Embracing Diversity, Promoting Inclusivity, Inspiring Connectivity

 

Article authored by CommScope, Exclusive Sponsor of The WICT Network’s Pulse, for the December 2022 issue

CommScope’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion continues to be a central focus throughout our company. CommScope created the DIBN (Diversity and Inclusion Business Network) in 2020, which aims to foster an inclusive workplace that embraces diversity. This focus leads to a stronger company by embracing our differences and understanding that our diversity is one of our greatest assets. We believe that a continued focus on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), coupled with our partnership with The WICT Network will continue to keep CommScope, and our employees, on the cutting edge of what is important to create an inclusive environment.

Currently, there are over 1,800 global DIBN members. The governing body, sponsored by two CommScope executives, is championed by a volunteer-based Leadership Council (LC) consisting of 16 leaders. The LC sets the vision and programming for DIBN, with heavy reliance on 80+ DIBN ambassadors who provide DIBN reach across the globe. There is an online portal for members to access DEI resources and DIBN works closely with our Talent and Organization Development group to recruit diverse talent and assists with developing our employees to grow to be inclusive leaders. While CommScope has a holistic approach to diversity and inclusion, we do have a sub-group called RISE, that focuses on early career professionals and their development.

Looking back on 2022, CommScope achieved two significant company-awareness DEI milestones.

In February 2022, we joined the CEO Action for Diversity and Inclusion coalition, which affirms our commitment to advance DEI principles in the workplace. CommScope is one of only 30 companies within the telecommunications market to sign the CEO Action for Diversity and Inclusion pledge. Mid-year, we created and implemented a DEI awareness campaign. The mission of this campaign was to educate employees of creating space to hold open dialogues when it comes to inclusion. The campaign covered topics such as equality vs. equity, unconscious bias, microaggressions and allyship. The content was delivered through a webinar series and received over 5,000 views. The campaign was extended to the hourly population in the manufacturing plant in Reynosa, Mexico with 2,750 participants.

The guiding post of The WICT Network cannot be underestimated as part of our recent journey. CommScope has taken additional steps to continue and expand our presence within The WICT Network. Leslie Miles, Vice President and Chief Transformation Office, serves on The WICT Network’s Board of Directors and has fostered The WICT Network membership growth within CommScope. Recently, employees at our corporate headquarters in in Hickory, NC joined The WICT Network: Carolinas chapter. In addition to local participation, these employees participated in mentoring circles with other members from the local Carolinas chapter, to both network and connect with other industry members. These mentoring circles have been a great success and our employees have found these mentoring sessions informative and rewarding for their personal growth.

We had some firsts in 2022 as part of our partnership with The WICT Network. We worked closely with the organization to set up a membership portal page that is set to launch in Q1 2023. This customized portal access will make it easier for new and renewing members to access information about The WICT Network with greater ease. We are also proud of our engagement in the PAR Workplace Diversity Survey for the first time. We are excited to have joined forces with our customers and other suppliers in the industry to advance DEI.

We ended 2022 strong on our DEI journey. In early October, CommScope sponsored over a dozen employees to experience the learning and networking at The WICT Network Leadership Conference. A significant highlight during that conference was seeing CommScope’s very own Urvi Shah, Vice President, Global Key Account Marketing, selected as the 2022 Woman to Watch – Technology. CommScope is very proud of Urvi on this tremendous achievement. Urvi has been a leader within CommScope for advancing our DIBN network, and currently is the co-leader of DIBN. Also at the conference, Julia Levy, Director, Global Talent Acquisition, participated in a leadership roundtable and shared her insights regarding the talent life cycle, corporate social responsibility and managing diverse teams.

In late September, we sponsored two CommScope executives to embark on their leadership development journeys as part of the esteemed Betsy Magness Leadership InstituteClass 47. We congratulate Su Guaglianone, Vice President, Global Marketing – Networking, Intelligent Cellular and Security Solutions and Urvi Shah on this wonderful achievement.

As we progress in to 2023, we are excited for where the journey will take us next. CommScope looks forward to building upon our accomplishments to date and will continue to be committed to be an inclusive workplace. We look to continue our collaboration with The WICT Network as an important part to achieve this goal.

Article published: December 20, 2022