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Diversity, equity & inclusion

Respect


Integral to our culture

Diversity, equity & inclusion is our everyday reality. We respect and encourage uniqueness and potential regardless of your race, gender, culture, sexual orientation or disability.
 

Diversity in everyday life

We promote diversity, equity & inclusion through our culture, our work in society and with innovation.

Culture

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We build an inclusive culture leveraging the differences of our employees

Society

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We're inclusive in the way we act and engage with society and stakeholders

Innovation

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We think about the needs of diverse consumers and customers when we make and distribute our products

We recruit people who respect our values, we provide equal opportunities for all, and we protect everyone's privacy. We do not tolerate any form of harassment or discrimination. Our aim is to create workplaces where everyone feels included and able to bring their whole selves to work. This commitment starts at recruitment and continues to the end of the working relationship. Each of our markets has a diversity, equity & inclusion action plan designed to provide equal opportunities for everyone to contribute, grow and feel valued.

Taking action worldwide

Globally, Nestlé efforts are centred in four focus areas within diversity, equity & inclusion: gender balance, people with disabilities, LGBTQI+ community and race & ethnicity. As an equal opportunity employer, we ensure integration and equality for people of all generations across all four inclusion pillars.

Gender balance

We have been a member of the United Nations Global Compact since 2001, and signed up to the UN Women's Empowerment Principles in 2013 to advance gender equality and empower women in the workplace, marketplace and the community. Through our Gender Balance Acceleration Plan, we are working to balance the gender makeup of our workforce, with a strong focus on gender-balanced leadership.

The Gender Balance Acceleration Plan includes the following specific actions:

  • Supporting all managers to foster an inclusive workplace and ensuring that they are trained on unconscious bias;
  • Encouraging the use of Nestlé's paid parental leave program and flexible work policies in place in all Nestlé operating companies;
  • Enhancing mentoring and sponsorship programs to prepare high-potential women for senior executive positions;
  • Hiring and promoting more women in senior executive positions;
  • Reviewing results with senior leaders to promote gender balance and ensure progress;
  • Continuing our efforts to champion equal pay and eliminate conditions that create gender pay gaps;
  • Reporting progress in Nestlé's annual Creating Shared Value report.

End-2022, we achieved our goal to increase the proportion of women in our top 200 senior executive positions to 30%. Currently, women hold 45% of our managerial positions. Achieving a gender-balanced organization is a continued focus of our work. We will continue to prioritize it across our business on the path to gender parity across all management levels.

We are also promoting gender equity within suppliers' workplaces and in the agricultural communities we source from.

gender balance

People with disabilities

Through membership of the ILO Global Business and Disability Network we promote the inclusion of people with disabilities across our global workforce. In 2020, we signed The Valuable 500, committing to:

  • Provide equal opportunities for all, and continuously advance accessibility for people with disabilities within our operations.
  • Promote awareness and understanding of the experience of people living with disabilities, in order to mitigate unconscious bias and create an even more inclusive workplace.
  • Leverage our Nestlé Needs YOUth initiative to positively impact the lives of young people living with disabilities, helping them develop the skills they need to thrive.
woman in wheelchair

LGBTQI+ community

As a member of the Partnership with Global LGBTI Equality (PGLE), we are helping accelerate equality and inclusion for LGBTQI+ people in the workplace. We empower our workers to be their authentic selves at work and have implemented strong policies, guidelines and reporting systems to reinforce our culture of respect and support. This includes efforts to provide gender-neutral benefits.

We support the UN's LGBTI Standards of Conduct and also partner with LGBTQI+ civil society groups in many countries to advocate for civil rights and workplace protections. Our Employee Resource Groups operating in numerous markets also encourage a safe space for employee conversations around LGBTQI+ topics. For example, in Nestlé UK and Ireland, the network counts more than 220 LGBTQI+ employees and allies, and has been nominated among the top networks by the British LGBT+ Awards.

LGBT+ community

Race and ethnicity

Nestlé has advanced racial and ethnic inclusion for a long time. We were one of the founding members of the World Economic Forum's Partnering for Racial Justice in Business initiative. We pride ourselves on being a global company with a strong local anchor. Today, our global workforce represents approximately 177 nationalities and more than 85% of the management committee positions in the countries we operate are held by local employees who are truly representative of the communities we serve.

We reinforce our workplace culture of respect and zero tolerance across all four of our inclusion pillars with corresponding policies and guidelines, such as our Nestlé Policy Against Discrimination, Violence, and Harassment at Work (pdf, 3Mb); the Global Guidance for Providing Support to Employee Victims of Domestic Violence or Abuse (pdf, 1Mb); and Nestlé Global Parental Support Policy (pdf, 3Mb), which offers equal gender-neutral parental support benefits to same-sex and different-sex couples. We also have a confidential reporting system - Speak Up - that enables employees to report their concerns. We continually review our policies and guidance documents to ensure they reflect the latest research and expectations in these areas.

We are also increasing employee understanding and awareness by training our employees on unconscious bias and sexual harassment prevention. Globally, close to 95% of our people managers and approximately 90% of all employees have undergone these trainings.

local employee

Nestlé is a women-friendly workplace. Not only in providing nursery rooms, or giving generous parental leave, they also provide strong moral support, trust, and respect for a working woman like me to excel in my career. It's reassuring to know that Nestlé wants to be there for both my ups and down.

At Nestlé, no day is ever the same as another! It's a really challenging environment, once you're inside, you're immersed in a continuous cycle of learning and growth. Another factor that makes Nestlé a great company is its culture. A culture based on respect and that encourages teamwork, leadership, diversity and inclusion.

I've never felt that I needed to hide who I am at Nestlé. On the contrary, my colleagues supported me with my coming out process. I believe that's a true example of how our values based on respect are lived in our organization.