Translating and refining global diversity targets to give them local impact

Welcome to the second instalment of Women in Tech, a series we’ve created to give you the chance to discover some of the brilliant women in tech Across the Pond is fortunate enough to work with or meet.

This time, I had a chance to catch up with Sylvia Loke from Meta, who is the APAC Strategic Sourcing Manager for Marketing Services and Supplier Diversity Lead. Sylvia shared her thoughtful insights with me about the challenges and rewards of her work. Bonus: she has a useful tip for staying motivated with exercise!

Can you tell me about your role at Meta?

As the strategic sourcing manager and supplier diversity lead, my core role is within the finance organisation. This means that all the third-party supplier dealings and engagement starts from a compliance aspect from how we onboard our suppliers and how we manage performance, to ensuring we engage them effectively through their journey. This last point is especially important in Meta’s business, because we are dealing with social media and advertising, and must protect the data privacy of users. 

Apart from that, at Meta we also want to build a closer community and a better world. Therefore, diversity is always at the top of mind for the company. We want to help shape the landscape by trying to promote the awareness of diverse suppliers.

What is the most exciting part about working in tech?

For me, it’s about being able to study the product life cycle, being ahead of the curve, witnessing transformation and having the power to influence. At Meta we built all these tools from scratch and it’s very satisfying to see ideas brought to life with tangible outcomes. Workplace is a great example. It was initially created for the benefit of the organisation internally, but then it made sense to actually share it with the wider community, to be used by other enterprises.

How did you end up in tech?

Well, the first tech company I worked at was Apple, and through recommendations by ex-colleagues there, I ended up at Facebook – now called Meta. I actually started my procurement career in the semiconductor industry. Since the early days, I’ve had the chance to witness how tech changes lives and how my work impacts this, directly and indirectly. Today, Meta is marching towards the next evolution of social connection and striving to bring the metaverse to life, something most of us could never have imagined but which is becoming a reality imminently.

What does DEI look like in the world of procurement – particularly in the APAC region? And at Meta, how are you guys doing things differently?

Globally, Meta introduced a programme in 2016 that recognises diverse supply ownership based on five pillars: ethnic minorities, women-owned, LGBTQ+, military veterans and persons with disabilities. It was largely US centric for starters. 

2020 was an exciting year, we brought the programme to APAC but given our region is so diverse in terms of geography, socioeconomic status, and political and legal systems, we really needed to make sense of the definitions. We try to further refine each of these to ensure that it not only makes sense to the continent but also suits each country’s laws and requirements.

Globally, we recently exceeded our commitment to spend over $1 billion with diverse suppliers. In the APAC region, in the space of just 18 months, we have managed to set up the ecosystem by definition and establish various third-party certification bodies. Once our suppliers are certified, we can then recognise and account for eligible spend. Internally, amongst the many initiatives, we also engage a global PR agency to create brand guidelines for us because we want to drive internal awareness, leading to uptake and visibility. We managed to identify many of these diverse suppliers in the APAC region and to date I would say we have clocked a considerable percentage of our total spending with this group of suppliers.

Can you share more about this third-party certification?

We encourage our suppliers to not only get registered but also certified on applicable independent certification bodies like WeConnect for women-owned enterprises. This means that as well as doing business with Meta they can benefit from being certified to work with other companies. Ultimately, we want to help our suppliers so that they can grow with us and beyond us.

Have there been any challenges getting everyone to get on board?

Definitely. One Japanese supplier I came across was legitimately women owned but chose not to be certified because that would mean disclosing themselves to be not male, and put them at a disadvantage in their male-dominated society.

The reality is that different countries have different nuances and cultures, which impacts the receptiveness to diversity initiatives. Perhaps starting a conversation at this stage could help flip that switch, but I think enterprises and SMBs cannot do it alone. Having governments step in from a policymaking standpoint would be a multi-pronged approach. 

Is there any piece of advice or message you would like to share with women who want to make their mark in the tech industry?

I believe that women should always aspire to be independent. So I’d say, if you want it, go for it!