07.12.2018, 10:17

French Government Recognises Sodexo for Female Representation

Company News, Facilities Management, EMEA

Sodexo has ranked second in the 'Palmarès de la féminisation des instances dirigeantes' listing of SBF 120 member companies with the highest levels of female boardroom representation published by the Government of France's Secretariat of Gender Equality.

 

Commenting on the achievement, Sophie Bellon, Chairwoman of Sodexo’s Board of Directors, said: 

“As the largest French-based private employer in the world, we are honored by this recognition of our progress towards gender balance within our governing bodies. It highlights our strong commitment and the scale of our collective efforts deployed to consistently promote diversity and inclusion throughout Sodexo. We believe that gender balance is essential for creativity and innovation, and ultimately drives our performance. With 460,000 employees working in 72 countries, we will continue to raise the bar to make gender balance a reality for every team at all levels of our company.”

Sodexo Group CEO, Denis Machuel, added:

“Gender diversity is essential. It is beyond a moral obligation, it’s a business imperative and differentiator. When women reach their full potential, business and society are stronger and more successful. At Sodexo, greater diversity and inclusiveness are part of a cultural transformation that requires time and humility.”

 

Gender equality has become a strategic imperative for Sodexo and is expressed in the corporate mantra, "when we stand together, we all do better”.

 

Women currently make up 37 pr cent of the group's Executive Committee, and 54 per cent of its Board of Directors, and Sodexo has enshrined its commitment to achieving gender parity by fostering  strong gender networks throughout its global organisation.

 

Internal Gender Balance Study and Commitment to Gender Equality

Following an internal survey of 50,000 managers from over 70 Sodexo entities that revealed teams with a male-to-female ratio of between 40 and 60 per cent out-performed male-dominated teams on comparable financial and non-financial indicators, Sodexo has embraced the goal of achieving female representation levels within its senior leadership team of at least 40 per cent by 2025. To ensure that all senior executives—both men and women—understand the value placed on this goal, 10 per cent of their annual salary bonus is linked to progress achieved in meeting it.

 

Sodexo has also established a global strategy for gender equality to ensure opportunities for the advancement of women.  This strategy forms the basis for a number of initiatives, including inclusive workplace training, mentoring, and gender networks throughout the group. The cornerstone of this strategy is the SoTogether advisory board which is dedicated to promoting professional advancement of women and gender equality more broadly, on a global scale.

 

Additional information about Diversity & Inclusion at the Sodexo Group is available at Sodexo.com/gender-balance.