Judith Williams` Diversity & Inclusion Initiatives at SAP: Attempting to Change the World?
| Case Code: HROB236 Case Length: 14 Pages Period: 2018-2021 Pub Date: 2022 Teaching Note: Available |
Price: Rs.400 Organization: SAP SE Industry: Technology & Communications Countries: United States Themes: Diversity and Inclusion, Gender and Diversity Management, HR Planning,Managing Diversity |
Abstract Case Intro 1 Case Intro 2 Excerpts
Excerpts
Williams’ Tryst With D&I
A graduate of Harvard College, Williams was an M.A and Ph.D. in Drama from Stanford University. Her research was related to ideas of gender, race, and national identity in theater and popular culture in the US and Brazil. She spent almost five years of her early career in teaching positions at Tufts University, the University of Kansas, and the University of Massachusetts..
Williams’ Role at SAP and her Issues with D&I Practices
In 2018, Williams joined SAP. She reported directly to Stefan Ries, Member of the Executive Board and Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO), SAP. Speaking about Williams’s appointment, Bill McDermott, CEO of SAP said, “I couldn’t be prouder to welcome a proven leader like Judith to help us be the most inclusive company in the technology industry.”..
Bringing Culture Change With Data and AI
Williams acknowledged that bringing about a cultural change in a global company such as SAP with over 100,000 employees – with just 25% of them based in North America – was not an easy task. She said that she had to attempt a ‘mindset shift’, wherein the company had to be moved from activity measures to outcome measures..
Re-Setting Diversity Goals
In the two years since Williams joined SAP, the company was acknowledged for its efforts to recruit and promote a diverse workforce. In early 2020, SAP was named the Best Employer for Diversity by Forbes , up by eight positions from the previous year. The same year, SAP was selected – for the second year in a row – for inclusion in the Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index (GEI), which recognized companies committed to transparency in gender reporting and advancing women’s equality..
Addressing D&I Issues in SAP’s Recruitment
Williams acknowledged that making the underrepresented talent aware of the company’s recruitment efforts was a challenging task. She had to accept that, unlike other leading IT companies..
SAP’s Triple-Double Initiative
Industry observers stated that the employee turnover for people of color was higher than for other groups. They stated that certain barriers kept underrepresented talent from succeeding within any company..
Inclusive Entrepreneurship through SAP.iO
Williams believed that not only was there a need to provide opportunities for diverse people to work at SAP but that there was also a need to support them in their endeavors to build new technologies. She pointed out that the largest tech companies had started as startups and had grown steadily, without sparing any thought to D&I..
What benefits did D&I bring?
Analysts observed that as the US population continued to diversify, organizations would recognize diversity as a business imperative. Williams stated that the public at large had begun holding organizations accountable for remedying any disparities concerning D&I. According to management advisory firm Deloitte’s 2019 Millennial Survey, a majority of millennials stated that they placed heavy emphasis on gender and ethnic diversity when considering a potential employer..
Outlook For D&I in SAP And The Society As A Whole
Williams believed that once the D&I initiatives were implemented, the organization’s focus should shift to creating a sense of belonging. She thought that there was a need to devise ways to make employees feel like they were part of a psychologically safe community, which was a crucial element of a healthy..
Exhibits
Exhibit I: 10 Biggest Software Companies, 2022 (all figures in US$)
Exhibit II: Financial Performance of SAP (in millions of €) (2019-21)
Exhibit III: Black Employees in Big Tech Companies
Buy this case study (Please select any one of the payment options)
| Price: Rs.400 |
Price: Rs.400 | PayPal (9 USD) |
