Diageo named by Equileap as the top company globally for gender equality

We have been ranked as the number one business globally for gender equality in the Equileap 2019 Global Gender Equality Report and Ranking.

The Equileap report is an in-depth, cross-sector analysis of gender equality in 3,519 companies in 23 developed economies, representing 98 million employees. Equileap ranks businesses based on 19 gender equality criteria, including gender balance across the workforce, the gender pay gap, paid parental leave and anti-sexual harassment policies.

The ranking is evidence of the progress Diageo has made to champion diversity and inclusion both within the business and beyond. Acknowledgements in the report include:

• The work Diageo has done to achieve gender balance at the most senior levels of the organisation. Currently 44% of Diageo’s Board are women, and the company is working towards a senior leadership team of 40% women by 2025.
• Diageo’s global parental leave policy which offers female employees in all markets a minimum of 26 weeks of fully paid maternity leave. Diageo has also set a global minimum standard of four weeks paternity leave on full rate of pay in all markets, with a significant number of Diageo’s businesses moving to 26 weeks fully paid paternity leave including the UK, North America, Thailand, Philippines, Singapore, Spain, Netherlands, Ireland, Italy, Russia, Colombia, Venezuela, and Australia amongst others.
• Diageo’s signatory of the United Nations’ Women’s Empowerment Principles, committing to seven values-led approaches to support women in the workplace, marketplace and community.

“I am proud of our work to drive an inclusive culture and diverse employee base at Diageo. Our aim is to create a culture that ensures all our people thrive, as well as shaping market-leading policies and practices. But there is much more to do and we are committed to championing diversity, to make Diageo stronger and to have a positive impact on society.” 

Ivan Menezes, CEO, Diageo

“At Diageo we believe that gender equality is a moral imperative and a driver of business performance. We are increasing the number of women in leadership roles across the company and have introduced new progressive family leave policies to support all our people throughout their careers. We will continue to push ourselves to improve and build on our ambitions.” 

Mairéad Nayager, Chief HR Officer, Diageo

“It is Equileap’s mission to accelerate gender equality in the workplace as a powerful and under-used way of tackling poverty and inequality. Diageo are setting an example and we commend the team for their ambitious work to champion inclusion and diversity.” - Diana Van Maasdijk, CEO, Equileap

We are also championing gender equality through our brands and advertising, and have rolled out a framework for progressive gender portrayal in advertising to our 1200 marketers and advertising agencies around the world. We're a member of the United Nations Unstereotype Alliance, and have signed up to Free the Bid to increase the number of female directors on our adverts as well as working with Creative Equals to support women returning to the creative industries after a career break.