Playing our part in creating a more inclusive world

Albert Baladi, President & CEO, Beam Suntory

 IWD 2021

Beam Suntory is proud to be part of International Women’s Day. On this day, and every day, we want to celebrate the achievements of women, call out bias and inequity, and play our part in creating a more inclusive world.  

At Beam Suntory, promoting diversity and fostering inclusion has become absolutely central to our business. Creating an environment which enables women to achieve their fullest potential is a core element of our D&I agenda globally. We are committed to accelerating the representation of women at all levels of our organization, as well as providing them equitable influence and opportunities for advancement.

This commitment runs through every level of our business, and across every geography and function. Every Beam Suntory executive has their own Diversity & Inclusion goals, for which they are held accountable. We also recently welcomed a global Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer, Victoria Russell, who will work hand-in-hand with our brand teams, Employee Impact Groups and leaders across the business to further accelerate and enhance our ambitious D&I agenda.

As part of this agenda, Beam Suntory is embedding fair and equitable people processes across every stage of our employee journey – including inclusive recruitment, training and development, career growth opportunities, mentoring and sponsorship. We’re also proud to offer global flexible working options and supportive parental leave programs. We ensure that our decision-making is data-led, and we have ongoing global training programs to combat unconscious bias and to give every person at our company equitable opportunities to advance and grow.

At Beam Suntory, we believe in the idea of Kaizen, the Japanese principle of constant reflection and continuous improvement. We never want to stand still, and we always believe we can be better tomorrow than we are today. As I think about #ChooseToChallenge, I’m reminded of Kaizen. We are proud of the company we are today and the culture we have built - but we know we can be even better. At Beam Suntory, I hope that every leader, and every one of our global colleagues - starting with me - challenges themselves every day to be better allies, to call out inequity, and to make our business and our industry a more inclusive place for women.

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