HP Inc.’s Commitment to Gender Parity, Driving DE&I

In May, HP Inc. announced a series of goals intended to drive a more diverse, equitable and inclusive technology industry. This included a pledge to achieve gender parity in leadership by 2030.

The announcement came as part of HP’s Sustainable Impact strategy. The strategy focuses on creating a positive, lasting impact on the planet, HP’s people and the communities where they live, work and do business.

In February, HP had called on partners to embrace its Sustainable Impact initiative. And in conjunction with Earth Day in April, the company outlined its plans to combat climate change.

Earlier this year, HP was included on Forbes’ fourth annual list of America’s Best Employers for Diversity.

HP’s Enrique Lores

Enrique Lores is president and CEO of HP Inc. “Creating a culture of diversity, equity and inclusion has long been integral to HP’s success, but our work is far from done,” he said.

“We will continue pushing to break down barriers within our own organization while using our platforms to advance gender and racial equality, social justice and human rights across our ecosystem.”

Innovation Comes from Diversity, Progress Comes from the Top

Since its beginnings, HP has recognized the power of diversity to fuel innovation and that progress starts from the top. The company intentionally created one of the most diverse board of directors in the technology industry. Today it remains one of the top technology companies with women in executive positions. More than 30 percent of HP’s leaders are women. This is nearly double the industry’s benchmark of 16% of women in senior positions.

According to diversity figures on the company’s website, its board of directors is composed of 46% women and 54% minorities.

COVID-19 has disproportionately impacted many women. One in four considering to leave the workplace or downshifting their careers, according to a recent Lean In and McKinsey study. In response, HP is making a concerted effort to support women’s career advancement. In addition, the company aims to achieve 50/50 gender equality in HP leadership by 2030. Moreover, HP has committed to achieving greater than 30 percent technical women and women in engineering roles by 2030.

As well as championing gender equality, HP has a strong history of advancing racial equality and social justice. They are a founding member of the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Business Deans Roundtable. HP has a long-lasting relationship with HBCUs and hosts an annual business challenge to help Black students kickstart a career in technology. HP’s Supplier Diversity Program in the U.S. had an overall economic impact of approximately $1 billion last year.

Racial Equality and Social Justice Task Force

In January, HP announced the launch of its Racial Equality and Social Justice Task Force. The task force has a comprehensive set of goals to accelerate the strategies, practices and policies around pipeline, retention and promotion for Black and African American talent.

Inside the company, there is a goal to achieve 90% (up from 84%) inclusion index score for Black and African American employees by the end of the year. in 2021. And, the company has pledged to double the Black and African American promotion rates, technical representation and number of executives by 2025.

In addition to gender parity, HP aims to have its racial/ethnic representation meet or exceed market availability in the U.S. by 2030.

Within the industry, HP is leveraging its industry spending power to influence its ecosystem, including HP’s partners, vendors and suppliers. Their goal: By 2022, 10% of HP diversity spend be with Black and African American suppliers. Likewise, 10% of HP supplier account managers to be Black and African American by 2022. Additionally, the company plans to complete STEM pilots in target communications with channel partners and suppliers.

HP is also a founding member of OneTen, a coalition of businesses who are coming together to upskill, hire and advance one million Black individuals in America over the next 10 years into family-sustaining jobs.

HP’s Lesley Slayton Brown

Lesley Slayton Brown is HP’s chief diversity officer. “The COVID-19 pandemic, combined with the murder of George Floyd and so many others whose lives were needlessly cut short, sparked a long-overdue reckoning with the systemic inequities that afflict our communities,” she said.

“We’re committed to turning the tragedies and challenges of the past year into a force for meaningful change. We will not turn a blind eye to the forces of racism, discrimination and inequity that hold so many back from reaching their potential. We will not rest until everyone, everywhere has access to the opportunities they deserve.”