BAT named Africa’s gender mainstreaming champion
BAT Kenya Managing Director and General Manager East African Markets Crispin Achola (third left) with the BAT team soon after receiving the award.
What you need to know:
- British American Tobacco (BAT) is this year’s gender mainstreaming champion for Africa.
- The organisation currently boasts of 43 per cent women in senior management and more than 40 per cent of the entire population.
The British American Tobacco (BAT) is this year’s gender mainstreaming champion for Africa.
The firm was named the winner during the 10th Accenture Gender Mainstreaming Awards ceremony held concurrently in Kenya and South Africa recently.
BAT East and Southern Africa unit scooped the top accolade for its efforts in accelerating gender diversity and inclusion in their organisation.
The company's East Africa unit with its manufacturing hub in Nairobi's industrial Area, was a category winner for Women Empowerment in the Workplace - East Africa and a second finalist for mainstreaming gender and disability.
Critical role
Crispin Achola, BAT Kenya Managing Director and General Manager East African Markets, said the company is honoured to have been named the Africa champion in gender mainstreaming.
“While it is my belief and that of BAT that driving diversity and inclusion is the right thing to do, this external recognition is a testament that our vision is aligned with that of our stakeholders and society in general. At BAT, we are clear that women play a critical role in society and business,” said Mr Achola.
He explained that women in the organisation are integral to the delivery of BAT’s purpose to build a better tomorrow.
The gender representation in the organisation, he said, currently boasts of 43 per cent of senior management and more than 40 per cent of the entire population.
Meaningful inclusion
Mr Achola echoed the importance of the four key pillars of the company namely gender, background, identity, persons with disabilities and generations - all of which he noted are relevant in supporting women at the workplace.
The Gender Mainstreaming Awards, organised by Business Engage, continue to be a key instrument and advocate for the meaningful inclusion and representation of women within business and the private sector.
The various award categories recognise successful case studies, strategies and best practices implemented by private sector companies in their drives to embrace gender mainstreaming and seam it into their respective organisational fabrics.
Anne Dembah, Pfizer Country Manager, Kenya and Cluster Lead East Africa won the Inclusive Leader Award for East Africa category. This recognised her remarkable leadership and mentorship, with special emphasis on gender diversity and inclusion.
Core business
Guinness Ghana, Ghana’s leading total beverage business, was West Africa’s leading business with Women in Executive Committees.
The award is in recognition of the business’ exemplary and successful gender mainstreaming programme to shift statistics in terms of women representation on executive committees and embedding it as a core business practice.
The beverage company also emerged finalists in three other categories: Women on Boards, Women Empowerment in the Workplace, and Investing in Young Women in the West Africa categories.
Established in 2012, the Gender Mainstreaming Awards aim to encourage private sector buy-in towards achieving more meaningful representation of women in mainstream business.
As part of accelerated efforts to deliver on their ambition, the company aims to achieve a 50:50 gender balance and enhance the representation of people with disabilities in the organisation to 5 per cent by 2025.
Some of the awards available for companies included women on boards, women on executive committees in multinationals, equal representation and participation awards and economic empowerment awards.
Gender equality
Other awards are mainstreaming gender and disability award, empowerment of women in community award, investing in young women award and gender reporting by listed companies’ awards.
Retired President Uhuru Kenyatta is among few individuals in Kenya who have received a continental award in the past. Earlier this year, he received the African Gender Award 2022 for championing gender equality and development in the country.
The award serves as a mechanism to monitor and reward an African Head of State or Government who has demonstrated outstanding achievement in promoting gender equality and development within the thematic areas of the African Union’s Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality.
The Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality in Africa was adopted by the Assembly of the Heads of State and Governments of the African Union (AU) in 2004.
