GDI is fortunate to have the partnership, support, and leadership of ServiceNow, a software company that develops a cloud computing platform to help companies manage digital workflows. ServiceNow provides GDI and our members with career guidance and professional growth opportunities, all while sharing their innovative ideas and inclusive approach to their work. ServiceNow also sponsors GDI scholarships, providing accessibility, affordability, and more opportunities for women and nonbinary adults to participate in our classes, workshops, and events. We are so grateful to ServiceNow!
Our GDI Fellow, Faraja Thompson, sat down with ServiceNow leaders to learn more about the many ways ServiceNow supports the mission and women+ of GDI. Faraja spoke with Patricia Walker (PW) and Nikki Kemp (NK). Patricia is an Engagement Lead, whose focus is Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I) partnerships and conferences, working with both professional and early-in-career organizations to help funnel people to available ServiceNow jobs. As an Early Talent Leader, Nikki Kemp works in supporting emerging talent, seeking representatives of non-traditional groups.
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ServiceNow + GDI
GDI: It’s a pleasure to speak with you both today. I understand that ServiceNow started as an IT service management company, and it's grown to connect people, functions, and systems across organizations. Would you please tell us more about ServiceNow?
PW: ServiceNow is a workflow innovation company. We have developed a platform that can talk to all of an organization’s systems, so it can streamline any of our clients’ processes, from HR to ticketing systems and beyond. 85% of our nearly 7,500 clients are part of the Fortune 500. We have about 18,000 employees in 74 locations worldwide.
The main thing is that we are a people-oriented company. We pride ourselves in addressing customer needs to be successful and helping them drive toward success.
The founder of our company did not want only software developers to be able to work with our platform. He wanted a regular person to be able to understand and implement our platform to streamline processes.
GDI: That’s awesome! Girl Develop It is excited that ServiceNow is partnering with us. Can you tell us why Service Now has chosen to make this valuable commitment with GDI? Also, GDI has upcoming webinars, our career fair, and a hackathon this year. What roles might ServiceNow have in these events?
PW: Since we are a software company, we want to attract, facilitate, grow, and develop future talent. We expect significant growth in serving companies using our product. And so, we need to train people who understand and can work with our product. So it’s important for us, not only 1. To give back to the community through DE&I, a huge focus for us, but also 2. To develop great talent.
We always say, “Bring your authentic self.” So that is why we have Nikki, who is working in Emerging Talent, we have DE&I partnerships, we have Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI) focus, we have Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), and Women’s groups that we work with. So, we are excited to partner with GDI because its members fall into these categories, and we can help each other.
NK: We are currently at the bottom floor, the foundational level of our work with GDI. Over time, we are looking to see how our partnership grows. We are coming from an organic place, starting by partnering in some of the already curated GDI events.
As we go forward, we are seeking opportunities for our team to be more involved in creating content and curriculum, to invite GDI members to join us as interns and apprentices, or possibly facilitating professional development workshops here at ServiceNow, not only for our early-career and early-talent but also for our professional talent.
GDI: Great! And can you tell us more about ServiceNow’s commitment to sponsoring GDI scholarships?
NK: Our commitment is not only from a talent acquisition perspective. Our Global Impact organization within ServiceNow is facilitating efforts to help increase ServiceNow in the entire ecosystem as it relates to technology. And so, we are connecting with different organizations to build partnerships within the ServiceNow ecosystem.
Once we had a chance to get the GDI team in front of our Global Impact Group for them to hear the purpose, the mission, and the importance of the work that GDI is doing, they were excited to earmark scholarship money to promote our brand, to support GDI members in increasing their knowledge, and to help GDI continue to grow.
GDI: This is a wonderful opportunity for GDI, to build a relationship with ServiceNow. I want to thank you both for your time today, and we look forward to working with you this year and beyond!