Sodexo and L'Oréal have achieved joint first-place in Equileap's annual ranking of companies at the forefront of advancing gender equality in France, with the food and facility services provider also scoring highly in the social enterprise's global "Top 100" ranking of companies.
Equileap's annual Gender Equality Global Report & Ranking report presents key findings and country, as well as global, insights on gender equality based on analyses of 3,787 companies - .
In 2003, Australian property developer Mirvac takes the top spot, globally, for a second consecutive year, followed by British alcoholic beverage company Diageo, Australian health insurer Medibank, German multinational financial services company Allianz, and Swiss bank UBS.
Only 28 companies globally (or less than 1 per cent of the total assessed) were found to have closed the gender pay gap and just 18 adjudged to have achieved gender balance "at all levels" - with only 6 per reported as being led by female CEOs
After ranking 27th globally last year, Sodexo's "Gender Equality" score of 73 per cent catapults it to 12th place in the most recent assessment.
The study by the social enterprise focuses on 19 criteria (including the proportion of women at all levels of an organisation, gender pay gaps and policies relating to parental leave) which result in a final list of the "Top 100".
France was deemed the best performing nation on issues of equality, ahead of Spain and Italy in Equileap's assessment of the countries with the highest percentage of women on company boards.
-text {"align":"full","mediaId":36997,"mediaLink":"https://fmindustry.com/?attachment_id=36997","mediaType":"image","mediaSizeSlug":"medium","verticalAlignment":"center","imageFill":true}
Sodexo Chairwoman and CEO, Sophie Bellon, comments: "The spirit of progress is one of our founding values, and it is a great privilege for all of us to see Sodexo rank 12th in the Equileap worldwide survey this year, and in joint-first place in France.
We remain fully engaged to continue to promote diversity, equity and inclusion, within our teams and with all our stakeholders.
"This distinction honors us.
It testifies to our daily commitment to an inclusive company, and our determination to promote the development and fulfillment of all our employees.
It also invites us to pursue our efforts: we are proud of the progress made, but aware of the road ahead of us.
"We remain fully engaged to continue to promote diversity, equity and inclusion, within our teams and with all our stakeholders."
Annick de Vanssay, Group's Chief Human Resources Officer, adds: "This new recognition in the Equileap ranking is for us a great pride.
"The significant progress within the 2023 edition is the result of sustained and constant work by our teams.
It reflects our strategic positioning as a responsible and sustainable company, dedicated to developing and promoting the skills of women at all levels of the organization."
