Diversity and inclusion

Doing The Right Thing The Right Way: Using diversity & inclusion to be the best, do the best for our clients and win in our markets. Throughout our history, Pitney Bowes has been committed to diversity and inclusion and the business value it provides in understanding our markets, serving our clients, attracting and retaining the best employees and fuelling our innovation. 

Our inclusive beliefs and practices started as early as the 1940s, when our then CEO Walter Wheeler took several actions, including directing the head of personnel to make sure that our workforce mirrored the demographics of the neighbourhood in which our operations were located. This started a tradition of executive engagement in diversity and inclusion that has been one of the defining characteristics of our CEOs and our culture ever since.

In the 1980s, then CEO George B. Harvey focused on recruiting more women and minorities, and then in the early 2000s, CEO Mike Critelli was National Chairman of the National Urban League working for economic equity for all communities. 

Today, CEO Marc L. Lautenbach continues to build on this tradition. He is shaping a culture focused on “doing the right thing, the right way,” leveraging the talents of all our employees to reach our common goals and successfully translating our strategy into action. At Pitney Bowes, we embrace the rich mix of countries, cultures, ages, races, genders and perspectives that make us who we are. We believe diversity is the right thing for our business. We seek to sustain a culture of inclusion that encourages each individual to develop to their fullest so we can deliver our collective best to our clients worldwide and win in our markets.

diversity

We are proud of our best practices in diversity & inclusion and are pleased to note a few of our recent external acknowledgements.

National Corporation of the Year (GNEMSDC) 2016 

brava award

Brava Awards(YWCA of Greenwich, CT)

  • 2016 -Sheryl Battles, VP, Communications and Diversity Strategy

  • 2015- Abby F. Kohnstamm

  • 2014- Rose M. Velez-Smith

  • 2013- Kathleen Ryan Mufson

india best companies

India's Best Companies to Work For (Great Places to Work Institute) 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010

award

America’s Top Corporations for Women’s Business Enterprise (Women’s Business Enterprise National Council -WBENC) 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011

opportunity award

Creating Opportunity Award (Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities - OOD) 2015

company

Winning “W” Company (2020 Women on Boards) 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011

global

Global HR Excellence Award & Exemplary Leader Award (World HRD Congress) Manish Chaudhary, VP and MD, Pitney Bowes Software India 2015

technology

India’s Top 5 Technology Companies to Work for (Great Places to Work Institute) 2015

Advocate of Year, Business Pioneer Award (CT Gay, Lesbian, Transgender Chamber of Commerce) 2015

America’s 500 Best Large Employers (Forbes Magazine Award) 2016

Best Companies in Supporting Women to Remain at Work (Great Places to Work Institute) 2015

Best Companies for Unique Initiative – Project Dhaarna (Great Places to Work Institute) 2015

Corporate 101 (Minority Business News USA magazine) 2015

Corporate Partner of Distinction (Women Presidents’ Educational Organization – WPEO) 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010

Top 25 Military Friendly® Supplier Diversity Programs (NaVOBA) 2015

employee

Exemplary Employer (State of Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development- DWD) 2014 

award

Large Employer of the Year (Minnesota State Council on Disability) 2013

University Intern Program

Each summer we select undergraduate and graduate students from universities all over the world to participate in real-world projects through our University Internship Program. For the interns, the program offers a unique learning and networking opportunity that can lead to full-time employment upon graduation. For Pitney Bowes, it provides a diverse pipeline to a future workforce of exceptional talent. The interns work in a variety of locations across the U.S. and United Kingdom.

intern

INROADS internships

A key partner in our effort to identify and develop outstanding undergraduate interns is INROADS Inc., whose mission is to find talented, underserved young people and prepare them for corporate and community leadership.  During our more than 30 year partnership with INROADS, many of our interns have gone on to become valued PB employees across a range of disciplines. Our continuing partnership has earned us repeated honours from INROADS, most recently with a pair of awards from its New England region:

  • 2015 Conversion Award - based on the number of interns hired as full-time employees (INROADS New England Region)

  • 2014 Business Coordinator of the Year Award: Gina Taylor (INROADS New England Region)

PB Code Inspire

PB India hosted a six-hour programming hackathon for women called PB Code Inspire. The purpose was to engage their technical skills and encourage them to pursue careers in technology.

The program attracted more than 2,000 participants, thanks to our outreach to women at over 150 engineering colleges across India. Participants were tested on their algorithm programming skills. Prizes included a chance to intern at Pitney Bowes.

code inspire

Project Dhaarna

Project Dhaarna is a PB India/Catalyst India initiative to foster a diverse and inclusive culture with emphasis on four pillars:

  • Gender sensitisation – sensitising workforce and removing explicit and implicit biases

  • Engaging men in gender conversation – role of men as managers, peers and subordinates in building a diverse culture

  • Ecosystem connect – partnering with local universities to strengthen the talent pool

  • Women leaders – focused development planning

We-Glow

PB India launched “We-Glow” – Women Empowerment – Growth through Learning, Outreach & Work – for future women leaders in PB India.

We-GLOW is a 12 month learning journey designed to build capabilities learning through external NGO partnerships, connecting with universities, or a real time business impact project mentored by male colleagues.

glow

Inclusive Leadership

The diversity of the European market makes the need for understanding cultural nuances in the markets we serve even more important. In 2015 the council helped the European leadership team take advantage of the business value that diversity brings by:

  • Participating in an Inclusive Leadership benchmarking survey

  • Developing action plans to work across cultures and with diverse teams to more effectively respond to our clients.

  •  

PB Globalisation Fair

Cultural intelligence and fluency are essential to successfully navigate the complex world of global commerce. Pitney Bowes embraces a worldwide perspective that takes into account the diversity of the people, cultures, behaviours, languages and context across the geographies in which we operate. In March 2016, Pitney Bowes employees gathered on-site in Danbury and via webinar to:

  • Learn about the importance of cultural relevance in thinking and doing business globally

  • Understand how the diversity of our global client base impacts the solutions we offer

  • Discover best practices for delivering a great experience to clients in the global market space

globalization

PB Young Professionals

Pitney Bowes Young Professionals are millennial-aged employees who gather on a regular basis for learning, development and networking. The network also enriches the greater Pitney Bowes community by providing a forum for millennials’ perspectives on company initiatives. Areas of focus include the client experience, teaming and engagement, recruitment, development and retention. 

network

Presort Vocational Outreach

Working with the National Employment Team of the Council of State Administrators of Vocational Rehabilitation, Pitney Bowes Presort Services has expanded its vocational outreach to individuals with disabilities. Launched in 2011 with job skills training at a single facility in Minneapolis, MN, the program now includes hiring and training programs at many Presort Services operating centers throughout the United States.

The Pitney Bowes mail sorting facility in Jacksonville, FL partners with Independent Living Resource Center, a non-profit organization that provides interpreters to help hearing-impaired candidates during initial job training.

award

Minnesota State Rehabilitation Council Annual Report 2015

In its mail sorting facility in Fridley, MN, Pitney Bowes offers a four-week skills training and evaluation program in an innovative approach to recruiting and hiring people with disabilities. The paid trial evaluation examines a potential employee’s attendance, attitude, attention to quality and detail. Over the past four years 78 people with disabilities have completed the training in MN, of whom 40% were hired by Pitney Bowes. The program’s achievement led to its inclusion in the Minnesota State Rehabilitation Council’s 2015 annual report and other companies looking to replicate our successful model.

Our commitment to diversity extends throughout our supply chain. Learn more about our supplier diversity programs.

supplier connection

On October 7, 2015, Governor Dannel P. Malloy launched the Connecticut Supplier Connection from Pitney Bowes’ world headquarters in Stamford, CT. PB co-led the new partnership to link Connecticut’s small businesses with major corporations nationally.