Sun Life ASCI Accelerates Diversity & Inclusion Agenda to Strengthen Women Leadership

By: WE STAFF | Tuesday, 10 November 2020

Sun Life Asia Service Centre India (ASCI), the Global In-house Center (GIC) of Sun Life Financial, has stated that the company is planning to accelerate its Diversity & Inclusion agenda. Though the organization is already known for its inclination towards empowerment of women, this initiative of ASCI is in the focus of strengthening the agenda. Located at Gurugram, ASCI employs more than 1900 people. With 35 percent of women workforce and 30 percent of women in leadership layer, the company has set an example in the business world.

Currently, ASCI runs strong women centric initiatives such as Women Leadership Development, Sponsorship program and Education Assistance programs. It also focuses on distinct campaigns like Sun Women and Leaders Speak for their Women leaders to share their thought leadership perspective on the company’s internal as well as social media. Two weeks ago the firm also announced that it has hired 41 percent women this year despite the lockdown and intends to continue increasing its women workforce in the near future.

Women Leadership Development Programme

ASCI’s Women Leadership Development Programme is aimed at developing leadership competencies that are known to accelerate and build on the readiness of Sun Life's high potential women leaders. Under this program, 12 women leaders were given an opportunity to take on a 10-month learning journey that had a blend of classroom sessions on networking, knowing self, negotiation, webinars and mentoring.

Juhi Roy, Manager, Operations, Sun Life ASCI who participated in the program stated, “The Women's Leadership Program has been one of the most thought-provoking and inspiring programs. Some pearls of wisdom that resonated with me were to be engaged and involved in a thoughtful manner, to be fearless about tapping into mentors, to build fellowships and never underestimate the power of networking. It also taught me to build the confidence to accept criticism positively. The overarching takeaway for me was to set a standard of excellence for myself and encourage other women to be our best selves”.

Education Assistance Program

ASCI also has an Education Assistance program that women employees find very valuable as it allows them to add to their professional skills. Under this program, employees who want to continue with higher education can enroll for a long-term certification. Sun Life ASCI in collaboration with IMT Ghaziabad, offers Two year Post graduate program & One-year Executive MBA program for same.

“I started my journey with Sun Life ASCI 10 years back. The company continuously works in the direction of our growth and development so we can advance with the organization. I availed Education assistance policy to do my SAS certifications in 2019 which helped me grow professionally,” stated Sharanpreet Sandhu, Sr. Specialist, Development, Sun Life ASCI.

“Diversity and Inclusion is and will be key to our growth in the future. We are committed to a 60:40 diversity ratio and to nurturing more women leaders in ASCI. Mentorship and sponsorship programmes, intentional hiring across diverse roles, pay parity and socially responsible policies will help drive Sun Life ASCI’s diversity and inclusion agenda. We have hired 41% women this year despite the Lockdown and we will continue to increase our women workforce in near future,” stated Rajeev Bhardwaj, CHRO, Sun Life ASC.

Sun Life ASCI has also been recognized as one of India’s Best Workplaces for Women by Great Place to Work® Institute, the global authority on building, sustaining and recognizing High-Trust, High-Performance Culture at workplaces. The company has also been featured earlier among India's Best 75 Workplaces in IT-BPM sector in the Institute’s company rankings in India.