Coats Turkey among top companies for gender equality

The Turkish Parliament created the Committee on Equality of Opportunity for Women and Men (KEFEK), eight years ago. The committee works with Turkish Statistical Institute to review and survey over 300 companies in Turkey. KEFEK identifies the best companies in terms of gender equality.

“One of our core principles at Coats is to provide a safe, respectful and inclusive working environment: a true meritocracy where everyone has an equal opportunity to succeed. This is an excellent endorsement of the initiatives of our team in Turkey and also reflects the work of our wider global Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) Network,” said Coats group chief executive Rajiv Sharma.

The award was accepted on behalf of Coats by Erhan Aras, general manager, Industrial Zips, Coats Turkey.

Coats launched the D&I Network in 2015, recognising the benefits which a truly diverse workforce brings through different perspectives, employee engagement and business performance. The initiative includes communications and events, such as marking International Women’s Day; and regular D&I Network conference calls featuring internal and external speakers.

To support the global programme locally, the project team in Turkey created a three-year strategy and action plan which included activities such as working with local businesses to benchmark Coats and learn from their experiences; carrying out a survey to understand employee perceptions; and training in areas such as unconscious bias and how to manage a diverse team. (RKS)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk – India