Firmenich has been recognized for its exemplary leadership in Diversity & Inclusion, winning the Cercle Suisse des Administratrices Grandes Entreprises Award 2022.

The Cercle Suisse des Administratrices, based in Switzerland, is an association that promotes diversity and competencies within governance bodies. It was created to give more visibility to women playing a senior role on management teams.

The judges applauded Firmenich’s inclusive culture, the strong representation of women across senior leadership roles, the absence of gender pay gaps, and its equitable recruitment, training and mentoring programs. Firmenich was selected as a finalist out of 36 companies and received the award during a ceremony held at the Beau-Rivage Palace in Lausanne.

Mieke Van de Capelle, Chief Human Resources Officer, Firmenich, comments, “I am very proud that Firmenich received the 2022 Grandes Entreprises Award from Cercle Suisse des Administratrices. This award recognizes our ongoing efforts in embedding equality across our leadership and senior roles worldwide, as well as across the wider organization. We continue to set the standard for excellence as the best place to work in our industry. While I am very proud of this achievement, we recognize this is a journey. Therefore, we are constantly focusing on new frontiers with targeted actions that go beyond gender. By embracing the power of inclusion, we continue to be a leading creative powerhouse.”

Dominique Faesch, Présidente du Prix 2022, Cercle Suisse des Administratrices, adds, “Firmenich was selected out of 36 companies and the Jury was particularly appreciative of the voluntary and long-standing commitments of this family-owned global company. The progress and results of its diversity and inclusion programs and the policies across all levels of its organization and its Board of Directors, are among the defining elements that were taken into consideration by the Jury.”

Since 2018, Firmenich has raised women’s representation in leadership roles to 46%, and eliminated gender pay gaps. According to the UN, women earn 77 cents for every dollar men earn for work of equal value.

The company has also expanded flexible working opportunities worldwide, made recruitment and promotion practices more diversity-focused, created diversity and inclusion training and mentoring programs, and enhanced equal representation at all levels including critical pathways to senior management. Since 2020, 50% of Firmenich’s Executive Committee are women.