As part of its Women Empowered and Women in Digital Initiatives, Cognizant is continuing its sponsorship of MAKERS, an organization dedicated to telling the stories of today's trailblazing women to inspire the changeMAKERS of tomorrow.

Cognizant representatives this week participated in MAKERS’ annual conference, held Feb. 6-8 in Los Angeles. As a member of the MAKERS’ board of directors, Donna Tuths, Senior Vice President and Global Lead, Cognizant Interactive, led the Cognizant delegation. Tuths took to the main stage on Feb. 8 with more than 40 other MAKERS board members and publicly announced Cognizant’s pledge to advancing gender equality in the workplace:

Cognizant is committed to building a diverse, vibrant workforce, and as such, providing ample opportunities for women to grow their careers with us.  Cognizant pledges to employ at least 100,000 women around the world by 2020.

Tuths said, “In technology, an industry whose thinking, practices, products and services are permeating all aspects of our lives and reshaping industries across the globe, gender diversity is critical.  At Cognizant, we’re steadfast in fostering an environment where everyone matters and everyone knows they matter. Participating in MAKERS enables us to come together with other, like-minded organizations to raise our collective voices and drive awareness of the need for gender diversity across all industries.”

To fulfill the pledge, Cognizant’s recruiting, training, and global leadership development teams will engage and work with female associates at all career stages to foster their advancement in the company.  The company will embark on new and innovative programs to attract, develop and retain its future workforce. And, Cognizant will tap into the numerous public-private partnerships it has activated across the country to promote workforce development and digital skills training.

Each year MAKERS provides a platform for companies to celebrate their outstanding female employees and allies, and provide them with the tools and inspiration to make an impact on their organization and society at large. This year’s theme, #allofus “it’s not up to some of use to create change – it’s going to take all of us” was heard throughout the conference and Cognizant, embracing the theme, had cross-sectional team in attendance, including MAKERS’ awardees:

• Meera Krishnamurthy, Senior Vice President, Insurance
• Paul Roehrig, Vice President, Cognizant Digital Business
• Vibha Rustagi, CEO, itaas, a Cognizant Company
• Chell Smith, Senior Vice President, Cognizant Consulting

Other Cognizant representatives included: Diana Buxton, Chief Marketing Officer, Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance; Feather Hickox, Associate Vice President, Cognizant Digital Business; Brandie Krulik, Associate Vice President, Cognizant Interactive; Pooja Ojala, Vice President, Cognizant Interactive; and Deepthi Prakash, Vice President, Cognizant Interactive. 

MAKERS, established in 2012, was launched to empower women to ‘break every ceiling’ by providing a ‘storytelling platform for the trailblazing women of today and tomorrow.’ Original MAKERS include Gloria Steinem, Ellen DeGeneres, Sandra Day O’Connor, and Madeleine Albright. 

Click here to read more about MAKERS and the 2019 MAKERS Conference.