As a leader in campus organizations, Samira often led projects and took deadlines very seriously. Her strong work ethic led to an internship offer at a Japanese-based automotive company.
At orientation Samira learned that Japanese companies historically had little diversity in terms of race and gender. Women in Japan were not as prevalent in the workforce as in North America. In an effort to adapt to North American norms, Japanese subsidiaries had well-developed diversity policies. For example, Samira tracked the usage of minority owned businesses in the company's supply base. This ensured that the company invested in local businesses that operated in traditionally economically disadvantaged areas. Investing in the local community was already an important business value in Japan, so this was a simple adap- tation for Samira's company.