Beyond Microsoft: Driving Diversity, Inclusion & Empowerment in Communities in Asia

Bringing together our employees and local communities, in all countries where Microsoft operates, is at the heart of our company’s mission to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. This mission inspires us and pushes us to challenge the status quo.

We are not only thinking about how we can use technology to help billions of people, but also stepping into local communities to help develop solutions and knowledge to close the digital gap.

Over the last year, almost 75% of Microsoft’s employees across the globe rallied together to achieve US$142 million in staff donations and supported approximately 19,000 nonprofits, leveraging the three volunteering days that each employee can take per year.

In Asia, I am proud of a recent initiative driven by teams of employees, who demonstrated how their empathy and passion, combined with their unique abilities, can transform lives and organizations.

Give Week: an opportunity for Microsoft and nonprofits to exchange ideas and skills for an inclusive Singapore

AmCham Singapore Chairman Dwight Hutchins and Executive Director Ann Yom Steel join my colleague Dr Daiana Beitler to exchange ideas and skills with SG Enable and Special Olympics’ beneficiaries

In Asia, we have an unprecedented opportunity to leverage on our offerings to address societal challenges. For example, there are one in ten people aged 50 and above with disabilities in Singapore; to address the needs of this group and all those with special needs, Singapore aims to build a city that is not only smart, but also inclusive.

To contribute to this ambition, we recently held the Singapore leg of Microsoft’s Give Week, in partnership with AmCham and the U.S. Embassy in Singapore. My colleagues and their families spent a week with three non-profits - Special Olympics Singapore, SG Enable, and Dignity Kitchen - with a common mission: to enhance the lives of persons with disabilities.

Sport unites us, as much as technology. At the event, Microsoft employees played unified floorball, bowling and captain’s ball with Special Olympics’ athletes and attended a cooking class by Dignity Kitchen.

Game on: Unified captain’s ball with athletes from Special Olympics Singapore

Cooking up a storm: Leaders from Dignity Kitchen and Microsofties learning new recipes

Microsoft employees also gave back by conducting workshops for nonprofit partners, including a Minecraft coding class, a modern workplace training, and a mapathon to unlock the Redhill area for the visually impaired inhabitants.

Stephanie Syptak-Ramnath, the Chargé d’affaires, a.i., at the U.S. Embassy in Singapore, joins a Minecraft Hour of Code class

Volunteers from SG Enable, Grab and Microsoft map the Enabling Village to unlock this area through 3D sound

Give Week has been a unique opportunity for our employees to create bonds with our nonprofit partners and beneficiaries, laying the ground for skill-based volunteering opportunities.  

In the coming months, Microsoft employees will enable the digital transformation of Special Olympics through a step-by-step move to the cloud and partner with SG Enable and Grab to deploy innovative solutions for the visually impaired, with an inclusive app currently under development.

If you are interested in being part of the Microsoft family to make a real change in Asia, visit https://careers.microsoft.com/. I look forward to partnering with you in making a positive change in Asia.