Becky Schmitt - July 6, 2020 - 1143 views

The pandemic, as well as heightened social unrest spawned by the death of George Floyd, has upended work routines for employees and leaders alike. What hasn’t changed is our need to feel we belong at work. As we power through a “new normal,” I think it’s critical for employees to feel welcome, included, valued and […]

Sonya McLaughlin - December 19, 2019 - 659 views

As head of diversity and inclusion for management recruitment in the U.S., I’m always on the lookout for new avenues for finding talent.  Like many companies, we’re taking steps to open up our hiring process so that we reach out to more nontraditional and under-represented candidates. Last summer, I had the privilege of attending the […]

Justin Jesudas - May 23, 2019 - 1634 views

In 2009, just as I joined Cognizant through an acquisition, a car accident left me paralyzed from the neck down. At 29 years old, and in a split second, everything changed: I was completely paralyzed in my chest, abdomen, legs and hands, and partially paralyzed in my wrists and elbows. I still had full shoulder […]

Robert H. Brown - February 20, 2019 - 338 views

In 2010, Martin Sheen starred in The Way, an underrated but beautiful film. His character is a curmudgeonly, set-in-his-ways, late-middle-age, Type A workaholic from Los Angeles. A series of events lands him on El Camino de Santiago (translated into English as “The Way”), where circumstances compel him to interact — in life-affirming ways — with […]

Paul Roehrig - February 12, 2019 - 563 views

The website said: “The 2019 MAKERS Conference is a global women’s leadership event that brings together the most powerful names in business, entertainment, tech, and finance to explore ways to accelerate the movement with compelling videos, provocative conversations, and onstage pledges for change.” I read this as I was preparing to head to the MAKERS […]

Kathryn Nash - January 30, 2019 - 171 views

I vividly remember my first visit to the Lower Eastside Girls Club (LESGC) in November 2015. My Uber driver inquired, “Does this look like the right place?” Looking around, I felt a bit swallowed up by the endless rows of ruddy-colored brick tenements lining the narrow streets that crisscross the Lower East Side. I thanked […]

Michael Cook - January 25, 2019 - 225 views

Organizations are on an ongoing mission to create inclusive and diverse workplaces; however, many are still struggling to make this happen — and, as a result, missing out on whole pools of talent. Both consciously and unconsciously, many organizations’ hiring processes still suffer from the “comfort­able clone syndrome,” i.e., selecting talent that looks the same, […]

Feather Hickox - January 8, 2019 - 505 views

Let’s flip the idea of the childrearing career penalty for women on its head: What if being a working mom was seen as a career enhancement? Think about it for a moment. When men become working dads, they’re seen as settling down, getting grounded, reaching maturity. We perceive their family focus as a step forward […]

Ben Pring - December 19, 2018 - 155 views

Against the struggles of racism and sexism, ageism may seem a minor concern. But prejudice against older folks is a real issue and one that should be considered in any survey of diversity and inclusion. I know ageism is real, because I’ve long been ageist. I feel emboldened to admit this because so many of […]

Colleen Doherty - December 6, 2018 - 236 views

At the best small companies, inclusion happens naturally. Colleagues are few in number and often just a desk away. Everyone feels like they belong. When it comes to company culture, and especially employee engagement, large companies have to try harder. At service providers like Cognizant, where employees spend a lot of time at client sites, […]