Leading the Way for Diversity and Inclusion

Steering the diversity and inclusion ship for a global company is no short order. For EMC’s chief diversity officer, Jacqueline Glenn ’01, it is a work of passion. “We are putting EMC on the map as a leader in diversity and inclusion—and as a company that walks the talk,” says Glenn. 
 
Based in Hopkinton, Massachusetts, EMC is a global leader in providing IT solutions that enable organizations to transform their operations and deliver information technology as a service. EMC does this by helping to accelerate each client’s journey through the use of sophisticated cloud technology. 

Glenn’s job at EMC—with operations in 86 countries and an employee base of 60,000 people—is to identify and lead strategies that deliver on the company’s basic premise that “diversity is a business priority.” Says Glenn, “EMC is a leader in all of its market spaces. It is no different for our presence as a market leader in the inclusion space.”

“Our goals for inclusion are tied to the company’s overall strategy and bottom line,” says Glenn, a 36-year career human resources professional and graduate of Lesley’s master’s in human resources program. “Our company thrives on innovation, and to innovate, employees must feel valued and be able to bring their whole selves to the workforce. Bias, from the obvious to the implicit, is not part of the equation for delivering on the inclusion value proposition.”

“World demographics are shifting,” continues Glenn, who joined EMC in 2000 after holding a broad spectrum of HR positions in the healthcare industry. “Any company that intends to lead in its market space recognizes that the best and brightest talent is a major ingredient in the success formula. With shifting demographics, the most successful companies will eradicate bias of any type in their work places and promote a culture of inclusion where difference—in thinking and in background—is welcomed and appreciated.”

Glenn’s team in the EMC Office of Global Workforce Inclusion develops strategies and programs that help to lead EMC employees into different ways of managing lifelong learning—providing platforms to think through how the brain works and to monitor themselves as they go through day to day activities—particularly when it comes to managing people.

A self-starter who came to the United States after graduating from college in her native Jamaica, Glenn credits her Lesley degree with taking her career to the next level. “I was already in HR when I went to Lesley, but I wanted to enhance my experience and credentials,” says Glenn, who attended a part-time evening program. “Lesley taught me how to be a polished professional.”

Both the Lesley experience and years of hard work have paid off. Glenn has been nominated by the Girl Scouts as a leading woman, by the YMCA for the Black Achiever Award and by EMC for the President’s Award. She has a passion for community advocacy and civic leadership and is a champion for issues affecting children and families. She serves on the Children’s Services of Roxbury board of directors as human resources liaison and is an active member of Jubilee Christian Church of Boston. 

Known for her vim and vigor, Glenn credits her career ascension to “sheer willpower, hard work, and learning the field from the ground up.” And she is clear there is plenty of work still to be done: “Bias, while it is like the air we breathe, doesn’t make you a bad person,” she says. “It takes a lot to get it right and to get your message across, to get the message embraced. At the end of the day, we’re here to make profit, and diversity drives profit. It’s not a job for the faint-hearted.”

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