possibility of an internship.
Key message:
You don’t know what’s out there until you allow others to help.
Recruitment experience finding the internship with Cummins
Keeping in mind my disability and that I couldn’t control how employers perceive it, I decided to be open and transparent from the get-go. During my search I had discovered an opportunity with Cummins that I was immediately interested in, as I have always rated practical work experience over studying – especially in my situation with it being very draining. Before I applied, I researched the company and learned that Cummins is a diversity leader with strong values that I relate to. Knowing I wanted to apply, I held off and contacted the recruiter, Jane Gaylor, to ask a few questions in advance. I didn’t want to waste my time nor the company’s if I never had a shot to begin with.
Tracy Moore, Davis McConnell and Jane Gaylor.
After calling Jane and discussing my situation, she didn’t hesitate to encourage me to apply, alleviating my insecurities about the corporate sector. Jane and I spoke at length about the level of impact my eyesight had and what reasonable adjustments and strategies I had in place to combat that. I applied and began the recruitment journey feeling valued and on an even playing field. The TA team throughout the process was extremely welcoming and clear with what was required, and open to adapt and offer alternative processes to assist in my recruitment journey. A couple of weeks after the interview with the hiring managers, I was called by Jane informing me I had been successful — immediately I was overrun with excitement.
Key message:
Do not settle for people who don’t value who you are – replace them with people who do. Be proactive with who you are.
Transition into Cummins
After submitting the acceptance paperwork, I was contacted by Chloe Lane, who ran the internship program, to organise my onboarding. Speaking with Chloe made me notice how everyone was supportive and intrigued about how they could help and what accessibilities I needed – a refreshing trend within Cummins’ culture.
Although I enjoy the support from everyone and it is great to see how everyone wants to do the right thing, there are some improvements we can make across functions. We can also implement new processes to accommodate people with disability (PWD). On this, my number one support Meng Kiat identified my passion for PWD and gave me the opportunity to lead an important project to help structuralise these processes in the form of sourcing, attracting and normalising PWD into Cummins’ recruiting process.
Key message:
Even if you start behind the eight ball or are seen as being disadvantaged, with the right mindset and faith in yourself there is always an advantage to the cards you have been dealt in life.
My PWD project at Cummins
My biggest opportunity in my internship is to lead the project focused on sourcing, attracting and normalising PWD in the recruiting process. This project offered me an abundance of key learning areas such as project management, team dynamics, stakeholder management, change management and facilitation, plus networking internally and externally. The project involved incorporating 6-sigma methodology to build a y-statement coupled with the main x-factors to achieve a business project goal.
Key message:
Ensure you are within a supportive environment. I was lucky to have Meng Kiat as my project sponsor/manager and an incredible team in the TA function. I could talk at length with Meng about important topics and crystalise action plans to execute them.
Y- statement
Y = A robust process on how PWD are sourced and attracted while increasing candidate experience as well as providing a culture in which people are comfortable to selfidentify.
X1 = process mapping of which organisation we can build relationships with
X2 = What steps can we incorporate during the hiring process to normalise PWD? X3 = metric we want to incorporate? (drive progress and establish benchmark) X4 = How to foster openness and transparency around disability?
X5 = How to gain data around candidates with a disability?
Davis and his manager Meng Kiat.
At Cummins we place a high value on collaboration. It is a fundamental tool to power our potential. I was lucky to gain support and guidance from senior leaders and key stakeholders at Cummins. Those key people include Peter Jensen-Muir, Lauren White, Tim Hickman, Mia Wilson and Joyce Chen. I also had the opportunity to present this to the Global TA key stakeholders: Tina Chen, Rachel Bourne, Courtney McCoy and Sergio Santos. I am very thankful to all these people and the many others who have supported and guided me in this journey with PWD.
Overarching learning
Do not let a perceived disadvantage control the direction you go. The future is only defined by the decisions you make in the moment. Life gives you obstacles and a disability is just something to side step and help you really ‘see’.
