Nestlé Philippines joins global call to enhance gender balance

MANILA, Philippines — In celebration of International Women’s Day, Nestlé Philippines joins the global call to #BreakTheBias, as it highlights its significant progress in enhancing gender balance in its workforce and empowering women across the entire value chain.

With people as the driving force of its mission to be a force for good, Nestlé intensifies its commitment to its employees through enablement practices and systems that deliberately make individual empowerment a corporate priority of Nestlé.

“Pursuing and safeguarding gender equality and inclusivity, and the development and empowerment of women, are of great importance to Nestlé Philippines because it raises the quality of our organization. We are proud of the progress we are making in unlocking the capabilities and talents of women towards enhanced growth and productivity,” said Nestlé Philippines human resources director Mitzie Antonio.

In 2015, Nestlé globally launched its Gender Acceleration Plan with the main goal of increasing the number of women in the top 200 senior executive positions by 30 percent. Under the plan, the company is implementing policies and programs that prevent gender bias and create opportunities for a diverse workplace.

“At Nestlé Philippines, we continue to invest in efforts that empower our women employees and leaders in the workplace. Key initiatives have been employed to ensure we create an enabling environment for them to thrive in,” Antonio said.

Gender balance and the mindset of inclusivity are embedded in the company’s policies and programs.

In 2021, with over 5,000 employees, Nestlé Philippines achieved a 50-50 gender ratio in its senior leadership and critical positions, even as it enforces gender balance in developing and appointing successors to key posts in the organization for the long term.

Furthermore, Nestlé Philippines conducts an annual equal pay exercise, a proactive measure ensuring that internal pay equity is maintained and is within the pay gap industry threshold.

Reinforcing their commitment to diversity and inclusivity, Nestlé employees are trained annually on unconscious bias and sexual harassment prevention. Coaching and mentoring are two of the flagship programs that the company has strengthened over the years to support women leaders as they pursue their career development plans.

A soft-skills training initiative for women on the production lines or shopfloor has been completed in partnership with the Employer’s Confederation of the Philippines and the International Labor Organization.