Woolworths named No. 1 in Australia for diversity and inclusion

Woolworths Group has been recognised as the top company in Australia in the Thomson Reuters’ 2018 Diversity & Inclusion Index. It placed 14th globally while Woolworths Holdings took the 24th spot.

“We are proud to be ranked in the global top 20 of the Thomson Reuters Diversity and Inclusion Index. It is welcome recognition of our efforts and progress in creating an inclusive culture across all of our businesses,” Woolworths Group chief people officer, Caryn Katsikogianis said.

Thomson Reuters’ Diversity & Inclusion Index selects the top 100 publicly traded companies among 7,000 business globally. It looks at several metrics across four key categories including diversity, inclusion, people development and news controversies.

“As a group, we embrace the value diversity brings to our organisation and seek to provide an inclusive work environment that gives all our team members a sense of purpose and belonging. We want our customers to experience a welcoming and genuine team when they shop with us, and our diverse team is key to delivering this,” added Katsikogianis.

Woolworths diversity initiatives including refugee programs, LGBTI inclusion, gender pay parity and indigenous employment. The Australian supermarket was recognised earlier this year with a Gold Tier Status in the Australian Workplace Equality Index Awards due to its LGBTI inclusion program.

Novartis, Diageo PLC, L’Oreal SA, Nestle SA, Colgate-Palmolive, Procter & Gamble and Merck & Co are also included in the Top 25 companies from Thomson Reuters’ latest survey. This is the third consecutive year that drinks business Diageo has been named in the Top 25. It ranked 4th among other multinational companies worldwide.

“I am very proud that Diageo is one of the most diverse and inclusive workplaces globally. Embracing diversity including gender, sexuality, ethnicity, experience, thinking styles and more has been proven time and time again to benefit commercial performance. As a global business with over 200 brands in 180 countries, it’s critically important that our employee base reflects the world around us and that we create a working culture where everyone can thrive. We are proud of our achievements to date and have stretching targets and ambitions to do more,” Mairead Nayager, Diageo chief human resources officer, said.

In July, Diageo was also recognised for leading the FTSE 100 for the representation of women on boards. The beverage company also became a member of Open for Business to advocate the inclusion of LGBT. Diageo also pledged to ‘Free the Bid’ in an effort to promote equal opportunities for women working in the advertising industry.

“At Thomson Reuters, we understand that focusing on total societal impact is fundamental to driving long-term financial success,” said Patsy Doerr, global head of corporate responsibility and inclusion at Thomson Reuters.

“Creating the workforce of the future means building diverse teams which attract the best and brightest from around the world.  The Diversity & Inclusion Index helps investors and analysts identify the companies that are getting this right, helping them to make investment decisions that align with their values and the bottom line.”

Top 25 Index ranking and their corresponding overall D&I percentage score: