Women in Leadership – Driving female talent forward at Asda

FTA Everywoman in Transport & Logistics Awards have become an important feature in our talent and development calendar, helping us to inspire and enable our female talent to see the possibilities open to them.

At Asda we put our customers at the heart of everything we do and with an 80% female customer base it is essential that diversity is reflected throughout all areas of our business. We recognise that to create forward looking, high performing teams you need breadth of thought, which is why we are striving to do more to encourage and support women to take on more senior roles right across our business.

In 2013 we launched our women in leadership programme. This programme helps to create a nurturing and rewarding environment for our female colleagues and managers to install confidence and allow their voice to be heard. They go on a personal journey of shared experiences, mentoring and education. In the second year of the programme they deliver their own legacy project, ‘paying forward’ the knowledge they have gained to inspire and motivate other women, thereby creating a virtuous loop of talent development and sponsorship.

Our partnership with Everywoman has played an important role in helping to make an impact through the network itself, the leadership academy and most importantly these awards, which have not only allowed us to shine a light on our own role models, but to be inspired by many others across the transport and logistics industry. Our past winners Katie Bratton (2011) and Vicki Brockley (2012) and finalists Gail Jordan (2013) Maryam Cassidy and Amy Goddard (2014) continue to develop and motivate others to follow suit.

These awards will not only continue to celebrate great female role models, but they continue to demonstrate how business performance is being positively impacted by the ability to tap into the unique skills and experiences that women bring to the table.

“Our recent Global Women’s Forum, kicked off by Doug McMillon President & CEO, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., built on our International Women’s Day event and allowed our Senior Leadership team to really get under the skin of what we can do to encourage women to take a next step up the career ladder at Asda. We work hard to create a culture where women feel they can put themselves forward and be confident to make their voice heard. The event ended with our Senior Leadership team making personal commitments to breaking down perceived barriers to progression for women and opening up opportunities for all. I am immensely proud that as a business we have been included in The Times Top 50 Employers for Women list for the second year running, recognising our commitment to gender equality in the workplace.” Jill Clark, Senior Director People Asda Logistics Services