During a Dell-hosted customer and partner summit in Copenhagen in April, the moderator of the event, Mads Christensen made a number of inappropriate and insensitive remarks about women. Dell posted an apology on its Google+ page, saying the company would be “more careful selecting speakers at Dell events.” Here is an apology note:
During a Dell-hosted customer and partner summit in Copenhagen in April, well-known public speaker and moderator, Mads Christensen, made a number of inappropriate and insensitive remarks about women. Dell sincerely apologizes for these comments. As members of our Dell Women’s Entrepreneur Network (DWEN) know, Dell is an enthusiastic and committed advocate of women in business and IT. These comments do not reflect Dell’s company values and undermine much of the work we’ve done in support of women in the workplace overall.
Empowering women and their businesses is something close to our hearts at Dell and is the motivation behind our Women Powering Business initiative and DWEN – a network and annual conference that helps bring female founders, CEOs and innovative leaders together, share best practices and open up new business opportunities around the world.
Over the last few years, we’ve launched several internal and external initiatives designed to accelerate the increasingly powerful role women play in driving economic growth. We’re proud that some of that work resulted in awards and recognition by various women’s organizations. This year, as an example, Dell received recognition as one of The Times Top 50 Employers for Women in the UK for the second year in a row.
Once again, we apologize for this unfortunate event. Going forward, we will be more careful selecting speakers at Dell events.
