PEOPLE
“ We need to increase the pipeline of women in STEM and that starts with education ”
— Neelam Sandhu , Senior Director of Business Operations , Office of the CEO at BlackBerry
58 diversity are more likely to have financial returns above their national industry medians . Bringing a broad range of perspectives , diversity is a critical asset for businesses looking to address the talent gap . For Neelam Sandhu , Senior Director of Business Operations , Office of the CEO at BlackBerry , one of the biggest hurdles lie in the lack of female role models in male-dominated fields . “ Women don ’ t have those same role models or examples as men to look up to or emulate ,” she observes . “ But I do think that ’ s changing . For example , we can see that two leaders of General Motors – the CEO and the CFO – are both women .” Another hurdle lies in education . “ We need to increase the pipeline of women in STEM and that starts with education ,” adds Sandhu . “ We need to work on creating an environment where women feel comfortable learning STEM topics . Not only is the professional environment male-dominated , but the education environment is too . So , creating that environment or
MAY 2019