Diageo North America Honored for Commitment to Increasing Gender Diversity

NORWALK, Conn., Feb. 11, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- In recognition of its commitment to gender diversity, Diageo, the world's leading premium spirits, wine and beer company, has been named to the National Association for Female Executives' (NAFE) list of Top 50 Companies for Executive Women for the second time. According to NAFE, one of the country's largest associations for women professionals and business owners, the list celebrates companies that are committed to increasing gender diversity at the top, because they know it's vital to a healthy bottom line.

Diageo's flexible working arrangements, which include job share, flextime, compressed hours and opportunities to work from home, are available to ensure that employees with diverse needs can balance their personal and work responsibilities. Additionally, programs such as a concierge service, back-up daycare and college placement assistance, are positioned to help achieve a better work-life balance. Mentoring initiatives are also available and are designed to foster professional growth.

"We are honored to be among NAFE's Top 50 Companies for Executive Women," said Eliana Zem, Senior Vice President Human Resources, Diageo North America. "Currently 33% of our executives at the director level and above are women, and we credit that to our progressive policies and inclusive culture."

Many of Diageo's office locations also offer on-site services to help with work-life balance, including health clubs, laundry, dry cleaning and banking services. Diageo encourages employees to work closer to their homes and families whenever possible. The company is always open to new ideas from employees about how to make existing policies meet their needs.

NAFE's Top 50 Companies for Executive Women are judged on answers to more than 200 questions regarding female representation at all levels, especially the corporate officer and profit-and-loss leadership ranks. The application also tracks how many employees have access to programs and policies that promote the advancement of women and how many employees take advantage of those programs and policies. The application focuses on how companies train managers to help women advance and how those managers are held accountable for the advancement of female employees that they oversee.

The Top 50 Companies for Executive Women are profiled at http://www.workingmother.com/best-company-list/135080.

About Diageo

Diageo (Dee-AH-Gee-O) is the world's leading premium drinks business with an outstanding collection of beverage alcohol brands across spirits, beer and wine. These brands include Johnnie Walker, Crown Royal, J&B, Windsor, Buchanan's and Bushmills whiskies, Smirnoff, Ciroc and Ketel One vodkas, Baileys, Captain Morgan, Jose Cuervo, Tanqueray and Guinness.

Diageo is a global company, with its products sold in more than 180 countries around the world. The company is listed on both the New York Stock Exchange (DEO) and the London Stock Exchange (DGE). For more information about Diageo, its people, brands, and performance, visit us at Diageo.com. For our global resource that promotes responsible drinking through the sharing of best practice tools, information and initiatives, visit DRINKiQ.com.

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SOURCE Diageo