Softcat’s outgoing DEI leader says the UK’s largest reseller is doubling down on DEI, despite rowbacks across the wider global tech sector.
Anushka Davies will leave Softcat at the end of February after 24 years at the Marlow-headquartered giant, the last six of which were spent heading up its DEI strategy.
Her DEI duties will pass to Head of Recruitment Rachel Cowell, who will from 1 March become Head of Diversity, Inclusion and Talent Acquisition.
At the same time, Softcat is advertising for its first dedicated DEI lead, who will report into Cowell.
“DEI bedded into everything we stand for”
Talking to IT Channel Oxygen, Davies said Cowell will “build on the foundations” Softcat has laid over the last decade when it comes to DEI.
“I feel like a lot of companies that are making changes have been influenced by some of the changes in the US,” said Davies, whose full job title is Head of Employee Engagement, Diversity & Inclusion.
“But organisations need to stand true to themselves. [DEI] is so bedded into everything we stand for in terms of employee engagement and our culture, why would we dial back?”
A wave of global tech giants have torched their DEI targets in recent weeks, with even BT earlier this month shelving DEI bonuses for its middle managers.
Softcat’s DEI focus is a “core part of keeping our employees motivated and succeeding in their jobs”, Cowell said, however.
“Our USP as a business is around people. Creating an inclusive environment improves our employees’ engagement and happiness, so removing that focus would negatively impact them,” she said.
Softcat’s decision to appoint a recruitment specialist as its new DEI leader reflects the fact that “so much of the work we do around diversity involves talent acquisition”, Davies said.
Cowell will spend the coming weeks getting to know Softcat’s Employee Resource Groups and external communities and organisations such as the Technology Community for Racial Equality.
“Diversity wasn’t a word we would have used 15 years ago”
Davies – who was recently named as one of 25 Oxygen ‘Influencers‘ – said she was proud of Softcat’s DEI progress, “particularly over the last five years”.
Having hit its 35% female employee goal, the LSE-listed giant last March set a new 40% target for 2030, she stressed.
“We’ve still got work to do in other areas like ethnicity and disability,” said Davies, who is leaving to join recruitment firm Phaidon International.
“But if I look at Softcat, diversity wasn’t a word we would have used 15 years ago. I’m hugely proud of the foundations we’ve laid, and now Rachel will be spearheading it and building on those foundations.”
Doug Woodburn is editor of IT Channel Oxygen
