Why diversity is personal for me

Here's something I can assure you of: any woman who has made it to the top will have a really good loo story to share.

Let me explain.

I joined Hindustan Unilever’s management training scheme more than 25 years ago as one of the few women among 15,000 men. At the time, women made up only two percent of our employee base (of course, HUL has improved and changed exponentially since then!)

Before that, I had qualified as an engineer as one of a handful of women in my engineering college with thousands of men. I was the first woman to do sales at HUL, the first to visit a factory. Being in the minority was the norm.

And the first task I had to do everywhere I went was to get a toilet built.

There was rarely a ladies’ loo anywhere! Often not even one. I always had to get one put in. Everywhere I went they never imagined that women would work for them.

Women on the board

All my life it has been a great privilege to break some of the taboos and glass ceilings surrounding gender. I feel especially honoured in steering Unilever to a more balanced future.

As a woman who has experienced being in the minority, I have empathy for anyone who feels marginalised. I take it personally.

So when I read that companies in the UK are using ‘pitiful’ excuses to keep women out of boardrooms and that 10 of the country’s largest listed companies still do not have a single female board member, I take that personally too.

Building a more aware organisation

But what about Unilever? How are we getting on? Twenty-five years after I joined, I’m still passionate about making Unilever a more gender-balanced workplace. My role as Chief HR Officer at Unilever has allowed me to increase our diversity and inclusion in our workforce, from our senior leadership downwards.

I am very proud of the huge strides we’ve made in the years since we took up the challenge. We have implemented systematic programs and accountability in the business and, as a result, women now represent 47% of management at Unilever.

At senior levels, we have moved from 7% to a 27% of our workforce as SVP/EVP. Thirty-eight percent of our board are women.

How have we made these changes? This turnaround, and our continued efforts are the result of a successful repeatable model:

• Ownership of business case
• Setting targets
• Strengthening supply, retention and development programs and practices (such as mentoring, maternity and paternity support, women’s skill development and inclusion learning)
• And, of course, engaging the organisation and communicating the case for gender balance.

Our commitment to women’s empowerment

Our inclusion learning programs, for example, are building a shared awareness of a more connected, caring culture so everyone at Unilever feels uniquely valued and supported – whether engaging with inspirational role models, building a positive momentum with inspirational leaders or ensuring embedding of inclusive practices across all HR processes.

We’ve also launched initiatives to reduce unconscious bias, which is often a barrier for women to progress towards leadership positions.

There is still work to be done! Each of us has a role to play in making diversity and inclusion a part of our DNA. With every one of us on board, we will continue to form empowered, resilient teams – for women, for our company and beyond.

No excuses.

(By the way, eventually I got a reputation: “Wherever Leena goes, the capital expenditure goes up because we have to build toilets.” So I suggested they start naming the toilets “Leena’s Loos”. After all, why not?! I might as well brand them if I was going to be known for them! )

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Further reading

• How we are innovating in order to create a more diverse Unilever
• Why are so many businesses forgetting their biggest asset?
• Why we take mental wellbeing seriously at Unilever