Sodexo hopes 40% of its leaders will be women by 2025
As we move into 2023, diversity, equity and inclusion has never been more important – to both employers and employees. A recent report from GoodHire found that 81% of employees would be willing to quit, if they found out their organization’s inclusion efforts weren’t up to scratch – with 51% willing to take a pay cut just to work for an ethical company.
But what exactly does authentic, organizational-wide, diversity look like? Speaking with Tracey Jenkins, senior vice president of HR at Sodexo, she tells HRD that their strategy for diversity in 2023 will focus on belonging and acceptance.
“We're very fortunate to be a part of a company that's had a long legacy around diversity, equity and inclusion over the past 20 plus years,” she says. “It's been at the forefront of just about everything we do. As we rolled out our employee value proposition, one of the tenets is around having a sense of belonging. That belonging is really based on being able to be your whole self at work and being able to be a part of something bigger.”
DEI is at the heart of everything they do at Sodexo – with their Diversity Learning Labs presenting a unique and innovative way to upskill teams in the importance of inclusivity.
“It gives our managers and our employees an opportunity to learn about different facets of diversity,” says Jenkins. “We ask all managers to take at least one course a year in our business. This year, we're also doing something a little bit different. We're asking our leaders to think about how they can impact DE&I and their local community.”
Jenkins relays the example of their Chicago venue, where their teams are working together to celebrate different ethnic backgrounds from a food perspective.
“They're teaching each other about different parts of DEI around gender, equality, all sorts of things,” she tells HRD. “And that's really been rich – and it’s something, again, that we'll measure at the beginning or at the end of the year.”
Sodexo has also launched a new program called She Leads, which aims to identify future leaders and offer them a nine-month upskilling program.
“It's a global program, an opportunity to hear from leaders, network and really build that sense of pride,” adds Jenkins. “Sodexo has a goal of having at least 40% of our leaders be women by 2025. And we're on the road to do that – which is exciting.”
Want to learn more about how you can supercharge your DEI plans this year? Watch HRDTV’s full interview with Sodexo here.
