Promoting Inclusion and Diversity Among Employees
As featured in Qualcomm's 2020 Corporate Responsibility Report
Qualcomm continued to expand its programs and activities promoting our inclusive and diverse culture among employees globally. GID’s support extends to our eight strong and vibrant Employee Networks (ENs), which added eight chapters globally while also increasing their domestic membership. Among domestic ENs, our African and African American Diversity (QAAAD) EN increased its membership more than 170 percent.
We increased global diversity awareness by hosting inclusion and diversity events all over the world. We also designated GID Regional Leads in global regions where we have a significant employee presence. These leads provide more support to the specific issues faced in the regions.
Normally, Qualcomm holds large events for Black History Month, International Women’s Day, Hispanic Heritage Month, Memorial Day, Pride and many more. During the COVID-19 pandemic, these events moved virtual. This format also allowed us to include global employees, and increase attendance, for our events.
Racial Justice
In the wake of George Floyd’s killing and the ensuing civil unrest around racial injustice, we created opportunities for employees and leaders throughout our organization to come together and talk about what they were seeing, hearing, and feeling.
We held listening sessions to give our communities of color the opportunity to speak directly to our senior leaders. We hosted employee forums for QAAAD and LatinQ, our Latinx EN, to brainstorm ways to address the needs of people of color. We invited speakers, including Ibram X. Kendi, one of America’s foremost historians and leading antiracist voices, to talk about systemic racism, the black experience in America and how to be an anti-racist.
We created a racial justice site on our intranet to give employees information and tools to fight racial injustice. We also created targeted development plans to increase black leadership within our Company.
We increased our charitable giving to racial justice organizations, including the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under the Law, Black Girls Code, Equal Justice Initiative, I have a Dream Foundation, Climate Justice Alliance, and the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation. We also directed and matched employee donations to other nonprofits addressing racial justice.
Promoting inclusion and diversity in the community
Inclusion and diversity are at the heart of Qualcomm’s success. We further innovation and accelerate growth by reaching out to diverse communities to promote equity. We have many successful partnerships locally, domestically, and globally, including schools, charitable organizations, and nonprofits.
We donate to nonprofit organizations locally and nationally that focus on inclusion and diversity with a particular focus on charities that focus on increasing diversity in tech. In 2020, we increased our standing in the San Diego community by becoming the lead sponsor for organizations such as The Richard Tapia Celebration of Diversity in Computing Conference.
We’ve created impact in the black community through community events, mentoring and academic support. We’ve sponsored Black History Month events and Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebrations. We partner with Beyond School Walls (Big Brothers Big Sisters) to mentor kids from historically underserved communities. We partner with Students with Academic Goals to provide SAT test prep for underrepresented minority students. We also work with NSBE and GEM to support Black engineering students with scholarships.
To learn more about Qualcomm’s 2025 goals and ESG performance in 2020, access the full report here.
