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Diageo targets 10% increase in female leadership roles
By Amy HopkinsDiageo is aiming to increase female representation in its global senior leadership team to 40% by 2025.
Syl Saller is Diageo’s chief marketing officerCurrently, 30% of Diageo’s senior leadership team are female. Women make up 40% of the UK drinks group’s executive committee and 44% of its board of directors, but Diageo’s board will achieve gender parity when Ursula Burns joins in April 2018.
“At Diageo, we are driven by a core belief that successful businesses are those that harness the benefits of a truly diverse and inclusive culture,” said Mairead Nayager, director of human resources at Diageo.
She continued: “We are proud of the progress we have already made towards gender equality in our business and have a clear ambition to deliver more.”
Diageo’s career development programmes have an “equal intake” of men and women, according to Nayager, while women are 50% of the group’s global graduate hires.
“We have a number of initiatives in place that have contributed to this progress, but we know there is more to do in our ambition to go further and deliver more opportunities for women,” added Nayager.
Diageo has been named third in the FTSE100 for women on boards and in leadership roles by the Hampton-Alexander review.
The group also clinched joint first place in the Cranfield Female FTSE Board Report 2017, while Syl Saller, chief marketing officer for Diageo, has been named one of the ‘100 Women to Watch’ by Cranfield University School of Management.
“Diversity helps ensure a better, more balanced conversation in the board room and in the executive leadership team, and importantly, drives performance,” said Saller.
“The impact that senior women as role models have on other women in the organisation is enormous, enabling them to believe ‘I can do that’.
“Great talent is at the core of any organisation’s growth and we must ensure everyone has the best possible opportunity to achieve their unique potential.”