2010 Catalyst Award winners announced

Awards recognize programs that advance women

An RBC program that embeds diversity and inclusion principles into its approach with employees, clients and communities has been recognized by Catalyst, a New York-based advocacy group for the advancement of women.

The Catalyst Award honors exceptional initiatives from companies and firms that support and advance women in business. The other winners are Deloitte, Campbell Soup and Telstra.

"These initiatives exemplify our Catalyst vision – 'Changing workplaces. Changing lives'," said Ilene Lang, president and CEO of Catalyst. "They impact the lives of employees, families, and communities by transforming organizations, and serve as models that inspire and encourage others to embrace inclusive workplaces that benefit women, men and business."

The RBC program, Client First Transformation, reframes the company’s business strategy to be more client-focused. Among other significant business benefits, the initiative continues to generate solid advancements for women across the company.

Women in executive roles (executive vice presidents, senior vice presidents, and vice presidents) increased from 35 per cent to 39 per cent from 2005 to 2009, and women’s representation as corporate officers (senior vice president level and above) has grown from 27 per cent to more than 30 per cent during that same time period.

Women in the high-potential talent pool increased from 31 per cent to 43 per cent, with 21 per cent being visible minority women.

Campbell Soup’s initiative, Winning in the Marketplace, Winning in the Workplace, Winning With Women, has utilized employee engagement, knowledge sharing, and innovation to develop a culture of diversity and inclusion and support the company’s overall plan to transform its workplace and marketplace performance.

From 2005 to 2009, women in executive roles increased from 21 per cent to 25 per cent. In manufacturing roles, the percentage of women and women of color plant directors and managers increased from 14 per cent to 21 per cent, and from one per cent to three per cent, respectively.

The goal of Deloitte’s Women’s Initiative: Living the Lattice is to drive marketplace growth and create a culture where the best talent chooses to work. Women’s representation as partners, principals, and directors has risen from six per cent in 1995 to 22 per cent in 2009, and representation of women senior managers has increased from 23 per cent to 36 per cent in the same time.

In addition, the gender turnover gap decreased from seven per cent in 1995 to less than one per cent during 2009.

In 2009, Deloitte surpassed the 1,000 mark for U.S. women partners, principals, and directors.

Telstra’s Next Generation Gender Diversity initiative uses an integrated approach to increase women’s representation at senior and pipeline levels and engage men as change agents, creating an inclusive culture of mentoring and networking.

For women in the pipeline (general managers, area managers and managers), total share of promotions grew steadily from 29 per cent in 2006 to 41 per cent in 2009. Representation of women on the CEO leadership team increased from six per cent to 31 per cent, and the number of women corporate officers has grown from 31 per cent to 35 per cent.

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