Sodexo Recognized as a Top Company for Female Executives

GAITHERSBURG, Md., March 14, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Sodexo, a food services and facilities management company?committed to improving Quality of Life, announced today that it has been named to the?National Association for Female Executives (NAFE) 2018 Top Companies for Executive Women list?for the fifth consecutive year.?The list commends companies?that champion women and empower them?to make?decisions that affect their company's future and its bottom line.?

"We are thrilled to be recognized for our ongoing commitment to advancing women in the workplace," said Rohini Anand, PhD, SVP, Corporate Responsibility & Global Chief Diversity Officer, Sodexo.?"We have made great progress globally and we are really proud of our efforts. We realize that there is always more that we can do, so we continue to explore new ways to build upon the foundation that we have created."??

Next week,?Sodexo Women's International Forum for Talent (SWIFt), a committee?of senior men and women executives,?holds its?annual?meeting in New York?City?with the purpose of advocating for gender balance,?professional development and career growth for women within Sodexo. Driving?SWIFt's?mission is the organization's commitment to have 40 percent of senior leadership made up of women leaders by 2025. Currently, Sodexo has 32 percent of women in leadership positions including the CEO of Sodexo North America.

Betty Spence, president of NAFE, says, "NAFE's annual scrutiny of women's progress at American companies offers essential data about the movement of women into top leadership in the private sector. In this first year of having five NAFE Top Companies with boards of 50% or more women, we point to a synergy between the greater presence of women on the board and an increase in the number of winning companies with women CEOs and with 50%-plus women in the C-suite (10 companies)."??

Sodexo's commitment to diversity and inclusion globally is longstanding.?Earlier this month?Sodexo?issued?its?gender balance study,?which revealed?that?teams managed by a balanced mix of men and women are more successful across a range of measurements. The five-year, one-of-a-kind study of 70 entities across different functions represents 50,000 managers worldwide.??

Sodexo?was?named to?Bloomberg's?2018 Gender-Equality Index (GEI) for its advancement in gender equality.? Additionally,?Sodexo was?ranked in the top 10 of DiversityInc?magazine's?'Top 50 Companies for Diversity' list for the 9th consecutive year,?Best Companies for Multicultural Women list by?Working?Mother Magazine? and recognized?on?three of? FORTUNE Magazine?lists in 2017, including?World's Most Admired Companies,?Change the World?and the FORTUNE 500.?

The 2018 NAFE Top Companies application includes some 200 questions on female representation at all levels, especially the corporate officer and profit-and-loss ranks. The vetting process includes tracking access and usage of programs and policies that promote the advancement of women as well as the training and accountability of managers in relation to the number of women who advance.?In order to?be eligible for the NAFE Top Companies survey, entrants must have a minimum of 1,000 employees, two women on the Board of Directors and be a public or private company.?The NAFE Top 70 Companies, released today, is featured in the April/May issue of Working Mother.?

ABOUT NAFE?

The National Association for Female Executives (NAFE), founded in 1972, serves 20,000 members nationwide with networking, tools and solutions to strengthen and grow their careers and businesses.?Working Mother?magazine publishes the annual NAFE Top Companies list.?NAFE.com?provides up-to-date information, a community for women in business, and access to member benefits. NAFE is a division of Working Mother Media, owned by the Bonnier Corporation.?

About Sodexo North America??

Sodexo North America is part of a global, Fortune 500 company with a presence in 80 countries. Sodexo is a leading provider of integrated food, facilities management and other services that enhance organizational performance, contribute to local communities and improve quality of life of 15 million customers in corporate, education, healthcare, senior living, sports and leisure, government and other environments daily.  The company employs 133,000 people at 13,000 sites in all 50 U.S. states and Canada and indirectly supports tens of thousands of additional jobs through its annual purchases of $9.2 billion in goods and services from small to large American businesses. In support of local communities across the U.S., the Sodexo Stop Hunger Foundation has contributed close to $30 million over the past 20 years to help feed children in America impacted by hunger.  To learn more about Sodexo, visit SodexoInsights.com and connect with us on Facebook and @SodexoUSA on Twitter.

SOURCE Sodexo