Initiative

Women@HP

Summary of the initiative

Hewlett-Packard (HP) is a multinational company which delivers electronics components, software and other technology services.

Gender diversity plays a central role for HP. Particularly high value is placed on the increase of women in specialist and management positions. Its main initiatives are on the one hand the launch of "women@hp", an internal network for mutual support of female employees; and on the other hand an approach concerning job positions that are first checked internally to identify whether or not there are suitable female candidates.

Using an individual development plan, which each and every employee at HP prepares and discusses with their supervisor, the next career steps are identified and planned, and thus the achievements of those who are working intensively and systematically are visible.

According to HP, a well-implemented mentoring programme is a support to increase the proportion of women in management positions. Moreover, diversity is a key component for innovation. In that respect, women in leadership positions contribute significantly to the competitive strength of a company and HP does not want to lose that potential. Diversity in management helps to better respond to different customer needs and market conditions.