Effective October 1, 2012, QUALCOMM Incorporated completed a corporate reorganization in which the assets of certain of its businesses and groups, as well as the stock of certain of its direct and indirect subsidiaries, were contributed to Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. (QTI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of QUALCOMM Incorporated. Learn more about these changes

Global Workforce Inclusion

Inspiration and insight from a mix of minds

Defining the next generation of mobile technology demands a range of perspectives and talents. That’s why we began assembling a diverse workforce in our earliest days, and why we developed our Global Diversity and Inclusion Program, an award-winning approach to building a workforce that mirrors our values as well as those of the mobile-using public.

Integrating inclusion across our company

Today, diversity and inclusion are thoroughly woven into our culture—from major initiatives like recruiting, Employee Resource Groups and diversity training to smaller employee-oriented programs like free English-as-a-second-language classes and dining facilities specializing in cross-cultural cuisine. Diversity and inclusion are also at the heart of our policy on affirmative action, which you can read here.

*U.S. employees only

In 2011, more than 3,600 employees received 6,555 hours of employee relations training.

Recruiting and retaining women

Because we’re part of an industry that historically has employed more men than women, recruiting and retaining female employees remains a high priority. Qualcomm Women in Science and Engineering (QWISE), our Employee Resource Group for women, plays a key role in supporting professional development of women at Qualcomm. Two QWISE programs have been especially effective: the Women’s Mentoring Program, which pairs up-and-coming women at Qualcomm with more senior female colleagues; and First Impressions, a learning program for those who want to improve their presentation and public-speaking skills.

We plan to start a QWISE chapter in China and expand our U.S. chapters in 2012.

In 2011, QWISE celebrated its fifth anniversary and increased its membership from 400 to 600. QWISE also continued to expand to operations outside of the United States. The Hyderabad, India QWISE group launched a mentoring program that pairs junior employees with experienced colleagues. Qualcomm India reached out to female engineers at college campuses and job fairs and offered leadership workshops intended to help women lead in a mixed-gender workplace.

We sponsor students in the National GEM Consortium, which offers fellowships and summer internships to underrepresented graduate students in engineering.

Our college internship program has also been a valuable channel for connecting with new female employees. Through it, we match female interns with mentors who support them in their day-to-day work and share insights on long-term career growth at Qualcomm. Interns (male and female) work at Qualcomm offices around the globe.

Getting perspective from our Employee Resource Groups

In addition to QWISE, we offer other Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) for employees who are female, Asian, black, Hispanic or Pacific Islanders. We also offer groups for disabled employees, military veterans and employees who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgendered (LGBT).

Led by employees, our ERGs provide professional development programs, mentoring and networking opportunities within Qualcomm and connection with local and national organizations. ERGs make our Company stronger by broadening our perspective, deepening our pool of qualified leaders and strengthening our recruiting efforts. ERGs also contribute to community outreach efforts.

An honor we received with pride

We received the San Diego Pride 2011 Corporate Honor Award for being a “Best Place to Work for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered Equality” in the United States. We earned the honor by scoring 100 percent on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s (HRCF) Corporate Equality Index in 2011, increasing our score from 95 percent in 2010. The index evaluates nondiscrimination policies, benefits, diversity training and other on-the-job resources for LGBT employees, among other factors.

Our diversity efforts also received honors from:

Qualcomm is one of only five companies in the telecommunications industry to receive 100% on HRCF’s Corporate Equality Index.

Reaching out to people with disabilities

Through recruiting and community outreach, we strive to provide job opportunities to people with disabilities. We are actively involved in several disability awareness organizations, including San Diego Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities, U.S. Business Leadership Network (USBLN) and are responsible for leading the local San Diego chapter of the USBLN, an organization that promotes best practices in hiring and retaining people with disabilities. In 2011, we convened quarterly USBLN meetings and trainings attended by approximately 50 local employers.

We also hosted a number of community programs intended to raise awareness about disabilities in the workplace. Among them:

  • Career Connections for Youth, a day-long event intended to inform and inspire San Diego middle-school students with disabilities
  • Disability Mentoring Day, which brought disabled students from San Diego State University and University of California, San Diego to our corporate headquarters for informational interviews and a look at corporate life
  • Day In a Chair, in which 58 employees globally spent their workday in a wheelchair to better understand the perspective of people with spinal cord injuries