Achieving gender parity in technology with Thomson Reuters

Our purpose at Thomson Reuters is to inform the way forward, and one of the ways we do this is by powering professionals. We believe that well-informed professionals find greater success in their calling and are essential to help society move forward.

 

 

So when we realized that we had an opportunity to create greater parity and power for our own female professionals in India, we knew we had to act.

 

An opportunity in the cloud

Over the last several years, Thomson Reuters has initiated a cloud-first strategy, and with it came a need to upskill and reskill our existing talent – thus, the Nuvola Academy was born, an internal training program focused on developing these necessary cloud skills.

We also saw major opportunity to increase equity and representation within the organization. Technology jobs across all industries have historically skewed male and with our shift to a cloud-first strategy, we saw a chance to address that gender disparity. For us to have a well-rounded and diverse company, we need to strive to reach parity in our numbers of male and female technologists.

We want to make sure that regardless of who they are, people can select opportunities of their choosing.

 

Upskilling women in India

To achieve this vision of parity, our Indian branch of the internal mentoring group Women at Thomson Reuters (W@TR) partnered with the Nuvola Academy and created a cloud training program specifically tailored for women in India.

The goal of this program was to provide women with an opportunity to learn cloud skills and fundamental technology skills in a group of all women, thus creating a focused environment for them to learn and grow. The introductory cloud course had no prerequisites, making it open exclusively to women, while two cohorts focused on architecture were also created.

The response to the program was overwhelming, with more interest than expected. To accommodate the interest, the number of introductory all-women cloud skills and fundamental technology skills courses was tripled. The training began in early July 2022 and concluded at the end of September. The women who participated in the program reported feeling more confident in their skills and motivated to take their careers forward.

This program not only empowered women to speak up and take on new challenges, but also provided them with a clear path to grow their careers. It also showed that by making training female-focused, women felt more comfortable stepping forward and signing up. As a result, they were more confident in applying for promotions, which is crucial for increasing female representation, especially in technology leadership roles.

 

The importance of creating opportunities for women

It is essential to have female representation at all levels and in all organizational areas. People want to see someone like them so that they can visualize a possible career path. Therefore, it is important to remove barriers to accessing these opportunities.

On this International Women’s Day, we are resolutely committed to creating a more equitable and inclusive world for women, and to empowering them with the resources and opportunities they need to succeed.

As we look to the future, we will continue the momentum we have started. We will continue to seek out learning opportunities where women can continue to grow their skills and stretch their boundaries.  We will encourage mentoring opportunities for women to connect with each other, grow their networks, and learn from one another.

We want women to be the faces the next generation looks at to see what is possible.

 

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