[Interview] Growing Together for a Better Tomorrow: Samsung Employees Talk About the Value of Diversity

To yield the best results as a team, respect and communication between teammates is crucial. However, in the process of achieving a common goal, sometimes the different thoughts and opinions of team members can lead to miscommunication – making it paramount that all differences in the workplace are acknowledged and embraced.

In order to celebrate International Women’s Day this March 8, Samsung has put together a compelling campaign capturing the stories of female employees from across the company’s various regions and fields in collaboration with several talented artists. Take a look at the full video here.

Samsung Newsroom sat down with three of these female employees of Samsung who are thriving in their fields and embodying the qualities of diversity, tolerance and confidence in the workplace.

Samsung employees from around the world who embody the spirit of achievement through support and embracing diversity. From left to right: Katrina Burns, Samsung Electronics Australia; Vanisri Srikrishna Jallapelli, Samsung R&D Institute India – Bangalore; Miyoung Yoo, Samsung Electronics’ Digital Appliances Business

Achieving Results through Open Communication, Diversity and Respect: Katrina Burns

In the workplace, collaboration and honest communication with everyone, regardless of their background, is imperative. Katrina Burns, who is in charge of designing UX (User Experience) at Samsung Electronics Australia’s Retail Experience & Operations, focuses on yielding results through collaboration and respecting the opinions of all her teammates.

Katrina believes that free discussion and the exchanging of opinions lead to better results. Sometimes, when needing to come up with a new idea, she and her team take a walk in a nearby park, an initiative that she explains provides more flexibility and brings a better energy to discussions.

Katrina’s team is encouraged to take interest in each other’s interests and celebrate each other on their personal achievements, including birthdays. Every Friday, the team makes music playlists across different genres in order to get to know each other’s tastes; what’s more, the team even takes part in a ‘Thank You Friday’ event where they share things that they have been grateful for over the past week.

All these initiatives were introduced by Katrina with one goal in mind – to bring all teammates closer to one another in order to facilitate better results, and to build a support network that spreads consideration to all members. “Trust builds between team members based on the knowledge that each member can ask another for help whenever they need it,” shared Katrina.

Katrina, who was born and raised in New Zealand and spent a number of years working in Australia, has been lucky enough to have many strong women around her to inspire her. She hopes that more women will develop the confidence to go as far as she has; “Women need to remember that they are capable of becoming whoever and whatever they want to be,” she affirmed. “I, myself, aim to become a leader who not only performs well but also improves the lives of those she works with.”

Supporting Growth through Equal Opportunity: Vanisri Srikrishna Jallapelli

No matter how much talent an individual may have, it can never quite be fully realized without the right opportunities. Vanisri Srikrishna Jallapelli, Technical Program Manager of Samsung R&D Institute India – Bangalore, says that the greatest strength of the company is its fair systems and the equal opportunities it offers.

Vanisri first worked on a project with Samsung in 2003 and officially joined the company in September 2008. She was able to fully immerse herself into her work and constantly challenge herself thanks to a company atmosphere that respects and embraces diversity.

Thanks to this culture wherein equal opportunities are given regardless of gender, Vanisri managed to thrive based on the trust and respect of her teammates and team leader. “The prejudice that women cannot excel in the field of technology does not exist at Samsung,” affirmed Vanisri. “Here, women can truly unleash their full potential.”

Vanisri shared that punctuality and continuous, sincere communication are her keys to successful collaboration. She is also grateful that she is now able to assist younger female employees thanks to her own experiences. “When helping other colleagues, I also end up learning new things, and through that, we grow together,” she explained.

Despite her success so far, Vanisri still aspires to achieve more, with her future goal being to become a leader in the technical program management field of Samsung. “Nobody here has rejected me just because I am a woman,” she noted. “I will continue to strive to become an exemplary colleague.”

Inspiring Others through Passion: Miyoung Yoo

Miyoung Yoo, Senior Vice President at Samsung’s Digital Appliances Business in Korea, is regarded as a model leader by many younger colleagues. This is because she continues to follow her dreams and passions by challenging herself to become the best in her field.

Her path to reaching the position she currently holds has not always been a smooth one – as a working mother with two children, it was hard for her at times to find a balance between her work and home lives. However it was through the kind words of her senior colleagues, who assured her that no matter the struggles she faces now, there will come a time when she will be retelling her story with a smile on her face, that she was able to find balance and kept striving to achieve her passions.

Looking back over her experiences, Yoo noted that she has seen positive changes, including improvements in the employee’s childcare management systems and parental leave allowances. She stressed that, in order to further cultivate a culture of diversity and acceptance, it is important that efforts are continued to listen to the voices of people from all backgrounds.

Respecting the diversity of colleagues in the workplace is an essential element of today’s society to help us all develop and work for a better tomorrow. Samsung Electronics considers diversity a priority and works to ensure that every employee feels as if they belong to teams that embrace diverse talent and provide equal opportunities for unleashing each and every member’s potential.

Along this line, Samsung is celebrating International Women’s Day with a campaign in collaboration with talented artists to tell the stories of a diverse range of employees. These illustrated stories telling the experiences of twelve female employees at Samsung from around the world with varying roles will be available on Samsung’s The Frame Art Store¹ free of charge.

You can also visit Samsung.com to see the full stories and illustrations of these trailblazers from March 8.

¹ The Frame’s Art Store provides access to over 1,400 pieces of art from world-renowned galleries and museums.