Diane Schwarz on mentorship
From #ShePowersProgress: Celebrating Women in Tech with Diane Schwarz · · HCLTech
“Never have just one mentor — you may be my mentor on a career journey, you may be my mentor in the kitchen; think about reverse mentoring: what are the newer technologies I can learn from you, what are the skills or talents you can add to me and vice versa.”
On , Diane Schwarz, Chief Information Officer at Johnson Controls International PLC, spoke about mentorship during #ShePowersProgress: Celebrating Women in Tech with Diane Schwarz on HCLTech.
About Diane Schwarz
Diane Schwarz, Vice President and Chief Information Officer at Johnson Controls, discussed her views on women in technology and leadership during a March 2023 interview for HCLTech's #ShePowersProgress series. Schwarz noted that representation of female CIOs at Fortune 500 companies has increased from 17 to approximately 22 over the past five years, describing this as a "meaningful increase." She emphasized the importance of early support for STEM programs, citing studies that she said show girls can begin to self-remove from tech fields by second grade. Schwarz also advocated for empathetic leadership, stating that "humility, listening, and vulnerability" are qualities leaders need to "unlock culture and amplify other voices." Schwarz highlighted her involvement with T200, an organization for top women in technology roles, and its initiative called Lift, which she said aims to "pull, lift and advocate other women." She also mentioned her work with the nonprofit EnPower, which provides technology training and career pathways for underserved youth, women of color, and veterans. Regarding Johnson Controls, Schwarz credited CEO George Oliver with "visibly changing the diversity of his direct reports" and said he is "driving profitability while very intentionally increasing diversity."