By Loïc Moutault, Global President, Mars Petcare
As leaders, it’s vital we recognize the power of embracing gender equity. It is a moral imperative – and it’s clear that enabling greater participation of women in businesses and communities delivers real, measurable benefit.
For me, gender equity is rooted in my own experiences of the power of diverse, gender-balanced leadership teams. And I’m committed to supporting this vital agenda beyond the confines of a single day like International Women's Day. But it would be remiss if I didn’t use this backdrop to share an update on Full Potential, the Mars platform on gender equity that my friend and colleague Stefanie Straub(Opens a new window) and I co-sponsor.
Last year, Full Potential focused on driving progress to address the barriers women face – through active allyship, leadership and advancement programs, as well as policies and support.
As part of Full Potential, we also launched Flip the Status Quo, which identifies, celebrates and invests $100,000 in 10 inspirational Associates from around the world who are taking action on gender bias. I was excited to get to meet with our 2023 Award winners and steering committee to talk about the great work they are doing and – importantly - to hear their insights on how Mars leaders can be more effective in our efforts toward gender equity. Their stories were inspiring, and they posed excellent challenges to us – for example, ‘how do we apply solutions in a way that works for everyone involved?‘
Our conversation also led us to an issue we all need to examine: working on our own biases.
Leading expert in mitigating bias, Harvard Professor Mahzarin Banaji, is someone we’ve turned to, to help our leaders understand and unlearn these biases and offer some helpful guidance. Her work highlights how implicit bias, including gender bias, exists within all of us.
It influences our perceptions, attitudes and behaviors, often in subtle and unconscious ways. By acknowledging and confronting our own biases, individuals and organizations can begin to challenge discriminatory attitudes and behaviors and work toward creating more inclusive and equitable environments.
Professor Banaji also emphasizes the importance of collective action in advancing gender equity. Seeing the tangible impact of our many efforts across Mars has reinforced my conviction in the power of collective effort and allyship too.
That’s why I’m pleased to share that alongside our existing programs, policies and funding commitments driving equity, we’re continuing the awards again this year – giving even more of our Associates a chance to be recognized and rewarded.
So: to my fellow Mars Associates and leaders, I really encourage you to nominate someone — of any gender — who is defying gender stereotypes and changing the world around them. Everyone has a role to play, and it may be true that one person can't change the world alone, but they can change the world around them.
