Women in tech highlighted at Sun Life Global Solutions Philippines’ new DEI career plan

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MANILA, PHILIPPINES — Sun Life Global Solutions (SLGS) Philippines, the Global Capability Center (GCC) of the global insurance and asset management leader Sun Life, is celebrating this year’s International Women’s Month by further championing Women in Tech through a more comprehensive Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEI&B) career plan.

Over the years, SLGS has emerged as a talent and innovation hub, driving seamless digital transformation and providing technology, knowledge services, and business services to Sun Life businesses globally. In its continued commitment to empowering its talent, SLGS strives to foster an environment where all employees are treated fairly and respectfully at work and in communities, where everyone has equal access to opportunities and resources. SLGS wants its employees to feel accepted, valued, and connected with the organization.

This has been the motivation behind their comprehensive DEI&B programs which are mapped across the complete employee life cycle of “Attract, Develop, Engage, and Retain.” Conceptualized in alignment with the Sun Life DEI strategy, the programs also draw on the inputs gathered from various employee feedback platforms including the Inclusion Survey and the DEI index and other indicators captured through the Quarterly Willis Towers Watson Survey – curated to gather employee pulse and feedback across Sun Life.

Attract through focused hiring for diverse talent

While gender diversity across SLGS is currently at 55%, the company is still looking to grow its gender diversity in tech positions. SLGS is committed to improving gender diversity at the very onset of its employment process by removing bias in hiring. 

In the past year, the Talent Acquisition team has made huge strides in this direction both by way of spreading awareness and driving collective action. SLGS created awareness campaigns with university partners, conducted training on resume writing, and incorporated policy changes for removing bias in hiring such as the removal of pictures, gender, age/birthday, and parent occupation in candidate resumes. 

Developing mentorship programs for women and training roadmaps

For current employees, the women’s network “SunStree” serves as a platform for women to help them maximize their potential, and is creating mentorship programs for women and would-be women leaders. 

SLGS also runs a reverse mentorship program with Millennials and Gen Zs as mentors, and their leaders as mentees.

The mentorship programs will be amplified through the implementation of the Allyship Framework, which allows the entire leadership team of SLGS to co-sponsor awareness campaigns on how to be an “ally” as well as to drive the SLGS PH DEI&B scorecard that will measure the demographics, participation rate, and impact of activities. 

This will be done through the SLGS inclusion networks, which are groups for gender empowerment called Bright Women, Pride (LGBTQ+), and DiverseAbility (Persons with Disability) clubs. These are all aligned with the Global Sun Life DEI&B Inclusion Networks. Two more were established locally: DEKADA (Inter-generation) and Working Families.

To consistently improve their DEI&B efforts, SLGS is also inviting their managers to have focus group discussions to align on their inclusivity programs and serve as the voice of their employees. 

Engaging and retaining women talent through DEI&B programs 

SLGS’ celebration of Women in Tech spans engaging and retaining women talent through year-round DEI&B programs. Some of these activities include the annual celebration of International Women’s Day, observed during the entire month of March, the implementation of DEI&B Awards under Rewards and Recognition, furthering Inclusion Network Activities and Events including collaboration initiatives with Sustainability and CSR teams, and driving Awareness and visibility campaign on the inclusion networks to boost membership sign-ups.

“Our People uphold our purpose and values. At SLGS, we encourage and develop leadership at every level. We are committed to cultivating an inclusive, caring, empowering, and respectful environment, where everyone can harness their full potential and feel belonged. Our diverse workplace inspires creativity, fosters innovation, drives values, and creates a positive impact. We own the opportunities and power through challenges to do the best work of our lives as well as inspire others,” said Tarun Sareen, Managing Director of Sun Life Global Solutions. 

Nathalie Bernardo, SLGS Philippines Vice President and Site Head, echoed Tarun’s sentiments while highlighting the importance of their DEI&B mission for Sun Life as a company and its employees. “Our goal is for every employee to feel heard and empowered to make a positive impact, for our clients and for the community” she said.

“When we feel that we truly belong in our workplace, we feel more connected, committed, and valued. This is why we want to ensure a psychologically safe environment for everyone, where we bring our whole selves to work, where we are authentic and express our unique perspectives” added Nathalie.

This year’s International Women’s Month is a monumental celebration for SLGS as the organization celebrated its women leaders and embraced their commitment to championing women in tech. The company looks forward to be the torchbearer for gender equality not just this month but all year round.