Microsoft among Top 3 Best Corporate Citizens
Corporate Responsibility Magazine has announced that Microsoft was
named among the Top 3 Best Corporate Citizens for 2012 in their Best
Corporate Citizens list.
CR Magazine’s 100 Best Corporate Citizens List is known as one of the
world’s top corporate responsibility rankings. Now in its thirteenth
year, the list ranks companies based on publicly available information
in seven categories: environmental impact, climate change, human rights,
philanthropy, employee relations, financial performance and governance.
It is a considerable honour to have been ranked so highly on this
prestigious list alongside other companies that have devoted so much and
made such sizable contributions to the society.
For Microsoft, corporate citizenship is core to the company mission
of helping people and organizations around the world realize their full
potential. As the company has grown, its’ commitment has extended far
beyond its’ own products and services and has been amplified many times
over through their partner network – including their non-profit
partners, with whom they work closely to apply their business skills,
their technology, and their company resources to serve the communities
around the world.
Microsoft was founded on the belief that putting technology in the
hands of individuals could enrich and improve their lives, and the
company has invested heavily in improving individuals’ access to
technology.
However, the company has recently identified a more complex issue
that extends beyond technology access and cuts across economic,
geographic and social boundaries. This issue is the opportunity divide
for youth. Around the world, new skills and experiences are needed for
new economies, but the approach to educating and training young people
for this new world isn’t keeping pace. While some young people are
prospering, those on the other side of the opportunity divide lack the
skills, education, experiences, and connections to employment that are
required to survive and thrive.
According to a recent International Youth Foundation report,
“Opportunity for Action,” nearly 75 million young people were unemployed
worldwide in 2011. This equates to an unemployment rate of 12.7%, which
is more than double the rate for people over the age of 25. And, for
those young people who have jobs, it is concerning to note that many are
working in poor conditions for very low pay with no safety nets for
protection. Indeed, youth today comprise 25% of the world’s working
poor. Another alarming fact is that only 44% of youth worldwide have
access to a high school education, which is one of the most basic
requirements for gainful employment.
Addressing the challenges facing youth is critical to the economic
future of all countries and regions around the world and Microsoft’s
desire to help them create a real impact for a better tomorrow.
Therefore, Microsoft is focusing on helping youth cross the opportunity
divide by empowering them to imagine and realize their full potential
through a number of programmes.
These programmes include empowering non-profits around the world with
cash donations and free software – nearly $ 1 billion in 2011 alone – to
address issues of technology and workforce training, especially among
the youth population. They also include working with millions of
teachers to build their technology skills and reach students in new ways
through innovative practices in their classrooms. And, it they including
engaging students directly as well….in this year alone, Microsoft has
helped more than 350,000 students from nearly 200 countries develop
technology solutions to address the world’s toughest societal problems
through their Microsoft Imagine Cup competition. |