NortonLifeLock volunteers share their knowledge with 15 marginalised women
Overview of the Partnership
At NortonLifeLock (formerly Symantec), we believe in equal opportunity and the benefits of a diverse workforce. NortonLifeLock partnered with the Irish Refugee Council (IRC) to host a workshop for the IRC’s Employment Programme for Refugee Women. This workshop was an opportunity for our employees to use their professional knowledge and skills to provide guidance for refugee women entering the Irish workforce. Our employees reviewed CVs, cover letters, and Linkedin profiles while also giving general advice based on their own experiences. While this was a one-time event, NortonLifeLock has also donated several laptops to the IRC and plans to continue this partnership for years to come.
Implementing Best Practice
Knowledge sharing is one of the most valuable ways our employees can support people in our communities that are less fortunate. Our Dublin volunteer committee planned the half-day event with IRC staff months before it occurred to ensure it was impactful. Our employees curated a presentation full of recruiting trends and tips for searching and securing a job. We also made sure the event had a good balance of networking and learning so participants could grow their network while gaining professional insight into how they could improve their CVs.
Impact of the Partnership
Providing support to others is an opportunity for our employees to reflect on their knowledge and to learn from different perspectives within their own communities. We set out with the goal to support refugee women enter the workforce, but we weren’t aware of the true impact the event would have on all participants. Several NortonLifeLock employees and IRC programme participants shared contact information and embraced while saying goodbye. A few women even had tears in their eyes. While this type of impact is not quantitative, it is breaking down barriers between groups of people that may have not had the opportunity to meet otherwise. We can confidently say that all 30 participants involved in the workshop walked away having learnt something new. We were able to support 15 women in IRC’s programme that day and many more through our donation of 5 laptops that will continue to be used for IRC programmes.
NortonLifeLock’s Impact in 2019
NortonLifeLock provided €18,051 given in cash donations and €9,891 was raised through employee fundraising. Employees also volunteered 1,599 hours to local groups and projects during the year.
