DE&I at BAE Systems: The view from Malaysia

We talk a lot about DE&I (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) here at BAE Systems Digital Intelligence. And the reason why is simple. We believe that building a diverse and inclusive workplace will help us drive innovation, accelerate our business performance and all realise our full potential. It’s not only the right thing to do, it’s what will enable us to thrive as a business.

This is shown in our various initiatives designed to empower people from all backgrounds. But, as any company with an international footprint will know, taking a blanket approach to something as personal as DE&I doesn’t always work. Initiatives often have to be tailored to different countries or regions; adapted to engage pools of employees with different values and life experiences.

As the director of our Malaysia office in Kuala Lumpur, this is something I see time and time again. While we want to do the same things as the UK and often do – we can’t always adopt exactly the same methods.

The local view

Malaysia has made good progress on DE&I over the last few years. The government has introduced several new policies designed to drive diversity and inclusion across the country, such as renewing its commitment to women’s rights and targeting women to take on at least 30% of decision-making roles in government-linked companies.

Another challenge we face is encouraging women to put themselves forwards for promotion. This is due to a combination of factors, such as a more conservative mindset among female employees generally. Women are also less likely than men to celebrate their achievements and promote their performance internally, which is why empowering women and giving them the confidence to push themselves is so important.

Finally, there’s the issue of budget. Many companies in Malaysia simply lack the resources of those in places like the UK or Australia, which is why it’s often more effective to focus on low-cost initiatives that can still have an impact with local communities rather than big, bold activities.

The good news is that Malaysia has a high number of women going to University and studying STEM courses specifically. According to a 2021 study, women generally outnumber men in STEM education across the country, particularly in Science, Maths, and Computer Science. So the talent is there. The challenge is keeping hold of it.

Putting words into action

We’re proud to be able to say that, because we have such strong global DE&I policies and support from other regions, we’re ahead of many of our competitors in Malaysia. For example, we have the largest proportion of female workers (42%) across BAE Systems Digital Intelligence globally, and more than 50% of our hires over the last three years have been women.

This is all down to the hard work of our local DE&I team, which has put in place multiple initiatives over the years that have been tailored to the Malaysian market. This includes adopting strong flexible working practices, inclusive language training, and maternity and paternity leave policies that are above local market and labour law requirements.

In 2020, we launched the Gear Up Girl Guide badge, supporting BAE Systems’ and the Malaysian Government’s STEM agenda together with Pandu Puteri Malaysia. To date, we have sponsored over 3000 badges and will continue to support this initiative in the future. In 2021 we launched our Dignity and Respect Standards and committed to be a menopause friendly employer, which was followed by a programme of work focused on the recruitment, retention and development of diverse talent.

And we’re not planning on slowing down: 

• In June this year, we’re planning to further increase our visibility as a DE&I leader in Malaysia through a new Digital Guardian School Outreach Programme. This programme will involve delivering data privacy and cyber safety materials to local schools within the Greater Kuala Lumpur region before expanding further afield.

• We’re working on developing a Hackathon targeted at our female talent and also undergraduates using cloud technologies. Current topics being considered include fake news detection and 3D visualisation.

• We’re planning to invite a number of universities and lecturers to our office as part of a ‘Graduate roundtable’ where we will share some non-sensitive projects and discuss the practical applications of the theories taught at universities.

So there’s plenty still to come! But before all that, we have an opportunity to recognise the team’s hard work. We have been nominated in the ‘Diversity and Inclusion’ category of the British Malaysia Chamber of Commerce (BMCC) Business Excellence Awards 2023. We will be attending the gala dinner in Kuala Lumpur on 8 June to see the winners being announced, so stay tuned and keep your fingers crossed!