International Women's Day!

On Monday 8 March, International Women's Day took place and we celebrated the worldwide achievements and contributions of women to society and the economy by getting together for some tea and cake and having a good old moan about men…..

Not really; although we did have cake.

Like many organisations, Sodexo has a great representation of women in frontline and middle management positions. I work with some amazing women, and I have some fantastic role models within my department. However, at senior level we see fewer and fewer women. This has been recognised as a potential missed opportunity within our business (damn right), and as a result Sodexo recently launched a new initiative to increase the percentage of women in its management.

The Sodexo Women’s International Forum for Talent (SWIFT) is comprised of the organisation’s top 20 senior female executives (I just missed the cut) and represents 12 different nationalities. It focuses on identifying specific actions needed for Sodexo to achieve gender balance.

Personally, I couldn’t be more pleased. I studied gender as part of my MA and also volunteer for a women’s charity in my spare time – so it’s a subject very close to my heart.