Intel pledges $500 million towards women-owned businesses

For International Women's Day 2021, US-based tech company Intel pledged $500 million (€420.3 million) in funding towards diversifying its supply chain by including women and other underrepresented minorities by the end of 2025 and working towards goals of sustainability.

Coming as part of WEConnect International's Rise2theChallenge campaign which commenced on March 8, it sees a conglomeration of more than 110 multinational organisations coming together to set targets for advancing opportunities for women-owned businesses around the world.

Read more: Supply chains for a sustainable future: IE talks with Intel's Megan Stowe

The campaign encourages these organisations to publicly commit funding or a project to help advance these opportunities for women around the world.

Within both the corporate and government spheres, the average funding allocation towards women or minority-led companies sits at around 1% of the total supply budget. In the US alone, women-led businesses account for nearly 30% of all companies, according to one report.

According to official data from the Treasury, one-in-three entrepreneurs in the UK are female, which represents a gender gap encompassing roughly 1.1 million companies.

Within its sphere, Intel has the Responsible Inclusive Sustainable and Enabling biotechnology and people (RISE) programme, which looks to double the number of women and underrepresented minorities in senior positions within the company.

"As a personal goal, I want to inspire and make a difference to other women," says Intel's director for channel products and strategic sourcing, and the head of its International Supplier Diversity Programme, Megan Stowe.

Stowe is currently involved in several DNI programmes within Intel, which actively seek to empower and train women to help them move up the company's ranks.

"Supply chain diversity is about more than just diversifying your supply chain with small and medium businesses. It's really about making an impact and opening those doors to those who may be part of an ethnic minority or women-owned business and driving that programme forward because it directly impacts economic empowerment," she added.

According to a study released by the International Labour Organisation (ILO), reducing the gender gap in labour participation could stand to increase global GDP by $5.3 trillion (€4.86 billion) by 2025.

The report claims the economic impacts of closing the participation gap could also increase tax revenue by almost $1.4 trillion, which hints at the potential self-financing effects of plugging the gap.

Gaps in equality are bad for business from both a consumer and supply point of view, as excluding a particular market may also disincentivise potential consumer groups from investing in a particular firm. "Optics," as this is known, also plays a large role in the public consciousness.

In 2014, G20 leaders devised the "25 by 25" scheme - a commitment to reducing the gender participation gap by 25% by 2025.

The effects the gap could have on women would also be seen beyond their personal professional lives by also having economic benefits as well as on their personal welfare.

Read more: Automakers may have to overhaul supply chains to address chip shortage

Stowe said: "There are huge opportunities for us to put investment into women-owned businesses or diverse suppliers and understanding that market and giving them that opportunity to win the business, which, in turn, gives us a competitive edge.

"We work all over the world. We focus on our top countries and we are currently operating in 24 countries outside of the US in places such as Asia, parts of Europe, Israel and the like. We rely on country leads and champions to help drive the business in those areas."

She added there were problems in various areas, such as when looking to invest in businesses run by disabled people - which often overlaps with medical needs, which may be an invasion of privacy - or looking into businesses led by LGBTQ+ individuals, which is a comparatively fledgeling sector.

"I like to think women bring a different perspective to the workplace," she added. "It's very important in the Big Tech world that we're transparent with one another and it's very important to show women and girls that there are career paths and opportunities for them within these companies."

Several tech companies are working on metrics, such as a Diversity Index to help measure the progress companies are making in terms of equality and diversity in senior positions which also help to gauge technology, accessibility and equal pay.

The natural march of progress dictates the world will become more "tolerant" and equal by default as each generation succeeds the previous one and are more likely to embrace change.

It is likely the landscape will shift over the next few decades and will see workplaces transform and be far more evenly distributed from our current norms.

Stowe believes role models in the workplace are a good starting point to encourage women into fields they normally wouldn't consider viable career options.

She said: "I believe education and school can play a big role if they adapt some of the ways they teach - perhaps looking at things more holistically - and encouraging problem solving and hands-on experience. I think it's promoting where science fits into every aspect of life.

"Companies can and should also continue driving their community and volunteering programmes in schools. It is vital for companies to be very proactive with these shifts and help to improve the talent pipeline and retention rates.

Read more: Diversity in European firms doubled throughout the pandemic

"One key thing is the fact that companies don't need to do all the direct investment on their part. It may be vital for key companies to ask their suppliers to drive those programmes across the supply chain."

Intel operates a very strong "Tier 2" programme which stipulates in its terms and conditions to fill out supplier management support cards to let other suppliers and companies know what steps they are taking.

In some instances, the tech giant stipulates that a percentage of the funding granted must be spent on diverse suppliers, which could have an impact on the retention rates of supplier diversity.

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