We sat down with Nga, a business analyst in our Boston office and one of the researchers behind our new Social Responsibility report to learn more about what inspires her most.
What drew you to McKinsey three years ago?
During my undergraduate studies at Harvard, I took a year to travel and work in East Asia. I interned with companies in Japan, Taiwan, and Singapore and loved seeing things from different perspectives. After college, McKinsey’s global reach appealed to me since the scale of an organization influences what it can do and the talent it brings to the table.
What does your role involve as part of McKinsey’s global Social Responsibility team?
I help our offices around the world set their strategy for giving back to their communities, and I assist colleagues as they strive to achieve greater social impact in their regions. I also support McKinsey’s charitable giving campaigns.
What social responsibility work from McKinsey most inspires you?
When I talk to colleagues from Asia to Europe to Latin America, I am inspired by the many ways they give back to their communities, donating time and skills through office–wide service projects, long–standing pro bono support to non–profits, serving on boards, participating in fundraising and charitable donation campaigns, and more. The most impressive part is that this work comes from their personal interest and initiative in improving their communities.
In particular, I’m impressed by our Costa Rican service center team, which never stops proposing new ideas on what they can do for their community. I’ve also very inspired by the reconciliation and economic empowerment work done by our Australian offices to raise awareness and create economic opportunities for indigenous populations. (You can read more about the Australian team’s work on page 27 of our Social Responsibility Report). They mobilized the whole office to help organizations that offer services to Indigenous businesses, foster inclusion and diversity in their local McKinsey teams, and support indigenous artists by decorating their offices with their works.
Given my personal passion for education, I am moved by the work McKinsey is doing with Malala Fund, Girls Who Code and the on–going strategic support of ambitious organizations like Pratham and Peepul in India, which is improving the quality of education for millions of Indian children. (Learn more about improving learning in Indian schools on page 47 here).
What do you think drives McKinsey teams to social responsibility work?
Our people recognize we have an opportunity—and a responsibility—to use our capabilities to address society’s biggest challenges. The people we hire are driven to do something meaningful – in business, in society, for the environment, and for the world around us. Many of us had communities and mentors who invested time and support in us; now we can give back.
For example, my colleagues in San Francisco and Chile probably didn’t think joining McKinsey would lead to creating a new national park, but they saw an opportunity to help their community and they applied their creative thinking and skills to do it. In 2018, 10 million acres of new national parklands were added in Chile (read the case study on page 33 of the Social Responsibility Report).