i3 | August 16, 2021

Intel's Dawn Jones

by 
Tiffany Moore
Intel's Dawn Jones

Dawn Jones is a 24-year veteran at Intel with a remarkable track record. On April 14, she was named chief diversity and inclusion officer (CDIO) and vice president of social impact. She is leading the company’s global diversity and inclusion strategy as well as Intel’s investments and programs driving positive global impact. This includes prioritizing cross-company and industrywide initiatives to achieve Intel’s 10-year 2030 RISE Strategy. She has served as acting CDIO since January 2021 and prior to that was global director of policy, strategy and partnerships. She joined i3 to discuss the importance of diversity.

How has making D&I a business imperative made your company stronger?

Intel is committed to advancing diversity and inclusion at every level of our company and in our industry. Our point of view is that when everyone is given the opportunity to share their ideas and unique perspectives, we can accelerate innovation and business results in the pursuit of our purpose of creating world changing technology for all. As a global business leader, we also have a corporate responsibility to lead the industry by raising the bar for ourselves, and, as a result, raising it for others. This is based on a strong belief that people with diverse backgrounds and perspectives enable better decisions and create technology that addresses the breadth of opportunities and challenges we face worldwide.

Our point of view is that when everyone is given the opportunity to share their ideas and unique perspectives, we can accelerate innovation and business results in the pursuit of our purpose of creating world changing technology for all. 
Dawn Jones

How are you working with others to advance D&I?

We recently launched the Alliance for Global Inclusion in partnership with Dell, Nasdaq, NTT DATA and Snap Inc. The Alliance for Global Inclusion is a global coalition of companies who have publicly pledged their commitment to developing and aligning on shared metrics that track progress in D&I. The Alliance for Global Inclusion and Inclusion Index will provide a consistent system of measurement to better track progress and identify areas of improvement. We invite others to join us in using our collective strengths and capabilities to create positive change within corporations, our communities and society at large. The coalition was formed based on a guiding principle that the best way to accelerate the adoption of inclusive business practices is through data transparency and collaboration, rather than organizations trying to address the issue in isolation. The coalition has committed to working together to create a set of shared metrics and goals that we will collectively work toward. As part of these efforts, each member will create employee-led working groups within their companies that will play a vital role in helping the Alliance achieve its goals. The index will be updated twice a year and is a great resource for companies. To learn more, visit allianceforglobalinclusion.com.

What are some key lessons learned?

We’ve learned that some of the biggest challenges we face as a society can’t be solved individually. It will take all of us coming together with shared responsibility. From our point of view, addressing these challenges is not a one-size fits all proposition, it requires an end-to-end approach. That is why we continue to invest in several key areas including our own workforce and supply chain to drive greater representation; technology and STEM programs to make technology more inclusive and expand digital readiness for everyone, including under-resourced communities; and collaboration with customers, partners, communities, NGOs and governments to address critical social issues through public-private partnerships, innovative programs and public policy.

What is your advice for companies beginning their D&I strategy?

The first piece of advice I would give when building out your D&I strategy is to go back to the basics: listen for understanding and start with respect. We work with people and to drive real change we need to do it through people. The second is making sure the D&I strategy is fully integrated into systems, leadership expectations, and annual performance bonus metrics. For your strategy to be successful, it needs to play a central role in everything your company does from hiring practices to how you build products and services.

i3 magazine July/August 2021 cover

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