Girls with more ideas will create more solutions to benefit us all. We need to cultivate a culture where risk is rewarded, curiosity is encouraged, and creativity is expected.

Cognizant has been a leading force in promoting women’s participation and growth in the IT industry through multitude of initiatives that span from grassroot initiatives in terms of women fresher hiring, to nurturing leadership inclusion. The company focuses on consistently building on its foundation to take bold steps to address better women participation in the IT landscape through a host of national programs and platforms that are centered around hiring and development goals, better work conditions, safety & wellness initiatives and career velocity opportunities.

To shed light upon the same, Shameka Young, VP and Global Head of Diversity & Inclusion (D&I), Cognizant is keen to offer an expansive perspective to BW People publication on what will be the new-age measures to ensure women inclusivity in the industry and on that highlight the importance of digitally skilling and supporting women to in increase their representation in tech-based careers in today’s booming IT ecosytem.

1. Can you shed some light on the need for digital skilling in the current time where the IT industry is facing attrition?

We’ve seen a wave of digital transformation activity across the world. Studies suggest that the pandemic accelerated the digital transformation timeline by five years. Organizations quickly pivoted and modernized their businesses to survive the pandemic. This required skills. Specifically, digital skills.   Now more than ever, there is a strong need to create pathways to enhance the skill profile of our top talent—not only for retention purposes across the IT industry, but to ensure we can deliver the transformational work our client’s demand.

2. There have been plenty of times where it has been time and again highlighted that gender equality is still a distant goal, what are your comments on this and what is it that Cognizant/ you are ensuring to change this statement? 

We are making progress with gender diversity, but we still have a lot of work ahead of us. At Cognizant we have a consistent drumbeat of opportunities to highlight our values – specifically our goal to create conditions for everyone to thrive. Just this past month, in honor of International Women’s Day, we featured the success story of dozens of successful women: from entry-level to executive. We (virtually) gathered tens of thousands of associates and clients to learn valuable leadership lessons at a keynote address. And we had three unique panel discussions underscoring the importance of male allyship. At the same time, we rolled out several new mentorship opportunities. All of these somewhat small individual actions connect together to create a culture where women feel empowered.

3. Elaborate about the initiatives Cognizant is undertaking to make a stronger footprint in the diversity realm. 

We’re building a diverse workforce in which our associates feel encouraged to share different viewpoints. This allows us to deliver fresh insights to help our clients modernize their organizations and master the digital economy. Our commitment is to create a culture of belonging so our associates feel confident bringing their whole selves to work.

Belonging requires inclusion and diversity. That’s why we have formal programs for professional development and progressive hiring policies. In addition, we empower associates to shape and drive global, regional and local councils and affinity groups. It’s both top-down – sponsored by our Executive Leadership – and grassroots – championed by our associates at all levels. 

Each affinity group welcomes, nurtures and provides safe spaces in which our associates can share their interests and aspirations. Much intersectionality exists among group members, who regularly join forces to serve the communities in which they live and work throughout the world.

At the management level, Cognizant’s senior leaders have specific goals to hire and retain women in leadership positions. Each director and above level are given a target relative to their business area for hiring and retaining women. Our Human Resources department monitors progress and communicates it back to the organization through managerial quarterly business reviews and annual performance reviews.  

4. A recent study pointed out that only 3% of women take up a career in tech industry, why do you feel this exists and how is Cognizant encouraging more women to enter this industry?

It starts at the beginning. When children are in primary school, we need to encourage young girls to pursue math and science. Unfortunately, unconscious bias often filters through, and girls are discouraged from pursuing these important careers. It’s why I chose to sit on the Board of Directors of Girlstart, a leader in designing and implementing innovative, high-quality informal STEM education programs that inspire girls to transform our world. Girls with more ideas will create more solutions to benefit us all. We need to cultivate a culture where risk is rewarded, curiosity is encouraged, and creativity is expected.

Cognizant’s Outreach program focuses on building inclusion in tech and increasing community impact. In fact, we recently joined forces with the UK government to educate girls from developing countries; we committed digital enablement through a donation of computers, as well as 50,000 hours of volunteer led mentoring and training support.

5. Is competition for women in tech a distant dream and what are the skills required the most for female workers to compete in this sector?

Thanks to programs like the one we are working on with the UK government, there is no limitation for the future of women in tech. We have made significant strides in creating gender diversity at Cognizant, and while we know there is much work to be done, we are confident that our foundational programs are laying the groundwork for a bright future. 

6. The pandemic has become a big hurdle for women to progress in this industry, where there have been situations, they’ve had to quit their jobs and focus on daily chores with the willpower to rejoin. Does Cognizant have any such programs that encourage women to step again in their career after a short break and how fruitful have they been?

Women’s careers have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19, instilling an urgency to discuss women’s role in the workplace. Working mothers were dropping out of the workforce, at least temporarily. That reality spurred us to challenge not only how work is structured but also how the workplace can better accommodate individuals. 

Cognizant launched a returnship program in 2021 targeting technology professionals interested in restarting their careers. Returnships are 12-week paid experiences for technology professionals who have at least 5 years of professional experience and have taken at least a 2-year break from their career. The program provides skilling opportunities so the participants are versed in the latest technologies. 

We believe that a break in a professional’s career can provide an opportunity to reflect, find areas of focus, and return stronger to the next phase of professional journey with a renewed sense of purpose. Having the skills to do so eases the transition. Employees accepted into the returnship program will update their skills in a supportive work environment, get involved with real-time projects, and work with cutting-edge tools and technology. At the conclusion of the program, participants are considered for a position with Cognizant. 

7. Have distinctly heard about Cognizant's IJM, Returnship program, Gen C programs. Kindly elucidate upon the same.

We are proud of our unique, Gen-C program, which helps bring the latest talent into our workforce. Gen-C (Generation Cognizant) consists of our youngest workforce who are taking their first steps into Cognizant from campuses across the world. They are the authors of their own unique digital footprint in Cognizant – sufficiently guided by mentors, coaches and business practitioners along their learning journey. These teams infuse our organization with a fresh perspective of what that generation seeks to see in the world. 

8. A recent survey by Wiley NXT's Women's Learners states that, "84% women feel upskilling key to unlock leadership opportunities in tech." what are your views on the same?

It is that sentiment that fueled us to create our Propel program. PROPEL, a leadership development program accelerates women’s advancement into senior/executive management with coaching and mentoring.  During the three-month program, participants explore a range of impactful topics, from amplifying their leadership brand and identity to enhancing executive presence. These sessions are inspiring our future women leaders to apply the knowledge, tools, and techniques they’ve gathered along the way and create a strategy for ongoing success.

9. 55% of women have shown excitement about the emergence of new-age technologies as they feel that the flourishing tech space will offer them lucrative career and growth opportunities. Does the inclusion game within organizations still pose a threat towards women's growth trajectory?

As mentioned earlier, belonging requires inclusion and diversity. We are accelerating the conversation around inclusion through our D&I development playbook which drives discussions around leading with an inclusive mindset, creating environments of psychological safety and allyship to name a few. Moving from unconscious bias to conscious inclusion across the associate lifecycle and integrating those inclusive behaviors not only helps us retain the women talent but also aligns to our values of “creating conditions for everyone to thrive.”