Diversity and inclusion — not just because it’s right thing to do but because it’s profitable
Diversity and inclusion in workplaces should be a norm, a self-evident thing. But, as our #takeaction podcast guest, Priyanka Banerjee, has noticed the reality is far from that.
Priaynka Banerjee has a background as an engineer in an IT consultancy, and through that career she moved into Finland a few years back from India. Coming to Finland was her inspiration for the entrepreneurial journey. Soon Priyanka noticed how much intersectionality there was, as she was a woman in color and a woman in tech. She realized there was so much ignorance in companies to understand the importance of diversity and inclusion. Many companies struggle with understanding the benefits of having diverse backgrounds and creating an inclusive workplace where everyone has equal opportunities to grow.
Today Priyanka is an entrepreneur. She is a CEO and Co-founder of BusinessWiz Oy as well as a Diversity & Inclusion coach. The vision for BusinessWiz is to create an inclusive society. Priyanka is also a keynote speaker and has been raising awareness on many platforms about the benefits of diversity and the ways to create an inclusive society. Priyanka is the European Digital Society city ambassador of Helsinki building a new collaborative EU wide network of professionals.
Priyanka also teaches English via Skype for marginalized girls in India. These girls have various backgrounds, kicked out of their homes, escaped forced marriages etc. We Encourage and Priyanka are planning a fundraising cause for tablets to advance the learning and teaching abilities for these girls. Stay tuned for that!
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The vision of European Digital Society:
1. Enriching
The future of our digital ecosystem will be largely defined by the future generations of professionals who are currently preparing to enter the labor market. A generation of digital natives more aware than ever of the impact, risks and challenges that technology entails in the daily life of society.
That is why one of our main lines of action is based on enriching the training of future professionals by sharing a mindset and a way of working that promote the creation of healthy, ethical and inclusive digital products and services, and thus contribute to develop a citizen-centered digital environment.
We also support initiatives that promote a more accessible, flexible and modular education, thus responding to the growing needs of the more dynamics new generations and to a labor market with an increasingly demand of more diverse and specific profiles.
2. Empowering
The digital environment is constantly evolving and the current workforce is very responsible for its growth and evolution, hence the importance of training current professionals in digital ethics and inclusion so that they can contribute from now on to directing the digital services and products in which they work towards a better direction for the present and future of our society.
We know that the first step for the integral transformation of any corporation towards a more respectful model with society is to influence the change in its workers, which we help to have the tools and methodologies that can be integrated into their daily work.
We also promote the creation of professional communities that promote the sharing of knowledge and good practices among the different actors of their local and global ecosystem, contributing to strengthen ties and reduce barriers between professionals and companies contributing to the digital ecosystem.
3. Enabling
We are the first generations experimenting with digital products and services that are transforming every element of our society. The fact of being constant pioneers in the face of new technology, constantly places our society in a position of exploration and uncertainty, to which legislation must respond as soon as possible to minimize the possible negative impact on our society.
That is why we focus part of our efforts on providing policy makers and decision makers with the necessary experience and information so that they can proceed with knowledge of the risks and opportunities of each legislative action, always promoting ethical and inclusive values for a citizen-centered digital ecosystem.
Learn more about EDS and join the initiative: https://europeandigitalsociety.org
Priyanka Banerjee
Read more about Priyanka and her journey in the Entrepreneurs of Finland article:
“I quit my corporate job in a foreign country to explore my passion with no networks, no Finnish skills, no knowledge of entrepreneurship and suddenly, with no source of income”, Priyanka Banerjee — Co-founder and CEO at BusinessWiz
