Cargill joins new Paradigm for Parity℠ Coalition, pledging gender parity in leadership by 2030

MINNEAPOLIS, Dec. 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Cargill CEO and Chairman David MacLennan today joined a diverse group of current and former CEOs and business leaders in launching the Paradigm for Parity℠ coalition, an organization committed to achieving gender parity across all levels of corporate leadership by 2030.

"Cargill is proud to be among the first to sign on to the Paradigm for Parity," said MacLennan. "We believe inclusive teams deliver value, and we are committed to doing the important work to make gender parity a reality. Whether it's diversifying the board room or providing opportunities for women working on the frontlines of food, agriculture and nutrition, we are taking action to build a company where employees thrive. "

Recognizing that achieving gender parity in its management ranks will take a continued effort, Cargill has already taken numerous measures to advance its efforts in recruiting, retaining, developing, and promoting women. For example:

• In 2015, for the first time, the company named three women to its 10-person executive team.
• The Cargill Women's Network (CWN), a corporate-sponsored resource group with chapters around the world, is expanding and driving change throughout the company's operations.
• Based on its inclusive policies and hiring practices, and the local CWN's work, the prestigious annual Working Mother Media and AVTAR survey named Cargill one of the 100 best companies for women to work in India.
• Cargill is a founding member for the relaunch of the INCAE Business School's Leadership Center Collaborative and Women's Network (CLCM), aimed at giving greater opportunities to professional women in Latin America.
• Cargill offer benefits such as flexible work policies, mothers' rooms for nursing mothers, special programs for female engineers, and up to six weeks of unpaid parental leave per birth or adoption of a child for all parents in the U.S., regardless of their applicability for the Family Medical Leave Act.

In the U.S., effective January 1, 2017, Cargill is launching a new paid family leave (PFL) policy, providing up to two weeks of pay for eligible employees who take a leave from their job to bond with a new child or a family member with a serious health condition.

Cargill already provides substantial paid family leave benefits in many countries, in accordance with local laws and regulations. Although the U.S. does not have similar laws, Cargill has introduced the new policy voluntarily. Very few companies in the U.S. accommodate paid leave for such a broad range of life events.

Paradigm for Parity℠ puts forward a five-point plan that will serve as a catalyst for change and boost progress towards gender parity by 2030. By joining Paradigm for Parity, Cargill signs on to that plan. The five steps are:

1. Eliminating or minimizing unconscious bias in the workplace.
2. Significantly increasing the number of women in senior operating roles, with the near-term goal of at least 30 percent representation in all leadership groups.
3. Measuring targets and maintaining accountability by providing regular progress reports.
4. Basing career progress on business results and performance, rather than physical presence in the office.
5. Providing sponsors, not just mentors, to women well positioned for long-term success.

Paradigm for Parity℠ co-chair Ellen Kullman called the coalition's agenda "a new norm in corporate leadership positions," affording men and women equal power, status and opportunity. "Powerful evidence links gender-balanced leadership with financial and stock market outperformance," she said. "We are proud to partner with 27 major corporations to take definitive action to create the gender balance that will generate those tangible benefits."

The companies whose CEOs have committed to achieving gender parity in corporate leadership positions by 2030 and follow the Paradigm for Parity℠ Action Plan include:

Accenture, Adecco, American Electric Power, APCO Worldwide, AstraZeneca, Bank of America, Cargill, The Coca-Cola Company, DSC Logistics, Edison International, Egon Zehnder, Farient Advisors, Frontier Communications, HealthHelp, Huffington Post, Linkage, LinkedIn, McKinsey & Company, MetricStream, NeoGenomics Laboratories, Inc., Newmont Mining, Nordstrom, SAP, Spencer Stuart, TDIndustries, VF Corporation and Voya Financial. 

About the Paradigm for Parity℠ Movement

The Paradigm for Parity℠ coalition is comprised of CEOs, senior executives, founders, board members and business academics who are committed to achieving a new norm in corporate leadership: one in which women and men have equal power, status, and opportunity.

The coalition created the Paradigm for Parity℠ 5-Point Action Plan for corporations to accelerate the pace of gender equity in senior executive roles. This unique agenda defines bold and specific actions that, taken together and simultaneously implemented as a package, will catalyze change and enable today's business executives to secure the best leaders of tomorrow. Visit www.paradigm4parity.com or follow us on Twitter using @p4parity to learn more about this exciting initiative.

About Cargill

Cargill provides food, agriculture, financial and industrial products and services to the world. Together with farmers, customers, governments and communities, we help people thrive by applying our insights and 150 years of experience. We have 150,000 employees in 70 countries who are committed to feeding the world in a responsible way, reducing environmental impact and improving the communities where we live and work. For more information, visit Cargill.com and our News Center.

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