Women in Corporate Ecosystem – How Do the Leading International Companies Create Inclusive, Equal and Safe Environment for Their Employees?

“It’ll take women over 130 years to gain equal access to the workforce, education, healthcare, and political participation. For women at the intersections of race, class, age, and other dimensions of diversity, closing the gap will take even longer”, says the article published in Harvard Business Review.

According to the research, only 8.2% of the top 500 companies have a female CEO. The cause of which is the lack of institutional support for the career development of women.

To support the empowerment of women in the workplace, industry-leading companies within their corporate social responsibility are trying to create a strategy, which would promote the creation of an inclusive, equal, and safe environment for their employees.

With this in mind, Philip Morris International is implementing initiatives, aimed at achieving the gender equality across all hierarchies of business.

“PMI has prioritized initiatives around diversity, equality, and inclusion (DEI). It recognizes the importance of establishing a culture that celebrates each employee, encourages everyone to bring their best self to work, and provides equal opportunities for all”, – stated Silke Muenster, Chief Diversity Officer at PMI.

To achieve these goals, the company has implemented numerous initiatives. The company aimed at increasing female representation in management, consequently, the share of females in managerial positions increased to 40% by 2022. However, that’s not all. Philip Morris International plans to achieve at least 35 percent of women in decision-making leadership roles by 2025.

“Of course, getting people through the door is the easy part. The tougher challenge for businesses is giving them reasons to stay”, – stated Silke Muenster.

For this reason, Philip Morris International aims to create an inclusive environment, which unlocks the full potential of the employees and future talent, creates opportunities for them, and makes them feel valued. The impact of PMI’s initiatives has been recognized by a global EQUAL-SALARY organization. Moreover, Philip Morris Armenia has also received the EQUAL-SALARY certificate in the region.

In order to create more inclusive and safe environment PMI continues to pay female and male employees equally for equal work in the 90-plus markets in which it operates.

“Equal pay for equal work is a first step in ensuring that every employee feels valued. With this foundation in place, we are now working to close our gender pay gap (the average pay for women versus the average pay for men), including by achieving a better gender balance at senior levels of the company”, – said Silke Muenster.

For this reason, Philip Morris International has implemented the Women in Leadership program, which focuses on personal growth, development, and senior leader sponsorship for women employees.

The program provides participants with strategies and tactics to navigate common barriers, build confidence, and create a sense of community and belonging. Within the initiative, participants attend virtual classrooms, participate in one-on-one sessions with an external coach, group activities, and have impactful interactions with senior leaders. Consequently, over 70 female leaders participated in the six-month program in 2022.

“In order to constantly develop and move forward, we have to set more ambitious goals. It’s true that our initiatives represent only a small step, but it’s another one in the right direction. And the more steps we take, the further we advance”, – stated Silke Muenster.