Balance and Inclusivity

Priming for the Future

Even in our more progressive times, gender inequality still runs rampant as it pertains to senior leadership. This is particularly true of the tech space, as women hold only 5% of leadership positions .

When Denise Reed Lamoreaux started her journey at Atos—a global information technology service and consulting company—other than a few diversity and inclusion policies, there weren’t any robust initiatives that placed emphasis on narrowing the gender leadership gap. Like many organizations, Atos’ most senior leadership positions were predominately held by men.

There needed to be a better balance of male and female leaders, and Denise set out to establish a culture of inclusivity.

Women Who Succeed

Denise started the program “Women Who Succeed” at Atos as a means to identify women across their global workforce who are primed for future, key leadership positions within the organization. Once these women are identified, Denise and the program assist in assessing their skillsets and any skill and learning gaps they may have. From there, they provide a developmental plan which includes relevant courses—covering topics like leadership, negotiation and risk–taking—as well as mentoring and shadowing.

The Necessity of Support from Leadership

As the program has developed over the past years, Denise recognizes the necessity of leadership buy-in. For the program to be successful, participants must be engaged, and engagement is near impossible if they are not allowed to allot time to commit to the program. According to Denise, “It is critical for the participants’ managers to see the value of Women Who Succeed. The program not only empowers women to build networks and collaborate, but also develop themselves to be the next wave of leaders primed to propel the organization forward.”

The Continual Elevation of Women Who Succeed

As the program has grown, Women Who Succeed now has representation in every country Atos operates. The program has fostered a culture where individuals are taking ownership and starting their own coalitions to continually support and bolster the women of Atos and the mission of the program.