WE NETWORK

Leadership group evolves into WEN

Cummins South Pacific’s Women’s Leadership Networking Group (WLNG) began its journey to attract, retain, develop and promote equal employment opportunities for women in 2005.

Several founding members are still with Cummins today, including Egle Parker, Jane Davidson, Sarah Griffiths (now US based), Lora Miller, Tracey Hockley, Brooke Jacka, Danni Pietsch and Sarah Bilston. WLNG’s primary objective was to make recommendations to the diversity council by proposing initiatives to support Cummins’ diversity business case. In 2011, WLNG transitioned into the Women’s Affinity Group (WAG) where the vision was to “provide a safe and great place to work by unleashing the power of all women”. WAG aimed to increase representation of women across all functions throughout Cummins South Pacific. Initiatives included further review of the parental leave policy, introducing the purchased leave policy to improve employee flexibility, networking and personal development seminars. A highlight was the 2017 APAC Women’s Leadership Conference.

In 2018, the Cummins Global Diversity and Inclusion Group implemented a change from affinity groups to Employee Resource Groups (ERG). The refresh was to capture the value the groups bring to the business, their inclusive nature and the groups’ evolution since their inception. The Women’s ERG completed a pilot Springboard Women’s Development program and introduced Lean In chapters across the region. In 2019, through global consultation and collaboration, Cummins announced a new global identity and rebranded to the Women’s Empowerment Network (WEN) to reflect the group’s inclusiveness and create an environment where women can gain value from the diverse employee group because they feel supported and free to be themselves. WEN will get together in the new year. If you are interested in joining the group, please visit South Pacific WE Network for a list of contacts.

Volunteering with JA Singapore

By Michael Tan On 11 November 2021, I had the opportunity to volunteer at a Singapore girls school, partnering with Junior Achievement (JA) Singapore.

JA teaches work readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy in schools of varied levels, from kindergarten to junior colleges. The course we conducted was “JA our families” where we emphasised the roles people play in the economy and engaged students with activities about needs, wants, jobs, tools and skills, and interdependence. JA Worldwide, one of the world’s largest youth-serving NGOs, prepares young people for employment and entrepreneurship by delivering hands-on, experiential learning.

Michael presents the Junior Achievement course in Singapore.