A CEO’s perspective on diversity and inclusion

Most of us agree that there is a clear business case for embedding diversity and inclusion deeper in our business. It stimulates creativity, helps to meet the needs of our diverse customer base and delivers better overall performance.

For me, the case for building diverse and inclusive teams goes even further.

We live in a volatile and uncertain world. The challenges are all around us: issues of food security, extreme poverty and the devastating impacts of climate change – to name but a few.

Succeeding in this environment requires new ways of doing business, new skills and new types of leadership – all of which I believe we will need in a diverse and gender-balanced workforce.

With their innate ability for authentic leadership, collaborative working styles and a focus on the long-term, women are crucial not just for our business, but also in effecting the changes we need to see in society to create a sustainable future.

When we invest in women, the economy and society thrives. A recent McKinsey report on gender parity found that women reinvest 90% of their income back into their families, while men reinvest only 30-40%. Furthermore, $28 trillion could be added to the annual global GDP if women were given the opportunity to participate in the economy equally to men.

Empowering women will therefore be critical to achieving our core purpose – making sustainable living commonplace and ensuring Unilever’s growth and success over the long-term.

We have made good progress in many areas of diversity and gender balance. Women now account for half of our non-executive board and over 44% of our management population – up from 38% just five years ago. As of 2016 we have three women on the Unilever Executive – the highest number ever. Our new maternity and paternity coaching support platform has been implemented in 91 countries, supported by more flexible working.

Under the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan, we are also committed to empowering five million women throughout our value chain by 2020.

Our efforts are already delivering value to the business: improving employee retention rates and attracting the best new talent. Supporting women in our value chain is part of helping us secure high-quality, stable supplies of agricultural raw materials and new routes to market.

Yet much more remains to be done. We want to push ourselves to further improve the representation of women at the most senior levels in the business.

And given the wider role that women can play in society to tackle the huge challenges of our time, we need to find new ways of harnessing our business and brands to empower women across the globe, connecting with a whole new set of consumers and helping to create a more equitable and sustainable future for everyone.