Employee experience IBM’s purpose is underpinned by a corporate culture driven to achieve growth for our clients, our company, and ourselves. The employee experience at IBM is about empowering every IBMer to exemplify the behaviors that foster a culture of conscious inclusion where innovation can thrive and individuals progress. We are dedicated to promoting, advancing, and celebrating plurality of thought from all backgrounds. In 2021, we had over 40 events to embrace how we are different and to find areas where we share commonality. Recent external ratings also illustrate the impact of our focus on employee experience. For example, our Glassdoor employee rating increased to 4.1, and our Comparably rating for best company culture was 4.7 on a scale of 1–5—a 6-point increase from 2019, resulting in 81.4% of IBMers saying they would recommend IBM as a great place to work. In 2021, more than 68,000 people joined IBM, with significant capacity additions in consulting and key technical areas. Over 41% of hires were women globally, and in the United States, 15% were Black and 10.2% were Hispanic. Accelerating career growth resulted in 38% promotions for women, 8.1% for Black employees, and 8.2% for Hispanic employees. We deployed the IBM Accelerate program to build skills for high-potential undergraduate freshman and sophomore students, of which 2,000 participated. We also had more than 1,000 interns from P-TECH and university students across the US. IBMers completed 9.5 million technical learning hours, and we issued 82,000 cloud badges. “Your Career Guides,” which supports the career journey for IBMers, was launched in May 2021 to support a culture of mentoring and coaching within IBM. Over 13,000 IBM coaches and mentors supported a community of over 40,000 users in 2021, with continued growth occurring in 2022. We doubled the number of participants in our career accelerator programs to develop and retain diverse talent through leadership and career development. Top talent on an accelerated trajectory received coaches and sponsorship who are in the pipeline for leadership appointment. Allyship Allyship means creating a psychologically safe and supportive workplace where IBMers can be their authentic selves. It requires a culture that fosters a sense of inclusion and belonging for everyone. Allyship includes the intentional action of others so every voice is respected and heard. Current workforce and social trends point to significant societal challenges and experiences, like #MeToo, #PressForProgress, #BlackLivesMatter, #TimesUp, #NoBanNoWall, #StopAsianHate, #WontBeErased, and #SayHerName. We are experiencing a time of unprecedented need for allyship, which includes compassion, kindness, justice, dignity, unity, and empathy. Allyship at IBM is commitment to action. Fostering employee-centered allyship behaviors begins by co-creating learning experiences around topics not previously discussed in the workplace, such as systemic racism, implicit bias, being an upstander, and covering. We have established an allyship intranet site where IBMers can promote their commitment to allyship, practice allyship behaviors, volunteer to engage and mentor new allies, or share their stories about brave allyship. We proudly recognize IBM Be Equal® Allies, who embody intentional and positive everyday efforts to advance and benefit people different from themselves. And finally, because allyship is an evolution, the Be Equal allyship portal shares resources so IBMers can engage in conversations about current events, lead through crises, and practice inclusive language through our Inclusive Language Guide. In July 2021, we dedicated the month to our inclusive learning bundle. The course highlighted building an inclusive culture learning plan for all employees and learning specific to managers about diversity and inclusion concepts on identity, bias, race, and inclusive behaviors. A three-hour facilitated workshop for managers focuses on building action plans leaders can take to build more inclusive behaviors and teams. In 2022, trainings include new offerings for sponsorship and intersectionality, along with learning modules on inclusive behaviors. 22 IBM 2021 ESG Report