Middle Management Women Mentoring Top Management Men at Dell in Europe

Posted on July 2, 2010

The U.K.’s Observer reports that senior male workers at Dell are being mentored by less senior female colleagues in a pioneering move aimed at highlighting the problems women face in the workplace and helping them get into executive positions. Women in middle management roles have been encouraged to share their perceptions of the world of work and their daily challenges, such as making childcare arrangements, with men in top management.

“The feedback from the men was great,” said Ingrid Devin, Dell’s diversity manager for Europe. “They realized that they have a lot to learn about the challenges that women face in the workplace.” Dell hopes more empathetic male executives will help transform the computer company into an environment where middle management women increasingly rise into top positions.

About Andrés

Andrés Tapia is President of Diversity Best Practices, the preeminent diversity and inclusion thinktank and consultancy. In this role, he helps companies create first-in-class diversity strategies and develop innovative solutions for culture change. Previously he served as Hewitt’s Chief Diversity Officer and Emerging Workforce Solutions Leader. As a published writer and prominent speaker, Andrés offers thought-provoking views about diversity’s impact around the world. He is the author of The Inclusion Paradox: The Obama Era and the Transformation of Global Diversity. Find his bio here.