Amsterdam: To mark International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia (IDAHOBIT), Lenovo has signed the Declaration of Amsterdam, confirming its commitment to fostering an inclusive workplace for its LGBTIQ+ employees.
Developed by Workplace Pride in 2011, the Declaration of Amsterdam was created to make meaningful progress for LGBTIQ+ people worldwide and eliminate the discrimination, harassment, and discomfort these employees may face in the workplace. In addition to Lenovo, organizations that have previously signed the declaration include Accenture, IBM, Cisco, Deloitte, and Microsoft, amongst others.
Calvin Crosslin, Chief Diversity Officer, Lenovo signs the Declaration of Amsterdam
“We applaud Lenovo for this step as they now join other leading organizations who make LGBTIQ+ workplace inclusion a priority. Such a commitment is inspirational for all employees and a transformative step in the right direction” said David Pollard, Executive Director, Workplace Pride.
Organizations signing the Declaration of Amsterdam commit to 10 core principles, including creating safe and inclusive workplaces, committing to ongoing measurement to identify the level of progress of LGBTIQ+ inclusiveness, and funding LGBTIQ+ programs and Employee Resource Groups. The Declaration also includes evaluation and opportunities for organizations to identify areas for improvement.
“Signing the Declaration of Amsterdam on IDAHOBIT demonstrates Lenovo’s continuing commitment to building an equitable and inclusive workforce,” said Calvin Crosslin, Chief Diversity Officer, Lenovo. “Partnering with Workplace Pride will help ensure we’re continuing to transform our organization and continually measuring our performance and progress.”
As a diverse global business, Lenovo believes that its workforce should reflect the global customers that it serves. This stands true in India as well, as seen with their various diversity and inclusion initiatives to give better representation to women and the LGBTIQ+ community. They have recently won the award for being a ‘Gender Balanced Organization’ at the Ask Insights Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Summit 2022, which is testament to its commitment to be an inherently inclusive and diversity representative.
Lenovo India has extended their employee’s Health insurance coverage to spouse/partner to support LGBTIQ+ community. Besides this, it is also building a sponsorship for women talent across male dominated sectors like manufacturing. Currently, the Pondicherry manufacturing plant has a 30% women workforce with one of three production lines completely run and managed by women employees.
On this front, Bhavya Misra, Director, Human Resources, Lenovo India elaborated “Lenovo has always strived to be an inclusive organization that stands by its commitment to increasing equality representation and opportunities for all. At the core of our functions, we aim to provide a supportive environment where all employees feel equally represented and valued. For our Indian employees, Lenovo’s Health Insurance Plan has been expanded to include domestic partners, including LGBTQIA+ partners, in line with Lenovo’s global approach to diversity & inclusion. We also offer progressive benefits to employees, including Gender Transition Support through medical, mental health, and pharmacy policies. Our Ask Insights DE&I award win demonstrates our determined progress in this direction for the LGBTQ+ community and women.”
Lenovo’s LGBTQ+ Employee Resource Group, Lenovo PRIDE, is active across multiple regions with chapters across many countries across North and South America and Europe that aim to help members grow professionally through networking, and mentorship.
Signing the declaration demonstrates Lenovo’s commitment to excellence in corporate citizenship, including diversity, equity, and inclusion, which has been recognized externally by several accolades bestowed on Lenovo by the Financial Times, the Bloomberg Gender Equality Index, and the Human Rights Foundation.
