While women account for 40-45% of the global workforce, just 25-30% of technology jobs are estimated to be held by women.
As part of our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), we empower and support our women professionals through mentoring programs that open career pathways. These programs instill greater confidence in both mentees and mentors, and help guide women through challenges to advance their careers.
We know that more diverse companies are better at hiring, engaging and retaining talent in a very competitive market. They also perform better and bring broader perspectives for decision making. Mentoring is a proven strategy to help close the gender gap in career development and leadership.
Following are examples of our women mentoring programs around the world.
Unnati in India
In India, the Unnati program (Unnati means “progress”) provides a platform for high-performing women at the senior consultant level to develop leadership competencies. The program begins with personal reflection and goal setting and progresses to focus on interpersonal success in the workplace.
More than 200 of our women professionals have participated in the Unnati journey thus far, with the goal of creating a pipeline of women equipped with the ability, engagement, and aspiration for future management roles.
Career advocacy in the U.S.
Our career advocate program in the U.S. helps women expand their networks, improve leadership skills, and drive their career development. This unique seven-month program includes reverse mentoring, where senior leaders can learn from early-career members, providing leadership with new perspectives.
The program also includes small group mentoring cohorts with opportunities to connect with members with similar goals, and mentoring communities that host events and promote allyship and engagement.
EmpowHER and Womentor in Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and Finland
Women professionals in Finland, Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden can join the EmpowHER program, which fosters leadership potential, expands professional networks, and develops the careers of women. With a focus on motivation, this six-month program for women at the senior consultant level and above consists of mentoring, workshops, and networking events.
CGI in Sweden also participates in the Womentor initiative, which commits us to standing up for change and inspiring others in the industry to do the same. Members of our Swedish management team volunteer their time and knowledge as mentors. Womentor businesses agree to the common goal of 40% women IT and telecom managers by 2025.
The A Effect in Canada and France
Additionally, in Canada and France, we offer The A Effect (A for Ambition) program to promote gender equity and talent enablement. Combining inspiration and action through reflections, workshops, challenges, and introspection, A Effect launched in Canada in 2017 and has graduated 62 participants so far. The program came to France in 2019 and currently has almost 70 managers and directors participating in its fourth cohort.
