“…in diversity there is beauty and there is strength.”
Maya Angelou
CACTUS celebrates diversity and actively pursues inclusion. That women comprise 55% of our workforce is a testament to this. And when you add to that many different nationalities, religions, cultural backgrounds, and age groups, you get CACTUS—a unique blend of disparate individuals who form one close knit family.
From the just-graduated to the almost-retired, doctors to designers, Taiwanese to Americans, CACTUS welcomes all. Here, we’re happy to have opposing viewpoints and diverse working styles, and to learn from colleagues who are double (or half!) our age.
As an equal opportunities employer, inclusion is ingrained in every aspect of our working style. Our open holiday policy, for example, means that there are no “fixed holidays” like Diwali, Id, or Christmas—each one is free to choose any day as a holiday. So an American may choose 4 July; a Jew, Yom Kippur; an Indian, 15 August; a Korean, the Korean New Year.
But it’s best to let our people themselves tell you more. Click on the pictures below to read what they think about diversity and inclusion at CACTUS.
Sheng-Fen Ku
Team: Marketing
Nationality: Taiwanese
CACTUS is like a home for me; I can rely on the people around. I know they will lend me a hand whenever needed. When I am stressed out, standing in the pantry, I often hear people asking me if I’m feeling fine, if I need help. When I share a bad experience, my colleagues always share my feeling; sometimes, they’re angrier than I am!
Working in the most diversified team—marketing, it is always so much fun. I especially enjoy our group discussions where I learn so much from team members’ novel ideas. Every person has so many different ideas, different ways of communicating, different ways to manage their work. And because of this diversity, I always find a solution to my problem. I just need to turn back and catch hold of one of them, and I receive tons of suggestions.
This open discussion does not just happen in my team; it happens through all of CACTUS. Everyone can find a channel to express their thoughts on how to make CACTUS a happier place, and all our feedback is addressed. That’s why I love working at CACTUS—it’s always open-minded, caring, and warm. It’s not just a place to work at, but so much more.
Godfrey Lobo
Team: Technology
Nationality: Indian
At CACTUS, diversity is as obvious as daylight. Our colleagues come from India, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, North America, Brazil, and Germany.
Diversity is the hallmark of our work culture. Because of diversity, we think differently, act differently, and perceive things differently. And yet, there is synergy–each one complements the other in terms of skill, background, and thought. Having colleagues from different cultures gives us an insight into their way of thinking and doing things. This, in turn, enables us to improve our interactions with clients and helps us tailor our services to suit their needs.
CACTUS ensures that our diversity is the basis of our strength. For example, in the editing team, every new editor has a senior editor to work with; thus, skill diversity is used to foster growth and camaraderie. Diversity is encouraged but not misused—promotions and recognition awards are never based on criteria such as age, gender, and religion; they are performance-driven.
Certainly, our diverse group has diverse needs. And CACTUS spends considerable time and resources in understanding and fulfilling them. A small example is about the snacks served in our pantry. The “menu” was fixed through a survey conducted among us! Another example is the way events are planned to cater to varied interests—for instance, the CACTUS Cup, an annual cricket tournament, is organized for the sporty ones.
All in all, at CACTUS, diversity ensures a healthy and happy environment for everyone!
Colin Nicholls
Team: Editing
Nationality: British
During all my years at CACTUS, I can’t ever recall being witness to a heated argument or ever hearing voices raised in anger or frustration. By and large, it’s been smiles and laughter all the way. The secret of this harmonious state of affairs lies, I believe, in the company’s knack of attracting a disparate crowd of unique personalities from a wide spectrum of backgrounds, and with considerable breadths of knowledge and experience.
One of the great pleasures of working at CACTUS is being part of a company that thrives on nurturing this diversity, rather than stifling out individuality. At CACTUS, we are never straight-jacketed into roles to which we might be ill-suited, and never coerced into being something other than our authentic selves. This recognition of the individual permeates throughout the entire organization, engendering a culture of mutual acceptance, understanding, and respect. And when you have acceptance, understanding, and respect, you invariably end up with a productive, creative, and, yes, happy workforce.
Sonil Rampal
Team: Editing
Nationality: Indian
CACTUS is truly a microcosm of the world. People spanning the length and breadth of the globe, representing various countries and speaking different languages, get the opportunity to commingle at CACTUS.
CACTUS encourages diversity. People from diverse cultures and varying ethnicities work and celebrate different festivals with utmost fervor under one roof. We work alongside colleagues with vastly different educational backgrounds—engineers, pharmacists, teachers, or doctors, and there is so much to learn from their experiences as you go about a normal workday. And it’s not just the differences in culture or religion or education that make CACTUS unique—it’s the coming together of dissimilar personalities, opposing viewpoints, and varied working styles. And all of these different hues seamlessly fit into the CACTUS mold.
But what’s more important is the environment of equal opportunity that CACTUS fosters. Here, talent is given credence over gender—managers are chosen for their leadership and team-building abilities, not based on gender, age, religion, nationality, or qualifications. Here, you can be who you are, and be appreciated for that.
This is what truly makes CACTUS a diverse, yet cohesive global organization.
Furqan Lakdawala
Team: Editing
Nationality: Indian
To me, diversity implies variety and multiplicity and that’s what I see at CACTUS; here, I find people (young and old) with various cultural, educational and ethnic backgrounds come together and also introduce friends and friends of friends to the inspiring and people-friendly work environment. CACTUS is always abuzz with cheer and fun activities because Cactizens (not employees, like in other organizations) believe that the place where one spends the maximum time away from home should feel like home. This is what instills and nurtures the sense of belonging at CACTUS. We laugh, argue and debate but never criticize, demean and ridicule. We don’t just work but build/strengthen relationships every day. While we have a CEO and VP, there is no authority; equality and fairness are valued, and therefore, we speak our minds, respect others’ opinions and, in the process, grow together. All of these may be little things but they are the very things that make CACTUS unique and a cut above the rest!
Ai Kanoh
Team: Marketing
Nationality: Japanese
When I come to the CACTUS office every morning, I sense a feeling of safety, as though I’m returning home. For me, this speaks volumes about the CACTUS culture.
Living in India as a Japanese woman, the world inside CACTUS and the one outside CACTUS are totally different experiences. Here, I not only feel like I’m being listened to and treated equally irrespective of my nationality or gender, but I also feel appreciated for the person I am, with all the unique personality differences that make up my character.
No wonder then that so many diverse people work here: experienced or inexperienced, funny or serious, mellow or aggressive; people from different regions, countries, religions, and professions. Normally, this mixture would be difficult to manage—it could have been a terrible mess. However, at CACTUS, it is the diversity that makes work fun and miraculously exciting. Here, we enjoy experiencing cultural differences in our day-to-day work, but more importantly, we find joy in the connection and commonness between us, despite being from different cultures.
