Taking a Holistic Approach: Diversity Advice from Accenture

By Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

“I would first start off by saying we are very comprehensive,” explained LaMae Allen deJongh, managing director of U.S. Human Capital & Diversity at Accenture. “We emphasize inclusiveness, not only of diversity you can see, but also diversity that is invisible. Different interests and backgrounds are what make it special for us.”

She continued, “Regardless of the type of diversity we are talking about, at Accenture we work to integrate and embed it into the fabric of our organization – it’s part of our DNA.”

Accenture, recently named one of DiversityInc’s Top 50 Companies for Diversity for the fourth consecutive year, has, for many years, focused on building gender diversity. Now, as deJongh explained, the organization is moving into a new phase of diversity – from a programatic focus toward a more holistic approach.

She explained, “We continue to evolve. From my optics, achieving embedding is the next stage of maturity.” How can the holistic approach work for your firm? DeJongh has offered several tips based on her own experience at Accenture that may work for your company.

Deliberate Diversity

“What I would offer to others who are looking to progress [in gender diversity] is to be deliberate,” deJongh said. One of the keys to Accenture’s successful diversity initiative has been the company’s dedication to being deliberate throughout the talent management lifecycle of new employees – attraction, development, and retention. DeJongh explained, “We are very deliberate in where we look for attracting new employees – above and beyond the entry level as well.”

Next she said, “we are deliberate in the curriculum” for employee development. “We want to ensure the positioning of our women.”

The last aspect of the management lifecycle is retention. In 1995, Accenture launched its woman’s initiative, deJongh explained, as “a forum for women to network and find a support base, establish connections, and discuss topics of interest.”

She continued, “As we’ve continued to grow, it is important that what we do put in place is sustainable.” The women’s network continues to be “built upon feedback” regarding its curriculum, material investment, and programs, like Accenture’s annual celebration of International Woman’s Day, as well as research done by the company such as its recent study Women Leaders and Resilience: Perspectives from the C-Suite.

“The point of evolution,” said deJongh, “is that we are now working to institute diversity into the day to day workings of Accenture.”

One area Accenture is looking to improve is its human resources pipeline management. DeJongh explained that the company has begun “monitoring the position of women early in their careers, how they are moving on a trajectory and providing the appropriate opportunities and interventions.”

The key to holistic diversity, she explained, is “that we can’t do this programatically. It’s about how we think about diversity in the day to day processes.”

Challenge – Making it Sticky

As a global company, Accenture faces a few challenges in implementing a gender diversity program. First of all, deJongh expressed, “We’re a large company of individuals. Not everyone values the same things. Amongst our women there are a lot of differences.” The other challenge is a matter of scale. “There are approximately 181,000 people at Accenture. We have to make sure the impact is sustainable.”

Sustainability is important to Accenture. DeJongh said, “what we do is help our clients bring forth high performance that is sticky and sustainable. It underlies our mission and permeates everything else we do.” It also underlies the holistic approach to gender diversity deJongh has been working toward.

Part of the reason the topic has been so “sticky” is that the commitment to gender diversity comes from the top, and from within the company ranks. “Gender diversity commitment does start at the top and cascades down,” deJongh explained. “And given the culture we have here,” she said, “it’s about feeling empowered. There has been quite a lot of interest amongst women to forge an effort to create opportunities from networks. The good came from both directions.”

Accenture’s success in diversity comes from deliberate, long-term planning, an integrated approach, and commitment both from the top and from within the organization. Is your company working toward a holistic approach to gender diversity? DeJongh explained, “It’s definitely a journey, and we are still on the journey.”