Showing up for employees and their families in a way that's real and effective
Diversity, equity and inclusion start with a culture in which everyone can thrive. Employees from across the business describe what this means for them
“Over the past five years, I’ve noticed a growth in confidence among leaders within our business, their level of comfort and willingness to address DEI issues with me and their teams,” says Maureen Gibbons, VP Leadership, Culture and DEI at Glanbia.
“It’s now second nature to be an inclusive leader and to make sure everybody feels comfortable in their own skin,” she says.
This is a feeling across the business. At a recent event, Glanbia’s leaders were asked to share their thoughts on how they integrate diversity, equity and inclusion. They talked about everything from encouraging people to speak up, to giving trust, flexibility, autonomy and support when colleagues need it.
Several said that, as well as being the right thing to do, DEI makes business sense too. “For me, diversity and inclusion are a huge source of competitive advantage,” says Chief Corporate Development Officer Ian Doyle. “We have a wide range of perspectives in our firm, and reflecting all those in our decisions ultimately ensures we get to the best possible outcomes.”
DEI starts with a diverse candidate slate
“We’re trying to make sure DEI is part of everyday life at Glanbia and not a separate programme you just need to check a box on,” Maureen says.
This starts with the hiring process. Managers like Head of IT Fergal Wall appreciate the diverse, representative candidate slates he gets from the talent acquisition team when he’s hiring.
“We’ve around 26 nationalities in the IT team,” he says. “We get a great mix of applicants in the business services and business solutions part of IT. On the technology side, which is all about services and infrastructure, we find it much more difficult to get some proportionate female representation in the team. But we’ve had some recent, very good successes.”
“Our selection process is a meritocracy, so the best candidate should always get the role,” Maureen says. “But we cast the net as wide as we can so that we give our hiring managers options. They’re the ones now starting to ask us: ‘Can you make sure you bring diverse candidates forward?’”
“We’re moving the needle on improving female representation”
Diversity is nothing without a positive culture in which everyone can thrive. In 2023, Glanbia introduced a pilot female development programme called Leading to Accelerate, offering 15 women from all parts of the business around the world the opportunity to build their personal brand and to network with peers, with the aim of supporting more women into senior roles.
“There was some classroom learning around barriers and how to overcome them, and how to get exposure so you’re setting yourself up for the next level. But the best piece of feedback we got was that just by forming that group and enabling women to get together, they felt that they weren’t in it alone,” Maureen says. “It was a success, and we’re running the programme again this year for a new cohort. It will be interesting to hear what they say.”
The numbers show that, slowly but surely, gender balance is improving at Glanbia, with 40 per cent female management participation in 2023, a two per cent increase on the prior year.
“This may not sound like a big number, but in the scheme of improving representation, it’s quite a jump for us,” Maureen says. “We’re moving the needle as best we can at a pace that makes sense.
“There’s work still to do”
The flexibility of Smart Working – a hybrid, outcome-driven way of working – is great for people juggling work and family life. Glanbia’s new family leave policy, put in place last year, also helps. “It sets a global minimum standard for taking time off for family situations, whether it be having a baby, adopting a baby, fertility treatments or peoples’ ability to take time off when it’s important to them,” says Maureen.
Melanie Brechka, VP Commercial, makes the point that: “Inclusion also covers making sure that dads as well as moms are supported when they have special events with their families.” Michael Lynch, VP HR International, agrees: “I’m a strong believer in making sure the team feels comfortable to bring what’s going on outside into work. We work hard here, and we’ve all got something that we have to balance with that.”
Melanie also calls out Glanbia’s Network of Women [NOW], one of the firm’s three employee resource groups (ERGs), as a way of making people on her team feel included.
“Our ERGs have taken off in the past couple of years,” Maureen adds. “We’ve 1,000 members across Glanbia NOW, our Network of Women, True Colours, our LGBTQIA+ ERG and our multicultural ERG Mosaic. It’s amazing to watch them grow.
“I’m very proud of watching them take on their leadership roles, put on educational and networking events and flourish.”
Although Maureen feels “really pleased with where we’ve grown to at this stage,” she’s not complacent.
“You know, this process is a journey and we’re not going to wake up one day and be in a perfect state,” she says. “There’s always work to do.”