Unilever has become the latest firm to commit to gender parity at the highest levels of its business following a public pledge by chief executive Alan Jope to change its ratio before the year is out.
Signed, sealed and soon delivered: I commit to accelerate gender parity at @Unilever. With @Lead_eu_net I pledge to deliver our goal of 50% women at manager level and significantly increase female representation at the top levels before 2020 https://t.co/8JaF5qRmlXpic.twitter.com/4DHN48y65D
— Alan Jope (@alanjope) May 20, 2019
Confirming the ambitious target on Twitter, Jope said: “Signed, sealed and soon delivered: I commit to accelerate gender parity at @Unilever. With @Lead_eu_net I pledge to deliver our goal of 50% women at manager level and significantly increase female representation at the top levels before 2020.”
Working with the Lead Network, an umbrella organisation encouraging business across the retail and consumer goods sector to make full use of the available talent pool, Unilever will advance more women to positions of seniority.
This work sits in tandem with the group's Sustainable Living Plan which seeks to position the company as a leader in a terms of reducing its carbon footprint, with the aim of halving its environmental impact across the full lifecycle of its products by 2030.
Jope's predecessor, Paul Polman, championed diversity by arguing that inclusive companies performed better financially.