Dive Brief:
- Accenture has announced a staffing goal of 50% women and 50% men by 2025. CEO Pierre Nanterme said in a statement that the company's aim is to create a "gender-balanced workforce" as part of its support for gender equality.
- Women make up 40% of Accenture's current global workforce, a goal it met this year. The company also promoted 30% of women into managing director posts, the largest percentage ever promoted, and plans to increase the number of women managing directors to 25% globally by 2020.
- Accenture plans to further gender equality initiatives by sponsoring women to take on higher positions in finance; setting and publishing goals to continue increasing the number of women hires; and providing women with in-demand skills.
Dive Insight:
Accenture needs to increase the number of women employees by only 10% to reach its 2025 goal. With a workforce that's already 40% female (a goal it set for 2020 and surpassed), that should be attainable.
The company also has a strong track record in diversity and inclusion. In March, the company reported that Accenture had hired 1,000 additional workers, including African Americans, Asian Americans, Hispanic Americans and workers with disabilities.
Tech companies and other organizations that struggle with recruiting, hiring and retaining women, non-whites and other under-represented groups might take a page out of Accenture's playbook. The company has clear, publicly stated goals for creating gender equality and an inclusive work environment, which means it's willing to be held accountable for both achieved and unmet goals.
Developing and maintaining talent pipeline from which employers can recruit and hire candidates has proven to be a valuable strategy in diversity hiring. But hiring isn't enough; retention of a diverse workforce is its own challenge, and strategies like employee resource groups are invaluable.
