Diageo North America sets lofty goals—like sales goals and sustainability goals—and now the spirits leader has set a new goal for its people. Specifically, the company recently announced its commitment to establishing and maintaining gender parity throughout the company’s leadership structure by 2030.
Leadership Leading the Way
This is the latest push by the company to turn its values of inclusivity and diversity into concrete action, and the company is taking this important step in partnership with the Paradigm for Parity coalition, a group “comprised of business leaders, board members and academics committed to addressing the corporate leadership gender gap.” According to the coalition, it “is the first organization of its kind to outline a specific set of actions that, when implemented concurrently, will accelerate the pace of achieving gender parity.”
“At Diageo, we are particularly proud to be leading on change in this space by taking proactive steps in order to curb workplace inequality,” said Deirdre Mahlan, President, Diageo North America, in a recent statement. “We look forward to working with the coalition and the other companies that have joined the movement to accelerate the pace of achieving gender parity.”
It’s (No Longer) a Man’s World
Diageo North America is already known as one of the top employers for mothers, offering a variety of attractive, flexible working arrangements aimed at making it easier for parents to fully participate in the life of the company. Options such as job share, flextime, compressed hours and opportunities to work from home, as well as a newly expanded Parental Leave Policy, which doubled the time off for both parents, already help to make Diageo a more inclusive workplace.
Now, through its work with the coalition, Diageo will continue to improve as a gender-inclusive workplace through the Paradigm for Parity 5-Point Action Plan, an ongoing effort designed to catalyze change and enable committed companies to more effectively increase the number of women of all backgrounds in leadership positions.
“The Paradigm for Parity 5-Point Action Plan enables companies to not just talk, but to evaluate data and measurements to give women equal power, status and opportunities in the workplace,” said Ellen Kullman, a co-chair of the Paradigm for Parity coalition and the former President and CEO of DuPont, in a recent statement.
This Woman’s Work
Despite the gains made by Diageo, and other companies within the Paradigm for Parity coalition, there is still much room for progress. Through high-profile efforts such as this, Diageo is shining a light on the need for further action while also celebrating its hard-won victories. Consumers today are increasingly savvy about the companies they do business with, and Diageo is making great strides in demonstrating to modern consumers that they are a company which shares their values. Make sure your business is positioned to capitalize on the good name Diageo is making for itself and all its beloved brands.