Gender equity, non-discrimination and non-harassment

Our business is founded on respect. We believe that when people are treated fairly, trusted to deliver, and feel that they belong in the workplace, they do their jobs better.

We see diversity as a strength. We aim to create a working environment where everybody is respected for who they are regardless of gender, ethnicity, sexuality, disability or other characteristics or backgrounds.

As part of a just transition to a fairer food system for all, we are committed to ensuring diversity and inclusion are integral components of our business. We want everyone to bring their whole selves to work – and to speak up if they feel their rights are not being respected.

We continue to make progress in four key areas: gender balance, people with disabilities, the LGBTQI+ community and race and ethnicity. As a global business with hundreds of thousands of employees in many different countries and a complex system of external suppliers, there is more to do to ensure everyone is safe and feels accepted, valued and supported.

Creating a culture of diversity and inclusion

Changing the face of our workforce

Nestlé champions the rights of our own employees and those within our suppliers’ workplaces too. We collaborate with leading organizations to advocate for civil rights and protections.

Our key actions

• Further raise awareness and build the capacity of our employees on gender equity, non-discrimination and non-harassment through training and communications
• Further strengthen our and our direct suppliers’ capacity to assess and prevent risks to gender equity, non-discrimination and non-harassment
• Strengthen direct suppliers’ capacity to uphold Nestlé’s commitments on gender equity, non-discrimination and non-harassment as part of our Supplier Human Rights and Environmental Due Diligence (HREDD) Assurance Framework
• Engage and support prioritized direct suppliers in taking actions to address gender equity, non-discrimination and non-harassment risks and impacts in their own operations
• Support the promotion and strengthening of gender equity, non-discrimination and non-harassment in Nestlé’s markets
• Collaborate with peers and stakeholders to help address systemic issues and develop common approaches and tools on gender equity, non-discrimination and non-harassment
• Drive further awareness about our grievance mechanism Speak Up 

Our Gender Balance Acceleration Plan

Through our Gender Balance Acceleration Plan, we are committed to increasing the percentage of women in managerial positions. We are proud that more than 47.9% of managerial positions today are held by women, but we are determined to go further. We were also proud that we met our commitment to increase the proportion of women in our top 200+ senior executive positions to more than 30%, with that number reaching 36% by the end of 2024. We will continue to increase female representation in senior positions and expand efforts to aim for parity in all management positions.

An additional aspect of gender balance at Nestlé is our Global Parental Support Policy, which extends the rights of caregivers, regardless of gender.
 

Empowering people with disabilities

We are committed to providing equal opportunities for people with disabilities and to promoting awareness and understanding to eliminate unconscious bias – whether disabilities are visible or invisible.

We are signatories to the International Labor Organization’s Global Business and Disability Network Charter to ensure the inclusion of people with disabilities in our workplace. Since 2020, Nestlé has been a partner in The Valuable 500 and is committed to elevating disability inclusion to our leadership agenda.

We run Employee Resource Groups focused on people with disabilities and neurodivergence, such as THRIVE, while our NestAbility network aims to create an open culture and dialogue around disability. We also invest in schemes to help university students with disabilities develop IT skills and gain workplace experience.

Another example is Nespresso’s support of Café Joyeux, the first cafe-restaurant chain to employ and train people with mental and cognitive disabilities. Part of the sales from their joint creation of limited-edition coffee, Nespresso pour Café Joyeux, helped to fund new jobs for Café Joyeux team members in 2022.

Committed to LGBTQI+ equality

We are determined to help accelerate equality and inclusion in the workplace and empowering our workers to be their authentic selves at work. We are proud that some of our markets have received top scores in external audits of workplace equality.

We support the United Nations Standards of Conduct for Business on tackling discrimination against Lesbian, Gay, Bi, Trans and Intersex people and we are a member of the Partnership for Global LGBTQI Equality. 

We are proud that local Nestlé LGBTQI+ networks exist in many of the countries we operate in, creating a forum for conversation and support. We hold global webcasts on unconscious bias, support in the workplace and mental health.

As well as a growing number of Employee Resource groups in our markets, we also offer specific training for LGBTQI+ employees. These include a recently launched Empowerment and Entrepreneurship course for transgender colleagues.

Our brands, such as KitKat and Nespresso, also demonstrate their support for LGBTQI+ communities, charities and support groups with targeted initiatives in specific markets such as Canada and the United States.

Helping end racial discrimination

Nestlé has proudly affirmed that Black Lives Matter – inside our own workplaces and beyond. We have taken steps to help make our workplaces better for people from all communities and backgrounds and consciously strive to eliminate unconscious bias.

Nestlé was a founding partner of the World Economic Forum’s Partnering for Racial Justice in Business initiative, we have signed the Race at Work Charter, donated to the National Urban League civil rights organization, and designated Juneteenth (June 19) – the federal holiday commemorating the emancipation of African-American slaves – as a Nestlé USA company holiday. Nestlé USA also supports inclusion through mentorship schemes for minority students to help them identify employment opportunities.

Our Domestic Violence Victims Guidance

We are determined to be open about difficult subjects, including tackling domestic abuse. We are clear that there is no place for any form of violence – physical, verbal, psychological, sexual or socio-economic – against any of our employees, regardless of gender. 

Our Guidance for Providing Support for Employee Victims of Domestic Violence seeks to draw attention to the subject and provide advice to support employees experiencing or surviving domestic violence.

It also aims to raise awareness among employees, remove fears of stigmatization at work for victims and empower people to speak up. Having been initiated in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay, the guidance is being rolled out internationally.