Pressing for Progress on Gender Equality
At Sodexo, we carry out a wide range of initiatives to achieve our commitments:
SoTogether
Since 2009, the cornerstone of Sodexo’s gender equality strategy has been SoTogether, a global advisory board (consisting of 26 active Senior Executives, 10 alumni and 5 associates from 20 nationalities) dedicated to driving gender balance by advancing women at all levels of the organization. This advisory board reports to the Executive Committee with the purpose of:
- To lead and drive the organization’s gender equality strategy.
- To enlist highly influential individuals onto the board who could effectively champion its work in their region and influence local leadership and cascade actions
- To make high potential women visible across the global organization, something which had already been shown to be instrumental in helping them progress.
SoTogether Gender Networks
- Twenty-three gender network groups covering 46 countries are active worldwide and act as catalysts across Sodexo for fostering an inclusive culture that’s free of biases in order to support, encourage and allow everyone to reach their full potential as well as provide the means to allow women to thrive at every step of their advancement.
- They consist of “grassroots” employee groups who come together to discuss and advance gender equality in the workplace. In addition to the benefits for our employees, they also provide a positive impact to the business through increased employee engagement, communication opportunities and increased engagement with clients as well as with the broader community.
Women’s Empowerment Principles
Sodexo adheres to the UN Women’s Empowerment Principles in the 57 countries in which we operate.
Launched on International Women’s Day in March 2010, the UN Women's Empowerment Principles are a set of principles for businesses, offering guidance on empowering women in the workplace, marketplace and community. The principles emphasize the business case for corporate action in promoting gender equality and women's empowerment, and are informed by real-life business practices and input gathered from across the globe. Rather than being prescriptive or a new initiative that businesses must subscribe to, WEPs seek to encourage best practices by highlighting the gender aspect of good corporate citizenship, the UN Global Compact, and the role of business in sustainable development. We are signers of the CEO’s Statement of Support for the UN Women Empowerment Principles, and have been since June 2015.
Over the past 20 years, as workplaces have become more gender balanced than ever before, one thing is clear: the numbers aren’t adding up.
A 50:50 ratio is not helping women achieve equal pay, climb the career ladder and reach leadership positions. Make no mistake, this isn’t only bad for the human condition — the quality of life for half the professional workforce — gender imbalance at the most senior levels is downright bad for business.
- Simon Seaton, CEO Energy and Resources Worldwide, Gender Balance, Gulf News.
Case study
