 www.hp.com/canada/
Back in 1957 Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard sat down and drafted a list of corporate objectives that led their California-based technology business straight into a future they could only hope for.
Fifty-three years later Hewlett-Packard has over 321,000 employees worldwide, including an extensive network of dealers and authorized service personnel in Canada and 28 offices across the country, who continue to feel they are part of the process and, according to Mary Dukovic, diversity and inclusion lead for HP Canada, can “bring their whole self to work without fear of not fitting in.”
One of the reasons is HP’s employee resource groups. Take the Pride Group, for instance. It’s just celebrated its 30th anniversary. And is a perfect example of how employees wanting to bring their whole selves to work have affected change.
“It’s a notable milestone for us that included the early introduction of equal opportunity policy and equal benefits for same sex couples at HP,” Dukovic says, adding, “The beautiful thing about ERGs is everything that we offer—whatever event, whatever guest speaker, whatever panels that they have—is open to everyone at HP to attend.”
No matter where they are. It’s a virtual world. Connections can be made in an instance. Plus each of the ERG leads are “ambassadors” on HP’s diversity council whose objective is to hammer out diversity strategies for recruitment, retention and non-harassment policies, as well as inclusion training and courses.
One of those initiatives is A Day in the Life at HP, created especially to encourage young women to choose careers in the IT sector. It’s a mentoring program that gives female high school students an opportunity to job shadow at Hewlett-Packard and get a feel for work they may otherwise not consider.
Hewlett-Packard may be known for a wide range of products and services from digital photography to digital entertainment, from computing to home printing, but to the folks who are employed there, it’s simply “a great place to work.” In no small measure because over 50 years ago Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard envisioned a safe, exciting and inclusive work environment that valued diversity and recognized individual contributions.
“In summary, it really isn’t one or a few initiatives or events that a company promotes. It has to be built into everything that you do—every program, every policy,” Dukovic explains. “So you can look at all that HP has to offer employees and basically know there’s no barrier that exists for anyone to achieving their full potential.” |
