Orient - The Official Magazine of the British Chamber of Commerce Singapore - Issue 67 July 2018 - Page 34 IN FOCUS: Karen Loon, Partner and Asia Pacific and Singapore Diversity Lead, PwC You have been in Singapore since 1994. Have you seen genuine shifts in actionable diversity policies during this time?
We have definitely seen a lot of progress in the past few years. Within the financial services industry, just 15 years ago we started to see groups forming of individuals speaking up - for example the Financial Women’s Association of Singapore. Today, if you don’t have some kind of working group addressing inclusion issues as a big company, you are outside of the norm.
Talent is so tight in Singapore and skill requirements are changing that we cannot recruit from the same pool continually and need to look for those able to provide solutions and think differently. Inclusion should be more of the broader talent management agenda, which is Singapore’s future. We use targets in some markets, but more commonly utilise measures such as our Inclusion Index which takes into account our people scores, gender progress, etc. ABOUT THE COMPANY To solve important problems we need diverse talent. So at PwC, we employ people with a vast array of backgrounds and experiences – meaning they think differently from one another and apply varying approaches to problem-solving. And we’re committed to helping every one of them build a rewarding career and achieve their full potential. Our global diversity journey began ten years ago, when the PwC network of firms first began to focus on a globally consistent approach to diversity as a business imperative and enabler to our international business strategy. Initially, gender diversity was the priority, however this focus was later expanded, putting inclusion front of mind and expanding our dimensions of difference beyond just gender. Our diversity journey was further accelerated as we reframed our strategy including our network diversity priorities, governance and leadership structure. For more information visit www.pwc.com.