Microsoft India forum brings diversity and inclusion to the fore

Hyderabad: In line with its CEO Satya Nadella's vision to use technology to promote inclusiveness, Microsoft India on Friday organised its 11th annual diversity and inclusion conference at its Hyderabad campus here.

The "Confluence 2018" forum organised discussions on the power of diversity and inclusion (D&I) in driving innovation, growth and societal impact.

"As Microsoft, we encourage our employees to work together within their peer groups inside and outside the organisation to make India a more inclusive place," Anant Maheshwari, President, Microsoft India, said in a statement.

The experts at the event explained the complex and cumulative ways that different forms of discrimination (such as racism, sexism and classism) combine, overlap and intersect -- especially in the experiences of marginalised people or groups.

The forum also discussed expanding inclusive practices, as well as the opportunities and challenges faced by different employee groups.

At Microsoft's Ignite conference in Orlando, Florida last year, Nadella spoke about the use of technology in promoting inclusiveness and how technology could solve the biggest challenges that people face today.

"We live in a time where the profound impact of technology in everything that we do is so much deeper, so much broader, whether you're talking about precision agriculture, or precision medicine, the future of connected products, smart cities or smarter factories," Nadella told the gathering of nearly 25,000 people.

"We live in a golden age where technology can enable more people to participate in our technology and in our society. This is what grounds us in our mission: to empower every person and every organisation on the planet to achieve more," he added.