Initiative

"Taking the stage", "Embracing the stage" and other projects

Summary of the initiative

Dell is a manufacturer of computers, software, televisions, printers, monitors and PDAs, workstations and hardware.

To identify the obstacles or challenges to their career success, Dell surveyed their female managers to identify what the company needed to do to ensure that there is a culture of learning, inclusion and development to support, attract and retain women in executive roles. The results led to the implementation of various initiatives such as the work-life focus, assigning mentors from among male and female senior managers and women’s network groups. There are 16 women’s networks across Europe Middle East Africa (EMEA) and they run networking events and lunches with visiting VPs/senior leaders etc. For example, two of the top five men in the company met 18 senior management and director-level women from a UK network and listened to their concerns and issues. This is not just a women’s issue and many networks have both male and female senior sponsors.

Two learning and development programmes called “Taking the stage” and “Embracing the stage” were very successful.

The first programme was purchased from a Canadian consultancy company which specialises in gender training. The programme highlights some of the challenges many women face while en-route to senior management and how to overcome them. Senior female managers and directors delivered this programme and 700 women across Europe were trained. These senior managers and executives made a huge impact on the programme as they could add personal insights and illustrative anecdotes to the training. The programme encouraged women to:  consider whether they wanted to “take the stage” and what being a leader entailed; examine how they used their voice and contributed in groups; consider the language they use and how to come across as a leader; and how to have a dynamic presence.

Based on the success of “Taking the Stage” and feedback from participants, Dell developed its own follow-up programme “Embracing the Stage”. This programme focuses on how you personally can continue to take the stage in your career through your influencing skills and the importance of building relationships and networking. Dell created DVDs for the programme by filming their own senior people answering questions such as “how did you get to where you are?” and “what helped you to succeed?”. This programme is now open to both men and women. Key information regarding what women want from their careers, the challenges, which cause difficulties to female progression and the solutions, are fed back to the executive leadership on a regular basis.