Diversity and inclusion are important topics and we at BearingPoint believe they should be considered both internally and externally as part of a larger society. Externally, we are active in hosting events aiming to empower women to apply to technology and management consulting fields and providing role models with inspiring career stories. Internally, we are constantly looking for ways to make the workplace more inclusive by applying a diversity perspective to everything we do, be it internal policies or development opportunities.
One of the events we have hosted recently is our annual tradition, Ladies’ Champagne Tasting, organized around International Women’s Day. We invited a group of talented female students to enjoy champagne with us and discuss their career aspirations with our female consultants. We wanted to encourage women to apply to the field of consulting and from the larger perspective, to the field of technology, which have both traditionally been male-dominated fields. In addition to exploring these topics with the students, Master of Wine, Essi Avellan, introduced different champagnes and shared fascinating stories about great vineyards and champagne competitions (also male-dominated fields). We were glad to hear that the discussions encouraged the female students to consider applying for consultancy.
In addition to hosting events independently, we became a member of the Women in Tech Finland network. The network aims at promoting technology careers for women, and we are excited to take part in empowering women to realize their potential. Our first Women in Tech breakfast seminar was organized around change management and cloud transformation themes. With our office full of experts from different fields of technology, we had inspiring discussions about the topic with the participants.
Along with fostering gender equality on a societal level, we promote diversity internally as well. Our internal female network meets regularly to discuss interesting topics and offers a place for our women to share their experiences and get to know each other better. As a family friendly workplace, we host family events where our employees are invited to bring their children and spouses to an informal gathering and enjoy fun activities together. We support our mothers by offering them a Mothers in Business membership to help them combine family and work. In addition, we have recently rolled out unconscious bias trainings available for all employees, aiming to raise self-awareness on potential biases effecting daily decision-making processes.
Diversity is also present in our employees’ various educational and professional backgrounds, personal interests and ways of thinking and working. We encourage our people to explore their passions through a mentorship-like development path and to utilize their own capabilities in building new businesses and developing our practice. All in all, we fully believe that by recognizing and valuing differences, we become a stronger, more dynamic and more innovative team.
Heta Hartikainen, Business Consultant & CSR Responsible
Leena Venermo, Head of Finnish HR
Minttu-Nelli Ulmanen, Business Analyst