TMCnet News
Technology Giant EMC Views Workforce Diversity as Critical to Its Global Market Growth StrategyHOPKINTON, Mass. --(Business Wire)-- When EMC Corporation employee Eric Arcese, Channel Program Manager of the Latin America Division, closed a deal with a client not long ago, the trust between the two companies went deeper than EMC's customary drive to perform, partner and execute as a world leader in products, services, and solutions for information management and storage. It was also a statement about Eric's life-long understanding of Latin American culture, which stemmed from his family having lived in Columbia and Mexico. More important, it was also an expression of building trust and respect between EMC and the new customer. Romaine A. Ross-Cole, a business analyst in EMC's sales operation, was selected by EMC to attend an Odyssey Media conference for multi-cultural women last April. The event helped her take a personal inventory of herself and her career, she says, and made her feel "empowered, because EMC made an investment in me--not only in the cost of the conference, but the message that they find value in what I have to offer the company." She says the "payback" for EMC is an employee who is focused on a personal and strategic level and therefore poised for corporate success. Both of these examples represent EMC's commitment to create and foster an inclusive workforce that enriches employees at all levels and enhances the total customer experience, according to Lise Edwards, Director of Field Diversity, based in Santa Clara, California. "EMC is committed to diversity through providing professional development opportunities for its women and people of color and sponsoring diversity related events both internal and external," she says, noting that among EMC's upcoming diversity programs is its premier sponsorship of the North Carolina Women's Leadership Conference on October 19. The world has changed dramatically in the last decade and business is now more global than ever before. EMC, with a considerable and diverse workforce of 27,000 employees throughout the world, continues to expand its borders to all parts of the globe. In addition, in the United States alone, women and minority owned small business owners are the fastest growing segment of the marketplace, according to the US Department of Commerce. "The world is flattening and as EMC does business across multi geographic areas, we have to--and do--understand a diverse world," says Bill Scannell, EMC's Senior Vice President, Americas. EMC's Hopkinton headquarters recently hosted the annual New England Multicultural Town Hall meeting, sponsored by EMC, Working Mother magazine, and other corporations, to focus on promoting trust and diversity in the workplace. The conference is part of an initiative launched by Working Mother Media in 2001 to provide a forum for professionals to discuss diversity in the workplace. Jack Mollen, executive vice president of human resources at EMC, told the gathering, "One thing we have learned over the last couple of years is that we can accelerate people's careers if they receive mentoring and deep networks. For the majority, a white male, it's natural. They go to lunch, meet senior people who mentor them informally. If it's a female minority, it's not that natural. We've created mentoring and network opportunities so that important part of career development is happening." Employees like Arcese and Ross-Cole are two proven examples of EMC's successful diversity and inclusion efforts. Women and people of color are supported in their business success by EMC's broad programming for people of both genders and all races. About EMC EMC (NYSE: EMC) is a leading technology company that's driven to perform, to partner, to execute. We go about our jobs with a passion for delivering results that meet or exceed our customers' expectations. EMC Corporation is the world leader in products, services, and solutions for information management and storage. EMC's mission is to help organizations of all sizes get the most value from their information and their relationships with our company. |
