In our global working environment today…
Women earn only 77 cents to every dollar a man makes in the United States on average.
In Malaysia, women make up less than 10% of corporations’ Board of Directors as of 2013.
Gender is an aspect of diversity. When we talk about diversity and the differences, we are talking about several differences, and gender is one of the clearest ones in today’s corporate world.
By virtue of operating in almost every country in the world, Nestlé’s diversity in terms of ethnicities and nationalities is unquestionable.
On 9th July 2015, Uzma Qaiser Butt, Executive Director of Group Human Resources, Nestlé Malaysia and Singapore was invited to ASTRO Awani’s Agenda programme to discuss on the issue of diversity in the workforce and share Nestlé’s journey towards a gender-balanced transformation.
Click here to watch her interview in full. http://english.astroawani.com/malaysia-videos/balance-and-diversity-nestle-human-capital-61627
Outlined below are some excerpts from the interview:
What are the principles behind creating a gender balanced and diverse workforce, and what Nestlé is doing to achieve its 2018 goals?
- In the work environment, we scoped out top, high potential females across the world and paired them up with mentors across the world. This proved to be successful as it provided an avenue for women to discuss their aspirations, ways to navigate the political climate and how to create a space for themselves
- In Nestlé Malaysia, we already have a significant number of women in our senior leadership positions. It is a delight to say that in the senior leadership aspect, the balance is almost tipping to the other side.
- We have a 43% female participation in our senior leadership team.
How do organisations manage a gender balanced or diverse workforce?
- One of the biggest challenges that you find at an individual level is what I would call – at least for females – the sticky floor. The ‘sticky floor’ is when women stop themselves from being ambitious.
- We also face the challenge of bias. When you start creating diversity in places that have not experienced it before, unconscious bias comes into play.
Why is it important for organisations to really adapt to these changes and address issues of diversity?
- Diversity is important for us to stay in business. If we have to adapt very quickly to consumer needs, then certainly the people helping us address the consumer needs are probably changing fast as well. It would be neglectful not to pay attention to what is happening within the demographics of your workforce.
- It is part of our responsibility particularly as leadership to consider the needs of the new workforce, what motivates them to go the extra mile and how can we help them.