Diversity

In May 2010, 17 managers at Allied Bakeries attended a day-long training course on diversity and equal opportunities. We intend to hold this training again in 2011.

George Weston Foods recognises that a diverse workforce is better able to understand the demographics of the marketplace it serves, and better able to thrive. We also recognise the benefits that diversity brings, including increased employee satisfaction, productivity and retention. This year George Weston Foods updated its diversity policy, and developed guidelines to support mentoring, particularly to support women. It was involved in the International Women’s Day in Sydney, and its diversity leadership team met with an Australian government diversity body. It plans to hold two networking events each year to encourage internal understanding of diversity, and aim to improve our diversity statistics on women and minority groups.

In the 2010 Financial Mail/Empowerdex Top Empowerment Companies report, Illovo was ranked sixty-seventh out of 200 and sixth in the food and beverages sector. In terms of the various broad-based Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) elements, Illovo was ranked second on social-economic development. As rural development is one of the major national priorities and given that the bulk of Illovo’s enterprise development initiatives were geared towards support for emergent black growers, this is a significant achievement.

Only our South African operations collect data on race. In this country, 42% of the management are non-white, and 14% are female – see table below.

Particular attention is given to preferential procurement from, and outsourcing to, black enterprises and service providers, including the development and support of outgrower schemes. During the 2009/10 season, revenue paid to small-, medium- and large-scale black farmers for their cane supplies in South Africa amounted to £15m.

Since the initiation of the programme for the sale of the company’s farms to black people in 1996/7, Illovo has sold 58% of its cane lands to BEE companies and commercial farmers.