Research
As the first step to gain insight to the attitude of the company towards gender awareness, a content analysis was carried out on what information was available in the media regarding Oracle Corp and gender awareness.
Method
Analysis
A 2014 survey of top companies conducted by Calvert Investments found that Oracle Corp had one of the most developed diversity programs in place . The company scored a 90 out of possible 100 points which indicated that their diversity program had strong performance metrics and they were proactively working towards a fully inclusive workplace. The survey assessed the companies on several criteria. However, the survey result did not specify the individual scores by company by criteria. Therefore it is difficult to assess whether Oracle scored less in some and higher in others. However since the overall score is 90, it is assumed that the company is committed to gender inclusivity. The company is committed to reducing gender gap in its workforce and this is reflected in their commitment to make Information Technology an accessible career choice to more women. The company is planning to open a school at its Redwood campus in the US which will allow children to get exposed to IT and offer science and math to more girls in the formative years itself . The company understands that a large part of the problem also lies in how the IT industry is viewed by women. Most women in the tech industry do not have technology related degrees. Oracle’s co-CEO Safra Catz holds a law degree and has worked as an investment banker . Oracle wants to make science, math and technology attractive to girls in their school years. Oracle Academy is an initiative that provides technology related courses for students between ages of 16 and 19 and educators as well . Additionally, the Academy develops a variety of resources that can be utilized by schools and colleges to impart technology education to students. The software that is distributed are modeled on actual production software that is used in the industry which allows students and educators to keep pace with real world technologies and prepares them better for the IT workforce. Oracle also supports the various initiatves of the Obama Administration to improve education and work opportunities fo women and girls. Oracle has committed over $3 million to initiatives that promote education for adolescent girls around the world . The Oracle Education Foundation and Oracle Volunteers will teach girls the fundamentals of coding, project management and electrical engineering through girls-only workshops. The Oracle Academy is working in conjuction with the Ministry of Education in Egypt to expand the computer science programs for girls in STEM schools. It will entail a $1 million investment by Oracle Corp over the next four years. Oracle also has a Oracle Women’s Leadership program that provides opportunities for women employees to enhance leadership skills, benefit from mentoring and strengthen their business networks . Between 2011 and 2012 the company conducted 275 events that reached over 7000 women employees. The Oracle Academy is also working on developing learning programs that can teach programming to students who don’t have any knowledge of computing or technology .
However, it remains that between 2014 and 2016 the percentage of women in the Oracle workforce went up by only 3%. In 2014, the workforce was 26% women , the current percentage is 29%. The only issue at hand, though, is not at the entry level. Women enter the industry in large numbers but retaining them beyond a certain number of years has been challenging. Oracle Corp has working family policies that allow employees to avail flexible working hours and telecommuting options . However, how many employees avail these programs is not clear from the literature available on the company’s website. While many companies offer such programs there is a perception among employees that availing such programs makes them look less competitive and less committed to the workplace and will be passed over promotions . This leads to stress and eventually the employee may choose to leave the organization and pursue a career that allows for more work-life balance. The need of the hour is for corporate to wholly embrace the concept of working families and make it normal for all types of employee hours to be given equal weightage. The performance appraisal and compensation & benefits policies of companies need to be attuned to the changing dynamics of the working population. Internet reviews on the company published by women employees show a mixed attitude towards the company . Only 33% said that they were treated on par with men but 46% said that they would recommend the company to other women. Some reviews showed that women in certain roles like sales were expected to be gentler and less forceful than men when making a sales pitch. Women did not find overt gender based discrimination but the reviews did not make it clear if they felt they were being paid on par with men and had had appraisals as favorable or unfavorable as their male counterparts. From the content analysis it is clear that while Oracle is committed to creating more opportunities for women to join their workforce and develop their skills, it remains to be investigated how these initiatives translates into employee retention and how turnover of women employees impacts the financial bottomline of the company.
Works Cited
Calvert Investments. "A Survey of Corporate Diversity Practices of the S&P 100." March 2015. Calvert Investments. 28 July 2016 <http://www.calvert.com/nrc/literature/documents/BR10063.pdf>.
Cheng, Roger. Women in tech: The numbers don't add up . 6 May 2015. 2016 July 2016 <http://www.cnet.com/news/women-in-tech-the-numbers-dont-add-up/>.
Fairygodboss.com. Oracle Corporation. 28 July 2016 <https://fairygodboss.com/company-overview/oracle-corporation>.
Krissman, Carol. Encyclopedia of American Women in Business: M-Z. Westport: Greenwood Publishing Group, 2005.
Office of the Press Secretary. FACT SHEET: Government, Businesses and Organizations Announce $50 Million in Commitments to Support Women And Girls. 13 June 2016. 28 July 2016 <https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2016/06/13/fact-sheet-government-businesses-and-organizations-announce-50-million>.
Oracle Academy. About. 28 July 2016 <https://academy.oracle.com/en/about-mission.html>.
Oracle Corp. Benefits at Oracle. 29 May 2016 <https://www.oracle.com/corporate/careers/work-at-oracle/benefits.html>.
Swaminathan, Vijay. Silicon Valley’s Problem with Women. 14 August 2014. 28 July 2016 <https://www.cebglobal.com/blogs/silicon-valleys-problem-with-women/>.
Twentyman, Jessica. Oracle OpenWorld 2015 – Safra Catz on the tech industry’s female talent pipeline problem. 2015 October 2015. 28 July 2016 <http://diginomica.com/2015/10/29/oracle-openworld-2015-safra-catz-on-the-tech-industrys-female-talent-pipeline-problem/>.
Walker, Steven. To Get More Women in IT, Stop Treating it as a Gender Issue. 23 April 2014. 28 July 2016 <https://blogs.oracle.com/EMEA-Corporate-Commmunications/entry/to_get_more_women_in>.
