When you work at Nestlé, there's one thing you hear over and over again, no matter where you are in the world: 'Nestlé is a people company.'
It comes through in the beating heart of our products - bringing families and friends around the table for a coffee, a stew, or a few chocolate chip cookies. It comes through in our employees - the deep networks and connections they form across the globe. And it's been a huge part of our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion approach, focused on empowerment, inclusion in both talent pipeline and culture, and support.
This year, we hit a significant milestone, with more than 46% of our management positions globally now held by women, including 37.5% of our global Executive Board. For International Women's Day, we wanted to take a new approach and bring our internal conversations together with collaborators outside the company. We joined forces with The Female Quotient to feature three female leaders who hail from different parts of the world and work in different levels and roles.
What they all have in common is clear: they're not only building a strong and impactful career, but they're channeling their experiences to support others in their journeys. Here are three key learnings they shared from their respective paths:
Customize and personalize
One theme we heard from each voice was clear: no one-size-fits all. For companies to drive equity and inclusion - and ultimately retention and performance - it takes real customization, support, and listening to employees. Serena Aboutboul, Head of Nestlé's Nutrition business, shared this key guidance for leaders: "Collective policies will never answer everything - make it personal and individual."
When Serena was at the beginning of her career in Brazil, she took her first maternity leave more than 20 years ago. Coming to the end of her provided leave, she knew the 'standard' approach wasn't working for her. She went to her boss and pitched a blend of part-time, vacation, and full-time work that nearly doubled the standard leave. "There was some pushback at the time but ultimately, they agreed outside the normal process. That let me adapt to returning in the way that worked for me." That took flexibility from the company, but also a mix of bravery and ingenuity from Serena to make the right solution happen.
Now, Nestlé offers a gender-neutral parental support policy with a minimum of six months of leave for primary caretakers around the world (18-weeks paid, with a range of job sharing, flex-return/part-time, and/or and secondary caregiver options). With the help of employee feedback, markets are also evolving a wider range of flexibility approaches, whether for caretaking for aging or sick family members, fertility or adoption support, gender transition, continuing education, or sabbaticals.
Maxine Lim, Communications Manager for Asia, Africa, and Oceania, echoes this mindset when it comes to career-building: "Success does not have to look homogenous - it takes being courageous and authentic." But she does find one element that's a consistent mark of success for leaders: "Most of all it means being an ally to others around you."
Lift up others
Each of our leaders spoke passionately about the role of coaching, mentoring, sponsorship, and allyship in building culture and opportunity.
Stephanie Pullings-Hart, Head of Operations at Nestlé and a new member of the executive board, put it clearly: "It's a responsibility for each of us - each one, reach one. Bring someone along with you. Share what you've learned along the way. I may be the first female Head of Operations for Nestlé, but I'm not the last one."
Maxine's first-hand experience highlighted how important that support has been during major career transitions. "Having champions and allies is so important to success when you're making a shift to a new working environment. In my experience, moving from Southeast Asia to Switzerland, there are so many elements of context to learn. It takes champions and allies to create the environment and space where you can learn and lead with confidence. That's transformative."
Care for yourself
When it comes to leading Nestlé's Nutrition business, Serena has a unique double lens on the many roles that women often play around the world. "I get to work in a very purposeful area, unlocking the power of nutrition to impact health and wellbeing. A healthy woman means strong families, companies, even nations."
She knows first-hand that can be easier said than done: "Women need to take care of ourselves - so many priorities bombard us, and we're under a lot of pressure... But before all of that, comes our health, and we have to pay attention. Our health is a priority."
When we're at our best, receiving the right personalized support, and lifting one another up, it's a powerful unlock. Stephanie knows this clearly, not only in her own role but as a key leader in Nestlé's transformation: "The power of diversity and equity of voices is critical to our overall success - a diverse leadership team and diverse workforce drive better results."
