Embracing Equity by Championing a Culture of Belonging

Over the past few years, HEINEKEN globally has taken a deliberate and focused effort to not only say the right things in relation to gender equity and parity, but to also DO the right thing. This has taken shape through deliberate efforts to provide coaching, training and mentorship sessions to over 100 female leaders across our business. These sessions have created a space for professional and personal self-discovery so that when opportunities arise, female leaders are better prepared to make that next move, and their teams can benefit from a manager who is the right level of self-awareness to lead and to develop their team.

Locally, at Red Stripe, part of the HEINEKEN Company, we have translated this support by ensuring all our people leaders are trained in identifying conscious and unconscious biases that may prevent the right candidates from transitioning to the right roles. This creates a more equitable and level playing field so that the right people can support business growth and ideas by being prepared for the right roles beforehand. The aim for us is to ensure we can get the right people in the right places to create high performing teams. Having the right people also means, having an equal and equitable gender representation in decision making roles.

With more female representation in leadership positions, we see where greater resources are needed to provide the requisite support. Recognizing that, we formed the Women’s Empowerment through Collaboration, Allyship and Networking (We CAN) - our own Employee Resource Group (ERG). Co-chaired by me and another colleague, Amoye Phillpotts-Brown, the ERG is a growing community within Red Stripe that aims to increase professional and personal development opportunities for women across the organization with the support of our male allies.

We launched in September 2022 and my hope for our ERG is that it will be a reference for a professional based community where members and allies can create a genuine, authentic space for team members to learn and grow from each other. A space where opinions are regarded and challenged in an atmosphere of respect, and where biases are identified but kept at bay because we are able to

identify them. In a nutshell, my hope is to help create a culture of belonging as part of the employee experience at Red Stripe for both males and females.

The work is incredibly important for me as I strongly believe in supporting the next wave of female leaders and allies because we can learn so much from each other. By creating spaces to share and develop both personally and professionally it is important to create a Red Stripe that mirrors the tomorrow we want to see for Jamaica.

It is my overall wish that on this International Women’s Day, women strive to be the best version of themselves and encourage others to do the same!