Vanessa Sorenson (Microsoft).
As winner of the Women in ICT Awards Diversity and Inclusion (Company) award in 2021, Microsoft has rolled out the One Microsoft D&I (diversity and inclusion) Plan in New Zealand, centred around cultural transformation, people empowerment, inclusive hiring and customer delight.
Spearheaded by Vanessa Sorenson, as Microsoft New Zealand Managing Director, each pillar has nominated senior leadership ownership to ensure strategic goals are met both internally and externally. The approach has resulted in employees recognising Microsoft as a workplace that allows people to be successful while retaining their own personality and style, in addition to freely expressing thoughts and feelings.
What does diversity and inclusion mean for Microsoft?
Inclusion is crucial to a creative, thriving tech sector. We’re committed to ensuring all New Zealanders see themselves in the digital world. Whether that’s by creating products that support greater accessibility and enable people to engage with technology in as many languages as possible; inclusive hiring, skilling and internship schemes or our internal Microsoft D&I communities, we’re continually pushing to create more equal representation in the tech industry.
What diversity and inclusion strategies or programs has Microsoft adopted?
With NGO TupuToa we bring many Māori and Pasifika graduates into our business and support them to go further in the industry. In 2021, we took that partnership a step further by funding and co-designing a training programme for Māori and Pacific peoples, HikoHiko Te Uira (A Digital Spark for Your Future), alongside TupuToa.
This provides courses in skills such as digital computing, cloud and data analysis, as well as soft skills to build confidence in speaking up and aspiring further, taking a culturally inclusive approach to learning and tuition.
In 2021 we also launched the #10KWāhine initiative, which aims to provide 10,000 women in Aotearoa with free training in digital technologies by the end of 2022, either through online Microsoft Learn courses, on-the-job training, internships or other initiatives.
This builds on our regular engagements with schools, partners and training institutions to inspire a diversity of students to consider a tech career, conducting workshops and talks at events like TechGirlsNZ.
We also bake diversity into our products, including te reo Māori and Pasifika languages in Microsoft Translator and collaborating with Whetu Paitai of Piki Studios to create Ngā Motu (The Islands).
Previous games have been translated into te reo Māori, but this is the first ever version which fully immerses gamers in te ao Māori, available free to all NZ state and integrated schools to support Māori language and culture.
Last year we also launched the Aotearoa keyboard as part of Windows 11 to make it easier for people to write in te reo Māori with the technology they use every day. Microsoft also supports Be. Lab, a centre for access innovation that seeks to create social change for people with access needs.
The Microsoft Enabler Program provides those with disabilities with training, job shadowing, internships, mentoring and opportunities with partners like Datacom, HCL Technologies and DXC.
What sparked Microsoft into launching these?
As one of the world’s largest tech companies, we know we have a responsibility to take the lead and the power to create real change through our global networks, so we’re always challenging ourselves to answer the question: what more can we do?
With #10KWāhine, for example, we wanted to do something big to shake things up, bring a whole raft of organisations together and help female students, Māori and Pasifika women, mid-career workers looking for a change or those returning to work get opportunities they may never have had before.
Likewise, the underrepresentation of Māori and Pacific peoples in the tech sector is creating a digital divide, and that will have flow-on effects for society in an increasingly digitised world. Partnering with these communities to create more opportunities for skilling and career advancement, and to understand and break down barriers to entering tech careers or aspiring to senior positions, is essential if we’re to address that.”
How important is diversity and inclusion to Microsoft’s culture?
It’s not enough to campaign for change if you’re not willing to make the same journey, which is why we have a huge focus on improving diversity and inclusion within Microsoft itself.
We have introduced policies such as inclusive hiring (including those who are neurodiverse), alongside our partnership with TupuToa to recruit new Māori and Pasifika interns on a paid basis each year, many of whom have remained with us after graduation.
We also have internal Microsoft D&I champions and communities to help ensure our culture reflects and celebrates all of our people, from women in Microsoft to Māori and Pacific peoples, people with disabilities, the LGBTQI+ community and more, telling our own stories, driving new initiatives with our partners and holding special events across our family.
What are some of your strategies to further enhance this in the months ahead?
We’re expanding our HikoHiko te Uira skilling programme in 2022. The pilot upskilled around 100 Māori and Pacific Island learners through our training partners, Auldhouse and Zeducation, last year, and more organisations, community groups and iwi have now signed on. To expand its reach significantly, we and TupuToa have the goal of training and enabling communities to run the programme themselves.
Likewise, through #10KWāhine, we are working with partners to create programmes that support women in their organisations to learn new digital skills, with the aim of reaching that 10,000 wāhine goal.
Our programme of #10KWāhine initiatives also includes DigiWāhine, a series of in-school events inspiring wāhine in years 9-13 to consider roles in technology, working with our partners to provide hands-on experiences and career discussion circles with inspirational wāhine working in digital and technology roles.
