Celebrating Diversity at Dell

Topics in this article

As a woman leader in the technology industry, diversity and inclusion (D&I) is something I care deeply about. It’s why I have been a vocal champion of women in business everywhere. It’s also why I’m excited that diversity and inclusion will be among my responsibilities in my new role of Chief Customer Officer after the Dell- EMC integration is complete.

Dell is serious about diversity. DiversityInc recently ranked us No. 28 on its annual Top 50 Companies for Diversity and awarded us several specialty awards, including No. 2 for Supplier Diversity, No. 3 for ERGs, No. 5 for LGBT and No. 10 for Global Diversity. More than 1,800 companies were considered for a spot on this prestigious list.

The fact is women and minorities are under-represented in the technology industry. Women make up only 30 percent of tech employees but 59 percent of the entire US labor force (CNET). It’s imperative that industry leaders like Dell actively pursue strategies to increase and influence diversity, and that includes  investing in women-led businesses via our supply chain.

This is why our #2 supplier diversity ranking is a point of pride for me. Dell’s commitment of over $1 billion in annual supply-chain spending with diverse suppliers has landed us on the Billion Dollar Roundtable for eight years running. Not only is this good for diverse suppliers, it’s an asset to Dell as we leverage the absolute best of what the supply chain has to offer.

But that wasn’t our only recent D&I-related recognition:

  • Last week, Springboard honored Dell with an Award of Excellence for our True Ability ERG.
  • WEConnect International named us the Corporate Advocate of the Year for supplier diversity in China.
  • Dell Panama ranked among the Top 10 Dream Companies for Millennials and, in the United States, we climbed to No. 27 Preferred Employer (up from No. 65) in the annual Millennial Career Survey of the National Society of High School Scholars – due in large part to our inclusive culture and commitment to diversity.
  • We scored 100 percent in The Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index, earning us a Best Place to Work for LGBT award.

We’ve been hard at work at Dell to evolve our business and influence the future of our industry. To me, these achievements are proof that we’re doing it the right way and haven’t lost sight of what really matters—people. 

About the Author: Karen Quintos

Karen Quintos is Dell’s first Chief Customer Officer (CCO), leading a global organization devoted to customer advocacy. Under Karen’s leadership, the CCO organization defines and develops Dell’s customer experience strategy and programs, with the goals of maximizing customer satisfaction, acquisition, retention and profitability. Karen is also responsible for Dell’s strategy and programs for Corporate Social Responsibility, Diversity & Inclusion and Entrepreneurship — business imperatives she is passionate about and that matter to our customers and team members around the world. Previously at Dell, Karen served as senior vice president and Chief Marketing Officer; vice president of Public Sector Marketing and North America Commercial; and she also held executive roles in services, support and supply chain management. Karen joined Dell in 2000 from Citigroup, where she was vice president of Global Operations and Technology. She spent 12 years with Merck in marketing, operations and supply chain leadership positions. Karen earned a master’s degree in marketing and international business from New York University, and a Bachelor of Science in supply chain management from Pennsylvania State University. She is on the board of Lennox International and Susan G. Komen for the Cure. She is also on the board of Penn State's Smeal College of Business, and a 2014 recipient of its highest honor, the Distinguished Alumni Award. Karen was listed among the most influential CMOs in the world by Forbes, and named 'Mother of the Year' by Working Mother magazine. She resides in Austin, Texas, with her husband and three children.
Topics in this article