Creating opportunities for vulnerable women
To empower women in local communities and address the issue of unemployment, Sodexo has invested in a job shadowing program called SheWorks. The program was launched in 2019, focused on helping marginalized women or those living in low-income neighborhoods to gain work experience.
In 2021, SheWorks was deployed by Sodexo in 15 countries. In Colombia, for example, the program offered women a 9-month training program, as well as a 6-month internship, earning the GEEIS-SDG trophy from Arborus.
Inspiring the female leaders of tomorrow
One of the challenges Sodexo faces is gender balance in operational leadership, Facilities Management, IT, digital and data roles. Recognizing the gender gap begins in education, Sodexo supports Inspiring Girls, an international organization focused on raising aspirations of young girls by connecting them with female role models.
Sodexo also partners with industry bodies promoting gender diversity in Facilities Management, with the objective of enriching a healthy pipeline of gender-balanced future employees.
Invest in the digital inclusion of women
Sodexo Ventures has invested into is a hit to support the digital inclusion of women communities (1,200 women so far), mainly in emerging countries (38 countries) through digital work and training. Sodexo Ventures will continue to develop this partnership to impact tens of thousands of people around the world.
Stop gender-based violence
Gender-based violence has increased during the pandemic. In response, Sodexo launched a campaign across 30 countries called “Time to Act”. It focused on raising awareness of gender-based violence and providing guidance for teams to engage with local stakeholders.
In Peru, Sodexo is a founding member of a think tank, comprised of corporate CEOs, focused on actions against gender-based violence. In Brazil, Sodexo has partnered with City Hall of Sao Paulo for the last 3 years, recruiting and training more than 60 victims of gender-based violence.
Driving racial equity
Alongside gender balance, there has been increasing focus on driving racial equity at Sodexo, and this was further enhanced in light of the Black Lives Matter movement. Earlier in the year, Sodexo conducted listening sessions with employees from different ethnic backgrounds to better understand their workplace experience. As a result, it developed racial sensitivity training and guidance for managers to support conversations about race with their teams.
In support of communities in the United States, Sodexo has pledged 10 million U.S. dollars to Historically Black Colleges & Universities (HBCU). Through its SodexoMAGIC partnership with Magic Johnson Enterprises, Sodexo has increased the number of supplier from under-represented groups to 50% of the Supply Chain.
