Diversity & Inclusion
Making the workplace safe for employees living with HIV
The recent promising news about Covid-19 vaccines is in sharp contrast to the absence of a vaccine for HIV, despite decades of research. Unlike Covid-19 with a single viral isolate that shows minimal diversity, HIV circulates in a wide range of strains that so far have proven impervious to a single vaccine. Fortunately, more people […]
Call for Code for Racial Justice Needs You: Join the Movement
IBM has never avoided taking on big challenges. At IBM, we are privileged to drive impact at scale. We take on challenges that transform our clients, impact people’s lives and innovate for future generations as we strive to effect systematic societal change. Over the course of our 109-year history, the evidence has become clear that […]
Words Matter: Driving Thoughtful Change Toward Inclusive Language in Technology
Words shape our worldview, how we regard others, and how we make others feel. Right now, in the midst of a health and societal crisis, we are at a pivot point where people are willing to not only talk about our hard-wired issues of systemic racism and bias but to take action. While common expressions […]
ADA at 30: Colleagues With Diverse Abilities Make Us All Stronger
Thirty years ago, three thousand people gathered on the lawn of the White House to watch President George H.W. Bush sign legislation that finally, after years of struggle, gave people with diverse abilities equal rights and access. With the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act (the ADA) on July 26, 1990, daily life promised […]
Gender Pronouns: How Small Words Make a Big Difference
What’s in a pronoun? Does he, him, his not apply to every person who is perceived as a male? Or she, her, hers to a perceived female? In our non-binary world, they do not. For non-binary or genderqueer individuals, and those who relate to gender in a fluid way, to be misgendered can be a […]
Taking on Racism With Call for Code Employee Challenge
The events and reactions sparked by the recent killings in the United States are a reminder of the urgency of dealing with systemic racism. IBM is taking action and increasing efforts to ensure technology is used appropriately and productively to deal with racial inequality, beginning with an internal Call for Code Emb(race) Spot Challenge for […]
The Supreme Court Decision Is a Landmark. Let’s Take the Next Steps Toward Full Inclusion.
The Supreme Court’s landmark decision on Monday, that the 1964 Civil Rights Act protects LGBT+ employees from workplace discrimination, was a watershed event for the LGBT+ community and our allies nationwide. For IBMers, it feels like the world is finally making progress on an issue we have been focused on for decades. Since 1984, when sexual […]
Paying it Forward During Women’s History Month 2020
The next generation of women will ask one simple question of us – did we make the world better for them? As I reflect during this Women’s History Month, I truly believe there has never been a better time to be a woman, and there has never been a better time to make progress together. […]
Putting Diversity to Work in Data Science
Gender diversity of data scientists has been cited as an issue by many sources. According to The Burch Works Study of Data Scientists, only 15% of data scientists are female and the percentage of females in data scientist manager roles (<10%) is much less than that of early professionals (> 20%). This data is consistent […]
Making the Case for Gender Affirmation Benefits
One of the hardest conflicts a person can face in life is when the gender they were assigned at birth differs from the gender they identify with. The burdens posed by gender transitioning including changing birth certificates, medical procedures, and altering ways of speaking, walking and dressing can be truly daunting. A person transitioning may […]
Celebrating a Historic First: Augusta National Women’s Amateur
First held in 1934, the Masters Golf Tournament is played each spring in Augusta, Georgia. It’s an event steeped in history and tradition, hosted by the world-famous Augusta National Golf Club and with the winner receiving a coveted Green Jacket. For over 20 years, IBM has been a proud partner of the Masters, pioneering the […]
Celebrating Neurodiversity
World Autism Awareness Day ushers in a month of heightened awareness of neurodiversity issues at the national and global levels. As the neurotypical population seeks to increase its understanding of issues related to Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), it is important to recognize and appreciate the diversity within the ASD community. Individuals with ASD or other […]