Philip Morris South Africa Reaches Gender Equality and Diversity Goal

South Africa: 46 Percent of Senior Management Positions Now Held by Women

Philip Morris South Africa (PMSA) is committed to advancing women’s equity with significant progress to lead gender equality locally, this as the company reaches 51 percent of management positions being held by women.

As South Africa celebrates Women’s Month - it represents a call on all citizens to strive towards a more gender-balanced world. PMSA says that realising gender equality and women’s rights for an equal future is key not only for businesses but for the country.

Philip Morris International’s (PMI) aim of increasing representation of women in management to at least 40 percent by the end of 2022 was set in 2018. Currently 39.2 percent of management positions at PMI are held by women globally. This marks an increase of over 10 percent since 2014.

“We’re well on our way to achieving our 40 percent gender equality goal globally and in South Africa we have already gone beyond the target set out with 51 percent of management positions held by women,” says Lynn Kleinsmith, Director of Human Resources at Philip Morris South Africa. “Fostering an inclusive and diverse workplace is not only the right thing to do. It is crucial to our transformation that we attract and retain a diverse community of innovators who can help deliver our smoke-free vision.”

“At PMI we believe in inspiring action to increase diversity, inclusion and the appreciation of human differences,” she says. “PMI recognises that there is still work to be done: There is still a very male-dominant senior leadership scenario and it’s not uncommon to see meeting rooms of men making decisions without any or only one or two women present.”

Kleinsmith adds that PMI has already recognised that this is a talent gap that needs to be closed. “We have a strong commitment from the top, signalling its importance as a business priority, with some very proactive, intentional leaders pushing boundaries,” she says.

Earlier this year PMI was recognised amongst Bloomberg's Gender-Equality Index for its commitment to advancing women’s equity for a second consecutive year.

PMI is also the first multinational company to obtain a global Equal-Salary certification from the non-profit EQUAL-SALARY Foundation for three consecutive years. This independent certification verifies that PMI pays men and women equally for work of equal value everywhere the company operates all over the world.

“We strive to treat men and women equally and it's something that should be obvious and not require documentation to implement,” she says. “Both men and women have the right to the same remuneration and bonuses, and this should be the case everywhere.”

“At Phillip Morris, we talk about giving everyone a fair share, not just women and we recognise that to empower women, we must engage and empower men to be advocates for equality,” says Kleinsmith.

“Inclusion and diversity are key elements in PMI’s transformation,” she adds. “The company is transforming at a rapid pace - from the inside out – our ambition is to offer better alternatives in the form of smoke-free products to all adult smokers who would otherwise continue to smoke and, ultimately, to create a world where cigarettes become obsolete.”

“To do that, we need to attract and develop the most talented people from the widest pool, with different skills, backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences to challenge each other and the status quo”, Kleinsmith says. “After all, diverse teams make innovation possible.”

“To create a gender-balanced and inclusive workplace is an enormous task and can sometimes be overwhelming,” she comments. “We recognise though that fostering a diverse workplace is a key driver of the creativity and innovation needed to achieve our ambitious vision to move away from cigarettes.”

“In the past, many companies - PMI included - have measured their progress toward a diverse and inclusive culture mainly through female representation,” says Kleinsmith. “This doesn’t reflect the complexity and various aspects of inclusion. Making real progress with regards to an inclusive culture requires finding a way to measure it.”

PMI’s year-long academic research project conducted independently by the International Institute for Management Development (IMD), ‘Inclusive Future’ revealed how businesses can drive workplace inclusion and equality.

The research examined a broad range of both qualitative and quantitative approaches and practices that organisations can implement to drive organisational change in this critical area.

A key finding which emerged was that more than 50 percent of workers said they felt excluded in their current or former place of work. Meanwhile, over a quarter of employees (27 percent) said that they do not feel safe and comfortable speaking up on inclusion issues in their workplace—which increases to over a third (36 percent) of employees in non-management positions.

“Women’s Month is a fitting reminder that although more needs to be done to attain gender parity towards women, female leadership growth within multinational companies is happening at a rapid pace and action is happening to inspire gender equality,” Kleinsmith concludes.

Issued on behalf of Philip Morris South Africa.

Media Contact: Kisha Reader-BainTin Can PRkisha@tincan.co.za