IBM Daksh News

Match Point

Source: India Today Woman, January 2008

Four companies redefine gender equality and are recognized by the Nasscom-India Today Woman awards for excellence in gender inclusivity as they strive to create work spaces for women that enable them to excel.

The IT Industry has been busy wooing women. And why not? A Nasscom study predicts that the percentage of women in the IT industry will grow from 30 to 45 percent by the year 2010.Gender inclusivity aims at creating work spaces to entice a college graduate, a career woman and a mother. Recognising this change, Nasscom and India Today Woman announced winners of the corporate awards for Excellence in Gender Inclusivity, recognizing companies that have implemented outstanding practices in promoting gender empowerment. The independent team of judges choosing the winning companies was a veritable who's who: N.R. Narayana Murthy, chairman, Infosys Technologies Ltd.; Aroon Purie, editor-in-chief, India Today Group; Kiran Karnik, President, Nasscom; Vinita Bali, managing director, Britannia Industries Ltd., Hema Ravichander, strategic HR advisor and Rekha Jain, professor, IIM Ahmedabad.

IBM Daksh
Award for Best ITES-BPO Company

When the policy makers at IBM Daksh sat down to review its work space and employees, they realized that of the potential talent in the country, women were an untapped resource. Drawing from the DNA of their mother company, IBM, Daksh decided it was time to tap into that untouched talent in an aggressive manner. At first, says D.P. Singh, vice president, Strategic HR, the company focused on bringing in diversity at senior levels. "Being a young industry, BPOs didn't have that traditional mindset", adds Seema Ajwani, general manager, Work Force Relations. Daksh also put in place programmes like self-defence workshops and a mentoring system. These policies, Ajwani said, are good for business and encourage diversity of thought. At the same time, she believes that just like the company's clients and consumers are a diverse mix, the same should be the case within the company that services the outside world.