Originally published at accenture.com. Accenture ranked No. 5 on The Fair360, formerly DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity list in 2020.
On this International Women’s Day (IWD), as people from all over the world come together in celebration, we at Accenture are committed to accelerating equality for all.
How are we doing that?
We set goals. We take action. We reach them. We set new ones. And we are transparent in our progress.
Equality is not just a priority; it’s essential to how we operate. And with the power of our 500K+ people behind us, we are driving equality forward like never before.
Voices of change
It takes strong voices of change to lead the way. On IWD 2021, Accenture’s 17th year celebrating International Women’s Day, many of our people continue to come together to pledge their commitment to accelerating equality for all. They engage in conversations and share stories of how they’re advancing and contributing to a culture of equality, every day.
We are beyond proud of the countless examples our people demonstrate. Below are just a few ways we are advancing equality.
Ruhi Ranjan
Managing Director, India
The iron and steel manufacturing industry has been a largely male-dominated field, with a physically challenging work environment not always seen as conducive for women. But this didn’t deter Ruhi, who chose to work as a systems engineer on the shop floor at a manufacturing firm right after graduating from the Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee. She took on challenging, career-defining roles and rose through the ranks to make her mark in the boardroom and in the world of technology.
As the Inclusion and Diversity lead for Accenture Technology Centers in India, Ruhi has always been committed to setting an example for younger women colleagues. Ruhi says, “I now see a lot more women in my portfolio in leadership positions. I am so proud of their achievements and how they lead from the front. We need more and more women to step out and take charge of their careers and their destiny.”
Jimmy Etheredge
CEO – North America, Accenture
Jimmy is outspoken about his commitment to equality and sponsors a program that accelerates our most senior women to profit and loss roles, serves as a mentor and ally for Accenture women and actively engages with external partners and organizations to further gender equality in the workplace. “Male allies should not just listen but prepare to receive that information in a way that helps the other party feel seen, safe, connected and courageous,” Jimmy says.
As CEO of North America, Jimmy does not shy away from challenging discussions on sensitive topics such as racism and mental health. He firmly believes that it’s key for people to believe that they can share what they are feeling and thinking and that their voices are heard. “The concepts of inclusiveness, authenticity, letting people bring their best self to work every day and respect for the individual are really important to me,” says Jimmy.
Dr. Isi Idemudia
AWS Architect Associate Manager, Accenture AWS Business Group
Isi was one of a handful of women in a class of 150 people in a classroom in Nigeria, Africa, who all shared one computer as they worked to earn their undergraduate degrees. Later, after earning her Ph.D. in technology management, Isi walked into a classroom to teach a Python coding class. The school principal said, “We weren’t expecting you; we’re expecting Dr. Idemudia.” She smiled and replied, “That’s me.”
Today, Isi is an Amazon Web Services (AWS) Solutions Architect in the Accenture AWS Business Group. She is also the proud author of the book “Out of Africa and into the Cloud: Girls can code too.”
Isi’s journey is an inspiration to women in technology all over the world.
Masumi Ichimoto
Associate Director, Program & Project Management-Technology, Japan
Masumi is passionate about enabling working parents with work-life balance. She leads a program that helps parents who have been out of the workforce return to work and sets them up to advance in a career of their choice. And that’s why she was among the seven people from Accenture who were recently recognized on Yahoo!’s HERoes Role Model List for driving powerful change.
Masumi says, “When I returned to work as a working mother of two children, I faced a lot of challenges, but also found many supporters at the workplace. And that helped me survive and thrive. Through this support program, I just want to let all working parents know that they’re not alone. There are a lot of us who have their backs. I hope all parents and parents-to-be feel comfortable at Accenture and confident in finding their own success—at home, and at work.”
Christine Rauh
Managing Director, Switzerland
“I believe that visible support from leadership goes a long way in inspiring people to bring their true selves to work,” says Christine Rauh, Accenture Global Pride Network Co-Sponsor. And that’s exactly what Christine brings to the table.
The Accenture LGBT+ community, which spans 45 countries, is incredibly diverse, representing many different cultural backgrounds, ethnicities, genders and more. Christine is committed to taking an intersectional approach to supporting our people, promoting collaboration between the Pride Network and Accenture Women and Gender Network, for example. She encourages different employee groups across Accenture to share resources and stories and co-host networking events and learning sessions.
When we move forward as equals, anything is possible. Find out more about how we accelerate equality for all.
