Sodexo progress towards diversity goals

CATERING COMPANY Sodexo is well on the way to achieving its 2015 diversity targets.

 

In 2013, women represent 38% of the board of directors and hold 40% of management positions. Women’s representation among the top 300 senior executives also rose to 23% (from 16% in 2007) in line with the 2015 objective of 25% target set by CEO Michel Landel in the SWIFt (Sodexo Women’s International Forum for talent) agenda.

 

Speaking on International Women’s Day, Landel said: “I am personally convinced that society can only benefit from stronger diversity and inclusion, in the corporate sphere as well as the public sector. Unless we set concrete objectives, we will not see progress.”

 

Sodexo, he explained, has measurable goals in terms of its staff, but it also has to consider its customers. “The road is long and we must stay focused. We serve 75 million consumers daily, half of them women. Our ability to respond effectively to their expectations also depends on our progress in diversity and inclusion”.

 

Sodexo is celebrating International Women’s Day, Friday March 8th, with events around the world to highlight the achievements of women. In the UK & Ireland, for instance, the Women Work speaker series will be launched.  The employee network was established in 2011 to champion the personal and professional development of women across the organisation; currently it has almost 700 members.

 

Sodexo Ireland ’s managing director and former chair of the network, Margot Slattery, is the first speaker for the new series and through a teleconference will be sharing information about her career, her achievements and the obstacles she has encountered along the way and how she overcame them.