Woolworths Group and Nestle, have taken out 14th and 15th, respectively, in Thomson Reuters D&I index ranks 2018 Top 100 list.
Management consulting firm Accenture has the top spot on the Thomson Reuters most diverse and inclusive organisations list, with the two food companies following close by.
The index ratings are informed by Thomson Reuters environmental, social, and governance data, designed to transparently and objectively measure the relative performance of more than 7,000 companies and provide clients with differentiated insight.
Each company is assigned a score across diversity, inclusion, people development and news controversy pillars.
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Only companies with scores across all four pillars are assigned an overall score.
The top 100 ranked companies with the best overall scores are selected for the index.
Thomson Reuters global head of environmental, social and governance, Elena Philipova, said the diversity and inclusion index, now in its third year, highlights the companies who are leading the way in imbedding these values into their company strategy.
“The industry is beginning to recognise the societal and business benefits of investing in diverse and inclusive companies and we are working closely with various investment firms who are looking to develop investable products based on our D&I index,” she said.
Outsell vice president and lead analyst, Will Jan, said recent studies revealed that diversity and inclusion correlated to value-creation and profitability.
Woolworths Group chief people officer, Caryn Katsikogianis, said the company is are proud to be ranked high in the global diversity and inclusion index.
“It is welcome recognition of our efforts and progress in creating an inclusive culture across all of our businesses.
“As a group, we embrace the value diversity brings to our organisation and seek to provide an inclusive work environment that gives all our team members a sense of purpose and belonging.
“We want our customers to experience a welcoming and genuine team when they shop with us, and our diverse team is key to delivering this,” said Katsikogianis.
The Woolworths Group has been focused on a number of diversity and inclusion initiatives to create better experiences for its customers, team and communities.
These include refugee programs, LGBTI inclusion, gender pay parity and indigenous employment.
“This recognition is a testament to our 200,000 team members across Australia and New Zealand who make the Woolworths Group such a great place to work.
“As a customer-led business, we know it’s critical that our teams reflect the communities we serve. While we’ve made progress we know there is more we can do and we’ll continue working hard to build an even more diverse and inclusive workplace,” said Katsikogianis.