May. 16, 2022
Celebrating International Women's Day as One Suntory
At Suntory, we believe that encouraging and fostering diverse values and ideas within our business is central to our vision of Growing for Good. We strive for an inclusive culture that welcomes and encourages our employees' differences by educating, advocating and communicating from the top to empower individuals to bring their full selves to work. We have committed to driving progress in gender equity through more leadership roles, career opportunities, and mentorship programs for women.
In support of our commitment to an inclusive workplace, Suntory and its Group companies celebrated International Women's Day in March by highlighting women's achievements, challenging gender bias and stereotypes in our workplace, and committing to this year's theme to Break the Bias. In honor of the international observance, Suntory organized a global panel discussion, inviting five panelists from across our businesses to share their experiences as leaders and advocates for gender equity within our global organization and in their everyday lives. Featuring leaders from Suntory Holdings, Beam Suntory, Suntory Pepsico Vietnam Beverage, Frucor Suntory and Suntory Beverage & Food GB&I, this panel showcased Suntorians from across the globe and from a variety of different roles and backgrounds.
Throughout the rest of the month, Suntory held a series of events that gathered over 1,000 Suntorians across the globe who shared their personal commitments and actions towards achieving a more gender-equal world. The series included an opening session for Suntory Holdings’ Chief People Officer, Junji Miyawaki, as well as a fundamental education session with Harvey Floyd, a University of Pennsylvania lecturer, which explored concepts of unconscious bias and intersectionality, and discussed why diversity, equity and inclusion are more important now than ever.
For the closing session, Suntory invited Sarah Liu, Founder & Managing Director at The Dream Collective, to lead a discussion on allyship. Sarah explained why allyship is so important and impactful, as well as how to activate and act as an ally in daily life.
These global events were organized by a team of people from across our business, including Suntory Holdings, Frucor Suntory, Beam Suntory, Suntory Beverage & Food Asia, and Suntory Beverage & Food Europe. This was the first year that a global working group was formed to plan Suntory’s International Women’s Day celebration as “One Suntory.” When Suntorians across different business units and Group companies come together as “One Suntory,” we are able to further the impact of our initiatives as well as our vision of Growing for Good. As we work toward a more equitable workplace, we will continue to take a “One Suntory” approach in our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.