Why does HP need a women in technology community?
The company recognizes that there's a gap between women and men when it comes to decision-making and influence inside the organization, and that you can close it by supporting the career development of women in technology. That approach drives organizational innovation through a wider range of opinions, working styles, and ways of thinking.
How did the community get started?
Before we ever thought about a community, we wanted to build a "commando unit": a program we called Here We Go, with 20 women in technology roles. Its goal was to bring diversity into the conversation inside the organization.
As part of that, we wanted to understand what skills women in technology need to move forward in their careers. We talked to managers, but some of them didn't fully see what the problem was, or whether there was a problem at all. So the next step was to change the conversation and open the eyes of anyone who didn't know the gap existed. We decided to do it by sharing the career stories of women in technology at HP. We launched a 3-month course that gave 20 women the tools to get up on stage and tell their story. That was the first step toward this change.
The managers were hugely supportive, and even the ones who didn't get it at first were convinced in the end. To me, that's a real partnership. Women joined the program through a joint effort with the VP of HR and with managers who identified the women in technology who fit the initiative: women with the drive, the ability and the passion to grow their careers.
The program's first closing event was a series of 5-minute TED-style talks, where every participant got up and told her personal story. We built the whole program together with them and with their managers, and for this event too, they invited the people they thought could advance their careers to come and listen. Afterwards we realized that many employees had brought their daughters to the talks for inspiration.
After the first program, we met with senior leaders from HP's global organization who were visiting Israel. They all told us, "HP is serious about this. We want to change things. Go build a community in Israel." The head of the R&D organization said he wanted to be its sponsor. Then 2 of our employees decided they wanted to build the community and rallied women around them. That's how the WIN community was born, and it grew by word of mouth, one woman bringing another.
What is the women in technology community, and how does it work?
Today we have 400 members. We have a very active Facebook group, talks, workshops and a lot of activity. We bring in inspiring speakers, run workshops on topics tied to career advancement (like job interview skills), and connect employees with mentors inside the organization.
Day to day, we meet every Tuesday from 16:00 to 17:00, including global sessions with WIN worldwide. We're also in touch with women in technology groups at other companies and with umbrella organizations like the Israel Innovation Authority. We've learned that the more communities we work with across the ecosystem, the more impact we have.
On Facebook we share what's happening in Israel and around the world: hackathons, relevant articles and posts, open positions, personal stories from the women of HP and more. And of course, every time one of us moves into a significant role, we celebrate her.
When did you know the community was working?
At one of our first talks at the company, a whole auditorium filled up with employees, and there was still a line outside of people crowding in to see what we were doing. That was one of the moments when we knew we had a successful community. The wholehearted support of senior leaders was a sign of the change we had managed to lead. Right now there are women in the organization who really want to join the next program and are approaching their managers on their own initiative to ask for a recommendation.
The impact on storytelling was immediate too. At the community's first meeting, I shared research conducted at HP showing that many women won't apply for a role unless they meet every single requirement. So here's what we did: every manager hiring for an open role stood next to a poster we had prepared in advance, so employees could walk up to any role that interested them and talk to the manager. No formal application, nothing official, just small talk. After that event, several women landed new roles and moved forward in their careers.
Cracking the win-win: how do you make sure both the community and the organization get value?
The win for the community: members get a toolkit for personal growth and career development, their sense of belonging to the organization grows stronger, and the community's activity opens up informal paths to advancement that are far more accessible and much easier to take.
The win for the organization: women in technology feel connected and that they belong, a diversity of opinions feeds innovation, and women advance into senior roles.
It warms my heart that people put in so much beyond their core job.
What challenges did you run into?
- In the first program, we pitched the idea to the women in the community and they didn't like it at all. That was our most important lesson: you have to come in with a lot of humility and curiosity. After that, we built the program together with them, so we could create something they loved and stood behind.
- Early on, we talked to managers who didn't see any problem and told us they hire and promote women and men alike. The challenge was convincing them that there really was a big gap. We realized we had to lead a shift in how the organization thinks.
Tips for building a successful community
- Create buy-in and win support from different stakeholders across the organization. Explain the problem to them patiently and creatively, and get broad backing from people who can help identify the first community members.
- When you're promoting topics like inclusion and diversity, come in with humility, curiosity, a willingness to think differently and a drive to do it in a fresh way.
- Learn to take feedback, because you want to grow together with the community.
- One more tip: don't rush. Look for the people in the organization who want to be agents of change, and choose your partners carefully. There are plenty of obstacles, and the right people help you keep your energy up.