Supporting female junior talent at Fujitsu and developing leaders of the future
When it comes to achieving gender parity, Fujitsu has come a long way over recent years. But we know there’s still a tremendous amount of work to do, and part of our ongoing strategy is to invest time, attention and resources into encouraging young women to join us, and in developing and progressing their careers over time.
It all begins with inspiring the technologists of the future. Our Girls Days are a fun way to encourage STEM activities for 7-11 year-olds, and stimulate their interest in technology overall. Building an LED badge or a Pi robot could just be the starting point of a pioneering career!
As well as attending careers fairs, we also run community and educational events so that we can reach as many youngsters as possible and show them the possibilities open to them. Our dedicated Fujitsu Early Talent web pages also provide information and resources for graduates, apprentices and working students.
It's important to provide role models that young people can relate to, so we're active in keeping our advertising and social media coverage gender diverse - encouraging female graduate role models to share their experiences at Fujitsu.
The Fujitsu Graduate Scheme
Each year we take on around 100 new employees as part of the Fujitsu Graduate Scheme. Participants
graduates are recruited through an assessment centre, and all our independent assessors are trained in eliminating unconscious bias just before the event takes place. This has been extremely successful, and we're thrilled to see more and more young women being encouraged and inspired to take on all kinds of roles in our business. Around half our graduate intake is now female (for example, 45 per cent in 2020), which is a big increase on the 25 per cent we saw in 2015.
At the end of the two-year scheme, participants are automatically offered a job within Fujitsu, which is a powerful incentive for anyone to want to join. Towards the end of those two years, we will have sat down with each graduate to help them map out their career development. We encourage and support the continuation of ongoing learning, helping individuals to work towards further external qualifications such as an MSc or MBA.
Creating an empowered and collaborative global community
As well as Fujitsu-related learning, the scheme covers a wide range of key skills that are valuable for any career, such as design thinking, self-awareness and leadership. And one of the more unusual aspects of the Fujitsu Graduate Scheme is that it involves networking across Europe, so participants get an international perspective that is both valuable and interesting. Most continue to network with their overseas colleagues long after the scheme has finished.
Recent awards
We're no different from anywhere else - we're proud to be recognised for our achievements in creating and supporting diversity and inclusion in our business and in the technology community at large. Fujitsu has been nominated for and won multiple awards over recent years, including being accredited for the third consecutive year as a Times Top 50 Employer for Women 2020, and the Stonewall Top 100 Employers. We're also delighted to be finalists for the CRN Gender Parity award 2020.
From my personal experience, the growth, opportunities, and support I've been given as part of the Graduate Scheme have been unparalleled and have given me a real boost of motivation to seek leadership positions in the future. It's been a fantastic opportunity to explore different business areas and develop my strengths - I have a much clearer vision of where I want to go now. I've especially enjoyed networking within the international cohort of Fujitsu Graduates and have built some really valuable connections. I can't recommend the scheme enough, and feel very much supported by Fujitsu as I progress to the next stage of my career.
To find out more about early careers at Fujtsu, please visit: