In the Spotlight: Nirupama Guruprasad
Nirupama Guruprasad, Chief Administrative Officer of Wells Fargo India, is being honored as an Individual D&I Champion Award recipient for leading the country's 'Glide' program.
Can you tell us a little about the initiative that you received this recognition for?
I am the owner and sponsor of the Glide Program, which is the career returnship program for women that we run in Wells Fargo India. Glide enables women who have taken a break in their careers for various reasons linked to life events to come back into the workforce. This program was designed as a part of our constant efforts towards achieving a balanced workforce composition, especially at mid- to senior levels, and the program has run for three years and has been receiving good feedback so far. It is structured in such a way that women can 'glide' into the workforce in a steady manner and then get integrated into mainstream work areas.
Some unique features of the six-month Glide program include half-day working in the first month; training on aspects that are relevant to make the team member who has been on a break feel comfortable and confident about coming back into the work world; senior leader connects and orientation towards the organization culture and values.
Apart from the evident goal of the program to provide an opportunity for women to rejoin the workforce, it also provides an alternate talent pool for our organization, especially in the technology area where there is a dearth of supply in the industry. The entire initiative is supported by a dedicated team that works on generating the demand, sourcing the talent and then providing the inputs to set them up for success.
I am also the lead for the gender pillar in the D&I Council in Wells Fargo India & Philippines. We have undertaken many initiatives as part of the same efforts to strengthen the focus on D&I through focused measures for attracting, growing and retaining diverse talent. Over the past few years, Wells Fargo has received industry recognition for being one of the top 100 best companies for women in India, in part due to the Glide program, gender-inclusive policies and benefits, and some of our Women's Team Member Network initiatives.
What inspires you to promote diversity and inclusion in the workplace?
I am a firm believer that D&I is not a 'good to have' but a 'must have' for any organization or team to succeed. It is sound business strategy, especially as organizations transform. In my view, D&I is necessary to ensure that we are able to provide the best returns to all stakeholders. A diverse and inclusive workplace is a fun and learning organization; both qualities are a necessity to build resilient, future-proof organizations.
In particular, the Glide career returnship program is close to my heart since I have personally benefitted significantly when I had to take time off during my career. At the time, I had strong sponsors who ensured that I could keep my career on track by providing the necessary flexibility as well as believing in my inherent capabilities when I was ready to return full-time. I see the formal returnship program as a way to institutionalize the 'customized' sponsorship that I benefitted from many years ago.
What advice would you give others who want to get involved in diversity and inclusion?
- Understand the 'purpose' of D&I, its importance and the role that each member of the organization plays in ensuring a culture of inclusion which enables diverse talent to be retained and to contribute effectively to organization strategies and goals.
- Start at an individual level. Become aware of your own biases and figure out ways to overcome them. Ensure that your teams have diverse talent and that the talent is included and heard to ensure that the benefits of diversity are realized.
- Become a sponsor / champion for any of the initiatives in which you can contribute best. Advocate loudly, even if just within your own circle.
- Help in strengthening the D&I culture in the organization by being a role model.