Diageo has been ranked as the number one business globally for gender equality in the Equileap 2019 Global Gender Equality Report and Ranking. Diageo has improved its global ranking from 11 th in the 2018 Equileap report and is ranked as the number one business in the UK for gender equality for the second year in a row.

The Equileap report is an in-depth, cross-sector analysis of gender equality in 3,519 companies in 23 developed economies, representing 98 million employees. Equileap ranks businesses based on 19 gender equality criteria, including gender balance across the workforce, the gender pay gap, paid parental leave and anti-sexual harassment policies.

The ranking is evidence of the progress Diageo has made to champion diversity and inclusion both within the business and beyond. Acknowledgements in the report include:

• The work Diageo has done to achieve gender balance at the most senior levels of the organisation. Currently 44 percent of Diageo’s Board are women, and the company is working towards a senior leadership team of 40 percent women by 2025.
• Diageo is proud of its diversity and inclusion achievements in Asia Pacific, where 39 percent of its employees are female while 41 percent are in senior management. At its Asia headquarters in Singapore, women comprise 86 percent of its employees and 67 percent of the senior leadership team.
• Diageo’s global parental leave policy which offers female employees in all markets a minimum of 26 weeks of fully paid maternity leave. Diageo has also set a global minimum standard of four weeks paternity leave on full rate of pay in all markets, with a significant number of Diageo’s businesses moving to 26 weeks fully paid paternity leave including across our Asia Pacific and Southeast Asia markets in Singapore, Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia, China and Australia amongst others; well above regional standards for maternity and paternity leave entitlements.
• Diageo’s signatory of the United Nations’ Women’s Empowerment Principles, committing to seven values-led approaches to support women in the workplace, marketplace and community.

See also: Factor That Lies behind Gender Pay Gaps

Sam Fischer, President, Greater China and Asia-Pacific at Diageo said: “We are immensely proud of this recognition. We’ve worked hard over time to develop a culture of inclusivity within Diageo. Our global family leave policy is an example of how we are living up to this promise to help drive attraction, aid retention, and more importantly have a positive impact on employee engagement and wellbeing. This enables delivery of great performance as the business is dependent on having different backgrounds, skills and capabilities in our teams to ensure the best outcomes – which is important for us as we aim to meet the needs of our extremely diverse consumer base.”

Diageo is also championing gender equality through its brands and advertising. The company has rolled out a framework for progressive gender portrayal in advertising to its 1200 marketers and advertising agencies around the world. Diageo is a member of the United Nations Unstereotype Alliance, and the business has signed up to Free the Bid to increase the number of female directors on its adverts as well as working with Creative Equals to support women returning to the creative industries after a career break.

Toygan Pulat, HR Director, Asia-Pacific at Diageo said: “At Diageo, our purpose is to ‘Celebrate Life Every Day, Everywhere.’ By definition that collective purpose is inclusive of everyone, regardless of who they are and where they come from. Connecting our people to that purpose is central to shaping our culture and ensuring everyone has the freedom to succeed. We treat these targets like we wouldfinancial targets. In Southeast Asia, 50 percent of our workforce are female and over 40 percent of our leadership teams in Asia-Pacific are female. We are pleased to receive this kind of recognition and while we know
that we don’t have all of the answers all of the time, we do feel we’ve really started to create the right culture and conditions that will enable work to work for our people.”

Diana van Maasdijk, CEO at Equileap said: “It is Equileap’s mission to accelerate gender equality in the workplace as a powerful and under-used way of tackling poverty and inequality. Diageo are setting an example and we commend the team for their ambitious work to champion inclusion and diversity.”

In 2019, Diageo has also been recognised as the second most diverse and inclusive workplace in the Refinitiv Diversity & Inclusion Index (previously the Thomson Reuters Diversity & Inclusion Index) and is listed on the Bloomberg Gender Equality Index.

Read also: One Secret to Close the New Gender Gap Issues at Workplace