Accenture

INCLUSION HAPPENS WHILE

INTERACTING

What do inclusion and diversity mean? At core, they are about simple acceptance and trying to understand one another and making sure people feel heard and truly valued for who they are. Accenture has been investing in inclusion and diversity since 1998, where the adage is that it’s okay to make mistakes, as long as you learn from them and change along the way. After being actively involved on the sidelines for some time alongside full-time roles in Cloud and Data & Analytics, Javier Leonor (Global Inclusion & Diversity Pride Programme Lead) and Catie Crossman (Inclusion & Diversity Lead for France and Benelux Market Unit) were asked to work on inclusion and diversity full-time at Accenture. Catie: “I felt heard for the first time when I joined Accenture and that made me especially keen to make a difference.”

Inclusion and diversity are topics close to both Catie and Javier’s hearts. Their past personal experiences of self-discovery and discrimination, on the one hand, and positions of privilege, on the other, fed a need to make a difference and help people feel at home. “I try to make sure members of the LGBTIQ+ community – whom we call ‘Pride’ at Accenture – feel welcomed globally and can easily find their way, teams and friends”, Javier says. “We want everyone to be able to thrive within the company.” Accenture’s robust global presence enables people to make connections anywhere around the world. In addition, they have six or seven employeeled networks in the Netherlands, such as Pride, Cross-Cultural, Women @ Accenture, and, since recently, Neurodiversity. Catie is responsible for building awareness and promoting inclusive leadership locally. “I really see our role being to bring people together and kick-start conversations and, through that, make issues actionable. How you do that depends on where people are at. Recently, we organized a session for our female leadership after results from interview data showed women at a leadership level felt especially disconnected due to COVID. This enabled people to share their experiences and struggles and connect with the coaches we provided. That’s what we always try to do: create impactful moments that bring about change towards equality.”

You are what you measure One thing that sets Accenture apart from other organizations is their data-driven approach to addressing inclusion and diversity gaps. Javier: “We have a data dashboard for everything we’re doing in relation to inclusion and diversity. We measure how all our countries are doing on these topics, use that data to expose our gaps, and then we work together with the local team to address that item. Nobody is perfect, there is always room for improvement, and the data shows our strengths and areas for

improvement. If you don’t measure, you have no idea where you’re at.” On a local level, Catie says it’s important to find a healthy balance between numbers and feelings. “We do a lot of different surveys to hear from as many people as possible and get honest feedback. But nice as it is to have the numbers, it’s good to find a balance and create and feel that sense of belonging. We’ll keep working on every front because there is always room to grow and change as a company which is the beauty of what we do.”

Connecting and socializing According to Javier and Catie, the social facet of inclusion is immensely important. Catie: “Every Friday we host drinks here at the office and try to celebrate special days and embed them in our lives. No matter your gender, sexual orientation, culture, etc.; we have to make it real and ensure that you feel that you belong. We also actively connect with our clients and other Zuidas companies to make even more of an impact.” Javier adds to that, “It is never too late to start, and it doesn’t matter if you make mistakes, as long as you just try to do things right and learn from them along the way. It is great to connect and bring people together in Zuidas area like we did during ‘Roze Zuidas drinks’. The drinks are a celebration of Pride for companies in and around the Zuidas which are planned to happen again in August before Amsterdam Pride. We cannot work alone to create a more inclusive workplace, we want to collaborate with others as well. We are stronger together. If anyone has questions about inclusion and diversity at Accenture or just wants to connect, please feel free to reach out to us.”

Catie Crossman & Javier Leonor

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