International Women's Day

Deloitte is proud to support International Women's Day 2008

We have made significant progress with our talent agenda over the last 12 months. Our dedicated talent partner reports to the Executive on a range of people-related measures as we strive to ensure that everyone enjoys the best possible career opportunities, reward and recognition.

Engaging our people is vital to us and we communicate through a number of mechanisms that include our annual People Survey, roadshows and formal feedback processes. Our well-established 'Connections' programme brings together over 200 partners in structured conversations about the firm's strategy with managers and senior managers from outside of their own area of business.

What our people think of us
Each year we conduct a survey of commitment levels and seek feedback from our people about what is important to them. For the second year running commitment levels have increased across all parts of the business and at all grades of staff:
- 80% of our people participated in our annual People Survey, up from 77% last year and 57% two years ago
- 89% of our people strongly believe Deloitte is a client-focused firm (88% in 2005)
- for the second year running, 93% of our people would recommend Deloitte to clients
- 82% of our people are proud to tell others they are a part of Deloitte, up from 77% in 2005

TOP COMPANIES SUPPORTING WOMEN & IWD
Many companies have actively supported International Women's Day and women's advancement for many years. This is essential if they are to recruit and retain the best female talent, sell their products/services to them, and see more women investing in them. Below are some of the leading companies from around the world supporting women's advancement and IWD. Read what these companies do every day that continuously sets them apart in terms of their competitive committment to women.

Large organisations such as HSBC have a responsibility to ensure progressive and fair work environments for their employees. We also have a responsibility to support and develop the communities that we serve - a commitment we take very seriously. The issue of Women's Development and Equality is firmly on the corporate agenda.

At HSBC we see gender diversity as more than a responsibility. We understand that it is just good business sense and is critical to our corporate success. Our Board is one of the most international in the world and has three female directors, more than most of the world's leading companies.

Globally, International Women's Day recognises women's diverse local contributions and inspires potential in other women. It is an opportunity for us to reflect on what women have achieved and also to consider what still remains to be done.

HSBC is a progressive employer
HSBC has many initiatives aimed at recruiting, retaining and developing female talent. Read about these at wheretowork.com/hsbc .

In the UK, we've recently launched an award-winning new childcare scheme that allows working parents to balance work and home responsibilities. We've already had more than 1,000 employees join the scheme and have been named NSPCC's family friendly employer of the year by "WORKING FAMILIES" - a charitable organisation dedicated to helping people achieve a balance between home and working life. Worldwide, our Hong Kong Office offers the only child day care centre of any commercial organisation in Hong Kong.

One of our most recent projects is a global programme by the Education Trust and Students in Free Enterprise to provide financial literacy education to women entrepreneurs and young people.