Sodexo named in Top 50 Employers for Women third year running

Sodexo has been named in The Times Top 50 for Employers for Women for the third year in a row.

Published today (21 April) as a supplement in The Times, the top 50 recognises the leading UK organisations which ensure their workplaces provide women with the opportunity to achieve their full potential.

The Times Top 50 Employers for Women is compiled though a partnership between The Times and Opportunity Now, the gender campaign within Business in the Community.

Since Sodexo’s inclusion in the 2014 list, the company has announced a public pledge to undertake regular pay audits of its 34,000 employees in the UK and Ireland.

Sodexo plans to publish its gender pay gap later this year, ahead of the April 2017 date required by Government legislation.

Sodexo’s Gender Pay Pledge was launched alongside the announcement of the results of its gender balance study, which gathered data from 52,000 Sodexo managers working in some 100 entities across its global footprint. The study has shown better performance across all the performance indicators measured, including employee engagement, brand image, consumer satisfaction, retention, organic growth and profits in parts of the business where there is gender balanced management (between 40-60 of managers are women).

The Sodexo Women’s International forum for talent (SWIFt) drives the organisation’s gender diversity approach across the globe. SWIFt is co-chaired by Sophie Bellon, the daughter of Sodexo’s founder Pierre Bellon, who succeeded him as chair of the company in earlier this year.

Made up of 35 members, including two executive sponsors and nine alumni members of top female and male executives from around the world, SWIFt UK and Ireland members include CEO Schools Jane Bristow, CEO Justice Services Janine McDowell and Global Vice President Operational Solutions of Energy & Resources Susan Elston.

BITC held their Workplace Gender Equality Awards last night, where Sodexo was shortlisted in the transparency category.

Neil Murray, Sodexo UK & Ireland regional chairman, said: “We are delighted to be included in The Times Top 50 Employers for Women for the third year running, which reflects our genuine commitment to gender equality. As well as being the right thing to do, our global research shows where our teams are more gender balanced they are more engaged, productive and profitable, so there’s a clear business case. Our gender balance strategy supports our mission to improve the quality of life of our clients, customers and employees.”