Pernod Ricard India toasts the success of an inclusive workplace with over 40% women representation in India leadership

·         Achieves 100% diversity at Pernod Ricard India Foundation (PRIF) constituting women and PWD (specially-abled) in their workforce

·         Accelerates IDE agenda by achieving over 50% diversity at shop floor in 15 of their 27 manufacturing units in India in line with the global IWD theme of embracing equity

Pernod Ricard India (PRI), a global leader in the wine and spirit industry, celebrated the milestone of being a gender equitable organization with more than 40% women representation in its leadership. Accelerating the realization of the organisation’s diversity goals for 2030, the company has enhanced its recruitment processes, introduced multiple interventions and programs across its operations in the last two years. As a result, Pernod Ricard India has achieved a significant increase in diversity yardstick with 50% of all new employees being diversity candidates in the last one year. Representing strong, diverse voices and perspectives at every level, the company also marked 50% representation of women and diverse workforce on the shop floor in over 15 of their 27 manufacturing units in India. Aligned to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs) and company’s 2030 roadmap, this IDE milestone follows a long-standing commitment to driving inclusion of all genders, abilities and other intersectionalities in the workplace.

Speaking on this International Women’s Day, Nitu Bhushan, CHRO, Pernod Ricard India said, “We began our Inclusion, Diversity & Equity (IDE) journey in 2020 with a strong ambition and an aim to set industry benchmarks for more organizations to follow. We believe that promoting an inclusive culture, diversity of thought and equity among our employees can unearth insights that can potentially spur exponential business growth. Our dedication to establishing a diverse workplace through numerous high-impact policies, sensitization and mentorship programs is designed to nurture an environment where employees feel secure, grow, and bring their true selves to work. We are thrilled to have made a strong start and we will continue to further our vision of fostering an inclusive and convivial workplace for people beyond genders.”

Diversity, Inclusion and Equity is central to Pernod Ricard India’s strategic framework. Setting a stellar example of this commitment, Pernod Ricard India Foundation, the CSR arm of the company, is today being led by 100% diverse workforce constituting women and persons with disabilities (PWD). This year the company has also achieved 70% diversity at shopfloor in its workforce across 8 of 27 manufacturing units in India.  

Speaking on gender equitable workforce, Zainab Patel, Chief- IDE, Pernod Ricard India said “Gender equity is positively correlated with the profitability of a company, value creation and outperforming competitors. Companies with more women on their boards tend to outperform their competitors in return on equity, return on sales, return on capital, share performance, and stock price growth – this is the IDE story at Pernod Ricard India”.

To further its IDE agenda, Pernod Ricard India has rolled out immersive training sessions, sensitization, and mentorship programs to drive inclusivity and equity across the ecosystem. Initiatives such as gender-neutral washrooms, disability accessibility space, wellness and faith room for employees are part of the larger ID&E goal of the company. To enable an empowering work environment for LGBTQI+ employees, programs such as Redressal Group, Allyship Program with Pride Circle, Employee Resource Group for the community members and Micro-learning Capsule for sharing pride journey have been instituted. Apart from this, the company has also formed IDE Council which is chaired by the MD of the company and focuses on aspects such as career after break, skilling, unique mentorship programs and other inclusivity programs for women and people with disabilities.

To make it big this International Women’s Day, this council has introduced ‘Back to Spirit’ initiative for women who have taken a break from their career and want to get back to work. In the next phase, this program will be extended to members of all genders and orientations. Taking cognizance of existing sub-conscious biases against LGBTQI+ community, the company has also worked on modules that educate the employees on language and drama-based training to sensitive employees across the ecosystem. To make the workplace more inclusive for PWDs, the company has structured audits that help in identifying roles for specialized skill opening doors for the community members- while bringing them into mainstream employment.

Pernod Ricard India has long been challenging stereotypes and writing its own story in the traditionally male-dominated alco-bev industry. The company will continue to advance diversity narrative by stepping up its efforts to establish a fair, balanced, and convivial workplace.