“It is important that we – as a company – take responsibility for moving forward in this area. Together with the Board members, more than 380 of our leaders have made a commitment and cosigned the principles” explains Astrid van Druten, Vanderlande’s Chief Financial Officer and Board sponsor for Female Talent Acceleration.
The principles were established by the UN Global Compact and UN Women, and are informed by international standards for labour and human rights. They recognise that businesses have a responsibility for gender equality and women’s empowerment.
Vanderlande strongly supports the WEP’s aims and objectives and, through existing activities, it is already demonstrating alignment in areas such as the promotion of professional development for women. In fact, gender equity is part of the company’s wider strategic framework for DEI, through which it aims to attract, hire and grow a diverse workforce.
Vanderlande is also committed to training its existing staff on DEI-related topics, such as unconscious bias, to ensure everyone has a chance to prosper and bring their true selves to work. The framework includes targets to measure progress, for example by ensuring that, by 2027, 20% of employees are women.
The company is also committed to engaging with external partners and customers to promote all forms of inclusive collaboration. In the US, Vanderlande reaches out to minority and female-owned businesses to encourage them to become suppliers
Furthermore, Vanderlande works with communities established by its own employees to promote DEI, including LGBTQ+ groups and women’s networks. This reflects an aim laid down in the WEP to promote equality through community initiatives and advocacy. DEI forms part of Vanderlande’s wider sustainability strategy, which includes measures to provide employees with a fulfilling experience at work.
Andrew Manship, Vanderlande’s Executive Vice President Airport & Parcel Solutions – and Board sponsor for DEI – believes signing the WEP is an important step for the company: “To add to Astrid’s point, this is a milestone. It shows that we are serious about our DEI journey and female empowerment, and also how progressive we are and want to be in the future”.
To find out more about the WEP, go to the dedicated webpage: https://www.weps.org/about