Essilor has been awarded the title of “Diversity Leader 2020” by the
Financial Times, recognized in the publication’s new annual ranking of
diversity and inclusion in the workplace. The Group is listed 62nd out of a total of
10,000 companies scanned as part of this first-of-its-kind ranking which
assesses companies’ success in promoting all types of diversity.
This award is an endorsement of Essilor’s continuous commitment and
concrete initiatives towards greater diversity and inclusion within the
Company. At Essilor, diversity is defined and fostered across multiple areas,
ranging from gender balance, integration of people with disabilities, openness
to all forms of sexual orientation to generational and cultural diversity.
Essilor is an official sponsor and active participant in the EVE
programme whose ambition is to tackle the issue of women’s progression within
the professional world and has launched W.I.L (Women In Leadership), an
internal initiative to help develop more women into leadership positions in the
Asia-Pacific-Middle-East-Africa scope of the Group.
When recruiting, the Group also makes sure that at least 50% of
candidates are women, and when hiring at executive level that at least one
woman is on the shortlist.
This latest recognition by the Financial Times follows on from a strong
score of 94 points out of 100 in the Gender Equality Index by Essilor, which
the Company measured earlier this year based on the methodology defined by the
French government.
Laurent Vacherot, CEO of Essilor, declared: “We receive
Financial Times’ award with pride. Diversity has been a key value for Essilor
from the very beginning, shaping both our culture and identity and contributing
to our continued success. For us, promoting diversity and inclusion is not only
an ethical obligation, it is also one of our fundamental convictions: to
achieve our ambition to provide better vision and protection to 7.7 billion
people on the planet, we need a full diversity of talents. Diversity and
inclusion are key vectors of our ability to innovate as they nourish our
creativity and bring together varied perspectives, thereby creating value. With
more than 69,000 employees worldwide, the diversity of our talents and culture
is one of our greatest strengths.”
The
Financial Times’ “Diversity Leaders” ranking was established based on an
independent survey from a vast sample of more than 80,000 employees. In
addition, the opinions of human resources and recruitment experts have been
considered to refine the analysis. The participants evaluated listed and privately
held companies across 10 European countries1 and 26 industry sectors on various
diversity dimensions such as general diversity, gender, ethnicity, sexual
orientation, age and disability. The 700 companies receiving the highest total
scores were recognized as the Diversity Leaders 2020.
Click HERE for the full press release.
