Unilever Wants Women To Make Up More Than Half Of Its Management Team By 2015

Unilever plans to make women account for 55 percent of its senior management team by 2015. The consumer goods company cited several reasons for its move to highlight women executives, including women control almost $12 trillion of the world’s $18.4 trillion in consumer spending; and majority of university graduates in developed countries are women, forecast by the OECD to rise from 57 percent in 2005 to 63 percent in 2025. Also, diversity fuels innovation, according to research by Forbes Insights; and women account for more than 75 percent of Unilever’s consumer base, 50 percent of its global talent pool, and more than 50 percent of graduate recruits. To support its 2015 goal, Unilever developed a gender diversity program that includes accountability, mentoring, and appropriate networks.