KPMG celebrates diversity ahead of International Women's Day

It's important that leaders "walk the talk" when it comes to gender diversity, said CEO and chairman of KPMG Vietnam & Cambodia Warrick Cleine

Ahead of International Women's Day 2019 (March 8), KPMG Vietnam once again emphasised its commitment to diversity in the workplace. Warrick Cleine, KPMG's chairman and CEO in Vietnam and Cambodia, shared his experience on Women's Day, gender diversity, and why it is such a critical part of KPMG’s strategy.

What role does gender diversity play in the context of issues that a workplace may face in today’s rapidly disruptive environment?

Businesses today face so many challenges and threats, whether it is digital, cyber security or tax and legal issues. These challenges are best overcome when you bring together diverse people with a range of different perspectives and insights.

Gender and cultural diversity is a critical part of discovering innovative solutions for complex problems. So it is important for businesses to understand that inclusion and diversity isn’t just “the right thing to do” – but there is a really strong business case, and put simply – diverse teams perform better.

What are some of the specific initiatives that KPMG is doing to celebrate and reflect on International Women’s Day this year?

In line with this year’s Women's Day theme of “balance for better” – at KPMG, we have organised informal Koffee Club sessions for our staff to join, hosted by some of the firm’s women leaders across every office and including a number of external guests and friends.

We also want to celebrate the creative talents of our female leaders and will be displaying a number of artwork to showcase stories of courage, strength and inspiration.

Finally, this year we are proud to be launching the “New Baby Pack” for our new KPMG mums and dads who have recently experienced the joys of the birth of a new addition to their families. It’s a small token to celebrate this personal milestone and to show our unwavering support as they transition from new mother/father to working parents.

Beyond merely celebrating International Women’s Day, what can other leaders do to advance gender diversity in their own respective companies?

I think it’s important for us on this day to reflect and celebrate the progress that has been made individually so far - with respect to your own organisation’s diversity journey. However, it’s also good to reflect and look at what else further could be done to make an even larger impact.

Beyond any specific initiatives and programs that are implemented, in my view the more important aspect to building a truly inclusive and diverse culture, is that the leaders “walk the talk” – this is all about the leaders of the organization – role modelling and leading by example to ensure that their behaviours and actions promote inclusion on all fronts.

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