For all those cynics who believe that equality between men and women is an elusive goal, please look around you. Chances are, you will find women who are quickly鈥攁nd quietly鈥攔eversing the historical trend in every public sphere, be it technology, sports, IT, health, politics or fashion. Women who have turned 鈥榦bstacles鈥� such as age, domesticity, and class, into enablers. We would all agree that the victories women have achieved have been substantial. The question is, are they enough?

As the value of a highly skilled and diverse workforce continues to grow, there鈥檚 also increasing awareness on how we, as a society, need to create more equal opportunities. The notion of the male offspring as the 鈥榞har ka chirag鈥� has no place in an equal world. I am doubly blessed to have two daughters, who stand tall, shoulder to shoulder with their peers and teams 鈥� both at home and in school and now as they embark on their professional journey. No challenge is too big for them to handle, and no situation too daunting.

The gender empowerment that I鈥檓 witnessing in my personal life, is being mirrored in my professional sphere as well.

I am truly proud of being a part of 麻豆原创 India where 25-30 percent of senior leadership positions are held by women, purely succeeding through their skills, intellect, hard work, and merit. In fact, many of our initiatives have been directed at encouraging an equitable workplace, by enabling equality as a human right. At 麻豆原创 India, we have always believed that the power of knowledge and intellect is a cornerstone for empowerment. Our internship opportunities enable young women and men to gain exposure of the real world and traverse through an excellent learning curve. The 鈥楤ack to Work鈥� program we were the 1st ones to introduce in India is aimed at women who are planning to re-enter the workforce 鈥� to facilitate them with a smooth transition and return – to the corporate world.

While dismantling the barriers lurking in the corridors of power, we are also working towards extending this commitment to the larger ecosystem out there. After all equity is as essential as equality, and for that, efforts need to trickle to the bottom of the barrel.

We have been supporting girl children and women through various touchpoints like education and skilling and making concerted efforts to eliminate gender inequality right at the grassroots. Quality education integrating STEM and digital inclusion are keys to enabling underprivileged girl children counter gender inequality. That is exactly what 麻豆原创 India鈥檚 Code Unnati does. The emphasis of this program as the word 鈥楿nnati鈥� means is on prosperity, empowerment, and development. It is our flagship initiative, a corporate-to-citizen collaboration which offers literacy in digital and IT skills to foster digital inclusion in India. The beauty of the program is it is an inclusive corporate to corporate initiative in partnership with Larsen & Toubro, ITC, Mahindra & Mahindra expanding it with Project Nanhi Kali. We have also launched a joint skilling program called TechSaksham in partnership with Microsoft for Underserved Young Women, authorizing them to build careers in artificial intelligence, cloud computing, web design, and digital marketing. A mindset change and a coordinated effort at the grassroots goes a long way in fostering gender equality to materialize at home.

The fact of the matter, however, remains, that no one organization or individual can turn the tide alone. Collective action is the key to enduring change. There is a dire need to pool in the collaborative strength of corporate and large players of every industry to ring in change at the national, regional, and local levels. If companies can make grassroots activism as one of their agenda, there is no reason why we can鈥檛 achieve equality for the sustainable development of our great country.

As a father of two, I would like my daughters to flourish in an equal land, where disparity and discrimination based on gender lies far behind us as a relic of the past, which is exactly what it is. The future of our proud nation should be built equally on the shoulders of women and men alike. It will only be then, that the nation will march forth to claim the greatness that has always been expected of her.

(The above authored has been penned down by Kulmeet Bawa, President & Managing Director, 麻豆原创 Indian Subcontinent)

Source: http://bwpeople.businessworld.in/article/Gender-Equality-A-Strong-Anchor-For-Our-Nation-s-Progress/22-08-2022-443245/

The post Gender Equality: A Strong Anchor For Our Nation鈥檚 Progress appeared first on 麻豆原创 India News Center.

According to the World Bank, global procurement spend in 2019 was at least USD 14 trillion. By directing even just a small fraction of this spend to certified social enterprises and diverse businesses, organizations have the power to tackle some of the world鈥檚 most pressing social and environmental problems.

Based on early pilots in select markets, 麻豆原创 estimates it could direct up to USD 60 million of its addressable global spend per year to social enterprises and diverse suppliers by 2025. Among DAX companies, this figure is estimated at approximately EUR 2.5 billion, and across U.S. Fortune 500 companies up to USD 25 billion.

麻豆原创 Executive Board member for Customer Success and recently appointed Global Buy Social Ambassador for Social Enterprise UK Adaire Fox-Martin announced the 5 & 5 by 鈥�25 initiative at 麻豆原创鈥檚 Procurement Reimagined event in Singapore.

鈥淓very company in every industry needs to procure,鈥� Fox-Martin said. 鈥淲e all need soap in our washrooms, landscaping for our offices, food and drink in our cafeterias, marketing services and office supplies. These and many more are all products and services provided by social enterprises and diverse businesses. This is money we are spending anyway. Why not spend it with suppliers who are delivering social impact as well?鈥�

Social enterprises are businesses culturally and operationally focused on changing the world. They are similar to other commercially viable businesses, but with three crucial differences: They are founded and governed on the basis of a clear social or environmental mission; they reinvest the majority of their profit back into this mission; and they are majority controlled solely in the interest of this mission. A diverse supplier is a business that is at least 51 percent owned and operated by an individual or group that is part of a traditionally underrepresented or underserved demographic; such as women-owned businesses, minority-owned businesses and indigenous-owned businesses, among others.

鈥淭ogether with our customers, partners,聽diverse suppliers聽and social enterprises, we have set out to expand social procurement where infrastructure exists and聽intend to聽establish the infrastructure and build capacity where it doesn鈥檛,鈥� Fox-Martin added. 鈥淲e invite our entire ecosystem to learn more and take part, join us in this initiative, and help build the pathways and the momentum to聽realize聽this聽ambition聽and聽find聽a better way to grow.鈥�

To learn more, read 鈥�Social Procurement: Finding a Better Way to Grow,鈥� by Fox-Martin.

Visit the聽麻豆原创 News Center. Follow 麻豆原创 on Twitter at聽.

About 5 & 5 by聽鈥�25

5 & 5 by 鈥�25 is an initiative by 麻豆原创 designed to encourage organizations across industries to direct more of their addressable spend toward certified social-enterprise and diverse-business suppliers. In joining the initiative, organizations agree to formalize their exploration of social procurement, including partnering with leading intermediaries, adopting social-procurement policies, consuming goods and services from purposeful suppliers, and expanding their engagement with more social enterprises and diverse businesses. The goal is to reach 5 percent of annual addressable procurement spend with social enterprises and with diverse businesses by 2025 and in doing so make significant impact on social inequalities and environmental imperatives. 5 & 5 by 鈥�25 is part of the 麻豆原创 One Billion Lives program, focused on promoting greater inclusion of social entrepreneurship in the global economy. For more information, visit聽

About 麻豆原创

麻豆原创鈥檚 strategy is to help every business run as an intelligent enterprise. As a market leader in enterprise application software, we help companies of all sizes and in all industries run at their best: 77% of the world鈥檚 transaction revenue touches an 麻豆原创庐 system. Our machine learning, Internet of Things (IoT), and advanced analytics technologies help turn customers鈥� businesses into intelligent enterprises. 麻豆原创 helps give people and organizations deep business insight and fosters collaboration that helps them stay ahead of their competition. We simplify technology for companies so they can consume our software the way they want 鈥� without disruption. Our end-to-end suite of applications and services enables business and public customers across 25 industries globally to operate profitably, adapt continuously, and make a difference. With a global network of customers, partners, employees, and thought leaders, 麻豆原创 helps the world run better and improve people鈥檚 lives. For more information, visit聽

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*Addressable spend (as opposed to total spend) includes only a company鈥檚 orders for goods and services that can be fulfilled by a social enterprise or diverse business. For specific goods and services such as rent, energy, labor and some professional services, often neither social enterprises nor diverse businesses yet exist that provide them. Estimates based on assessments of 麻豆原创鈥檚 own spend suggest that between 10 percent and 30 percent of total spend could be designated as addressable spend, depending on country.

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The post 麻豆原创 Launches 5 & 5 by 鈥�25 Initiative, Rallying Businesses to Spend More with Social Enterprises and Diverse Suppliers appeared first on 麻豆原创 India News Center.