Embrace equity everyday

This year’s theme for International Women’s Day, Embrace Equity, continues to ring true with the longstanding goal of achieving gender equity which promotes fairness and justice and leads in advancing diversity and inclusion. Equity is all about recognizing and appreciating that we are all different, we all experience different barriers in accessing the opportunities that equality will give to us.

 

Embracing equity at 99x

At 99x, we strive to create an environment where every employee feels valued and respected, regardless of their background, identity, or experience. Our commitment to building an inclusive workplace is about more than just meeting quotas or checking boxes - it’s about creating a culture of belonging, where everyone feels welcome, heard, and empowered to contribute their unique perspectives and ideas.

We recognize that diversity is a strength, and we actively seek out individuals from different backgrounds and experiences to join our team. But we also know that true inclusion means going beyond just having a diverse workforce - it means creating a space where everyone can bring their whole selves to work, feel supported and valued, and have the opportunity to grow and thrive.

 

The women of 99x comprise of 25% of the total workforce, from which 20% are currently in project lead roles in the organization and 30% in engineering roles, strengthening our project teams with their skills. Moreover, we have women in management positions who play an active role in making key decisions and shaping the company’s direction. To further enhance our diversity, we have strengthened our leadership with the recent addition Samra Aman, a talented and accomplished woman, to our management team.

 

We have yet more women leading various initiatives at 99x, such as Azure Focus Group, Colombo Quality Camps, Automation Drive, University Relationships, Xian Well-Being, etc. We actively work towards creating more opportunities for our people to be ‘leaders without titles’ and it’s encouraging to see women step up and use these prospects as a stepping stone in their careers.

Words that heal, words that empower

Further, this year we have combined the IWD theme “Embrace Equity” with our own theme: "Words that heal, words that empower."

Women have historically been oppressed and marginalized so their voices and experiences have often been silenced and ignored. When we use our words to support and encourage one another, we create a community that is stronger, more resilient, and more inclusive.

 

 

Knowing that these issues exist isn’t enough. We all need to act and #EmbraceEquity — on International Women’s Day and beyond.