Kearney launches new benchmarking tool to advance gender equality in supply chains

LONDON and NEW YORK, Nov. 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Global consultancy partnership Kearney today announces a new benchmarking tool to help businesses examine their sourcing operations and improve opportunities for diverse, women-owned, and women-led businesses in supply chains.

Kearney is a knowledge partner to the Women4Business Daring Circle. The Daring Circle, run by the Women's Forum for the Economy and Society, brings together a network of partners to promote and accelerate diversity in business and supply chains at a global level.

The Women4Business Daring Circle is led by P&G, in collaboration with BNP Paribas, Bouygues, Exxon Mobil, Johnson & Johnson, L'Oréal, and Publicis Group. The Circle is supported by Knowledge Partner Kearney, Insight Partner Clifford Chance, Institutional Partners WEConnect International and UN Women, and Academic Partner HEC, along with a diverse network of experts and corporate champions.

Kearney's research with the Women's Forum in 2019 spurred the need to create this tool—while over a third (35%) of firms surveyed in Europe and North America already had a supplier diversity program, only 18% of those without one were planning to develop one in the future. Without action now, almost half of businesses will still not have a supplier diversity program in place by 2022.

Through the completion of the Inclusive Sourcing Journey, a digital assessment tool, organizations will be provided with specific actions that their company can take to advance equal opportunity in their procurement practices and that benchmarks their positioning against regional and industry peers. The research outcomes this year will inform the Women4Business Toolkit for Action, a set of materials designed to advance the development and implementation of best practices for supplier diversity and inclusive sourcing. The results of the research and the Toolkit for Action will be shared at the Women's Forum for the Economy and Society's virtual Annual Meeting on 18–19 November 2020.

Despite there being an estimated 224 million women entrepreneurs, owning 35% of firms worldwide, less than 1% of global corporate or government spend is on women-owned businesses. Through advancing supplier diversity, Kearney aims to empower women business leaders and diversify supply chains to create an environment that delivers multiple benefits to the economy and to society.

Imran Dassu, Partner at Kearney, comments:

"We can no longer ignore the benefits of diversity in every part of business operations. Increasing women's representation in supply chains will give businesses improved ability to meet diverse customer needs, bring better innovation and competition, and enhance their overall brand. For real change to happen however, it will mean securing the highest level of commitment and buy-in from leaders and developing gender strategies that aim to tackle the root causes of inequality in the supply chain.

We're proud to be working with the Women's Forum to overcome systemic barriers to women's inclusion and encourage a shift to achieve a gender equal society."

Jamila Belabidi, Purchases Director, Global Women Economic Empowerment at Procter & Gamble, shares:

"Inclusive sourcing has been a long-standing priority for our company and our US supplier diversity program expanded to become global in 2015.  Economic inclusion can only be achieved through commitment, collaboration and innovative efforts such as those initiated within the Daring Circle. We take pride in partnering with the Women's Forum as the platform to help us design and drive a program customized to each organization, together with WEConnect and Kearney. We see the inclusive sourcing tool as a true force for good and a force for growth for our communities. We are calling on more companies to join us on our inclusive sourcing journey."

Chiara Corazza, Managing Director at Women's Forum for the Economy & Society, adds:

"At the Women's Forum, we believe that the need for women in business, as entrepreneurs and more, is not only an ethical but also an economic and social imperative. If women and men participated equally as entrepreneurs, global GDP could rise by up to 6%, or $5 trillion. Now, more than ever, we need to act together to realize the full potential of women entrepreneurs and women leaders, and to ensure their full participation and contribution to the economy and society. Therefore, with our partners of the Women4Business Daring Circle, we're committed to promote and accelerate women's economic empowerment in business and supply chains."

About Kearney
As a global consulting partnership in more than 40 countries, our people make us who we are. We're individuals who take as much joy from those we work with as the work itself. Driven to be the difference between a big idea and making it happen, we help our clients break through.

About Women's Forum for the Economy & Society
The Women's Forum for the Economy and Society is a leading platform that works to highlight the many voices of women in order to bring a high-value contribution to the most crucial challenges that the world is currently experiencing. It provides a unique place in which business and policy makers work together to seek solutions to common problems related not only to the role of women but also to economic growth and wellbeing, share experiences and promote best practices for encouraging a shift to a perfect gender equality society. It works on developing concrete instruments, Charter, and recommendations to accelerate inclusive growth and reduce inequalities through the empowerment of women across society.

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SOURCE Kearney