A letter from our Chief Diversity Officer, Yolanda Lee Conyers
The year 2020 has been a tough one for many of us; COVID-19 has disrupted the way of life for millions around the world, as reignited tensions around race and inequality swept through much of the western hemisphere this past summer. Amid much turmoil and uncertainty, it can be difficult to find the silver linings, but in a time of great challenge we can overcome obstacles through great innovation. When we reflect on this year at Lenovo, we see a period of transformation, resilience, and courage.
Progress in the face of adversity
2020 has shown us that people can do amazing things despite less-than-ideal circumstances. This year, our global workforce of more than 63,000 employees have helped mobilize support for our communities around the world during a global pandemic. Our employees have been creative and flexible in adapting to a new normal, and talent acquisition teams have innovated to preserve valuable internship opportunities for students and graduates. With more than $13 million (USD) in philanthropic efforts, we’ve provided technology and personal protective equipment (PPE) to hospitals and continue to offer support for distance education for millions of impacted students around the world.
Despite these challenges, we’ve set new standards for diversity and inclusion (D&I) within the business. We achieved our goals that we set in 2018 of having 20% female executive representation worldwide and 28% racial/ethnic minority executive representation across the U.S., reporting representation of 21% and 29% respectively.
We increased participation in Global Inclusion Training company-wide to 92% completion and launched our Product Diversity Office, committed to driving the criteria and development of technology for diverse users and validating and minimizing bias inherent in the technology and/or the product itself.
The principles of D&I have proven to be more important than ever before in the context of a resurgence of racial tensions and injustice in the U.S. this past summer that sparked a global reaction. At Lenovo, employees of all backgrounds, races, ethnicities, genders, orientations, and abilities united with one another to show up, listen, and act: To show up for their colleagues of color, listen with intention, and act to move forward with compassion and understanding.
Hope for the future
These moments of progress and unity in the face of adversity teach us that anything is possible when we work together. If we are to press on toward a brighter future, diversity and inclusion must be at the forefront of our actions now and always.
The challenges of COVID-19 are not yet behind us, but we’re harnessing these constraints to drive new insights and innovative ways of maintaining our sense of “normal”. As we move forward with our vision of creating smarter technology for all, we continue to build on the progress we’ve made, and work to set new D&I goals that are important to our employees, our customers, and our communities.
Yolanda Lee Conyers
Chief Diversity Officer
President, Lenovo Foundation
A Year in Review
- This year, Lenovo’s community of employee resource groups (ERGs) grew to a total of 10 organizations, with the latest additions offering support and community around disability, early-career professionals, and religious affiliation.
- In Lenovo’s annual Lenovo Listens employee engagement survey, employees reported all-time high scores for the company’s promotion of fair and equal treatment in the workplace (92%), fostering opportunity for success for employees of all backgrounds (86%), and maintaining an environment of respect (91%).
- This year, Lenovo’s diversity and inclusion efforts garnered recognition from the following organizations:
- Bloomberg’s 2020 Gender Equality Index
- Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s 2020 Corporate Equality Index
- Fast Company’s 2020 Best Companies for Innovators
- WayUp’s 2020 Top 100 Internship programs in the U.S.
- HR Asia’s Best Companies to Work for in Asia 2020
- and Universum’s World’s Most Attractive Employer
- For workplace demographics:
- Women comprise 36% of the global employee population, 21% of the global executive population and 26.4% of all global technical roles.
- In the U.S., traditionally under-represented racial and ethnic groups comprise 34% of the total employee population, 29.4% of all executive roles, and 42.8% of technical roles.
- Lenovo announced its new Product Diversity Office (PDO) this year, as the authority on embedding D&I into its product design and development process. Lenovo Voice, the first product to have passed through the PDO’s pilot program, will launch across Lenovo X1 Fold devices worldwide, now available to consumers and commercial clients.
- Lenovo has increased its support for resources and programs for disability inclusion this year, working with Haben Girma for a second year as its Accessibility and Inclusion Advisor to the business.
- Supplier Diversity teams reported a 24.9% increase year over year in spend with diverse businesses, exceeding $380 million (USD). Lenovo was nominated for Corporation of The Year through the National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC)
The Lenovo Foundation reported $13 million (USD) in its philanthropic response to the worldwide COVID-19 crisis. Despite challenges presented by the pandemic, the organization reported 19,267 hours of collective service hours from employees in its annual Global Month of Service. The event directly impacted more than 38,000 individuals worldwide. Employee participation with the Foundation has grown by 43 percent since it began in 2017.