Balance for Better

International Women's Day (IWD) is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women, while also marking a call to action for accelerating gender balance.

Balance is not a women's issue, it's a business issue. The race is on for the gender-balanced boardroom, a gender-balanced government, gender-balanced media coverage, a gender-balance of employees, more gender-balance in wealth, gender-balanced sports coverage. Gender balance is essential for economies and communities to thrive.

Collectively we all have a part to play and to raise awareness we held a number of activities across our dunnhumby offices.

In the UK were privileged to be joined by Michele Mees who spoke about the importance of bringing both masculine and feminine qualities to work, and our UK dh Women's (dhWN) network celebrated its first anniversary following a year of incredible achievements supporting our diversity and inclusion strategy.

In India the dhWN hosted a special event with Dr. Shelly Pandey who shared her insights on creating a better gender balance and #balanceforbetter themed fun activities designed to not only test balancing skills but also people’s know-how about gender balance.

Across our APAC offices we held breakfast sessions discussing the importance of IWD, and our senior leaders shared personal stories of what inclusion and belonging means to them.

We also hosted charity events around the world, including an office cycling challenge to raise money for the charity Advance in London.

And together we all showed our commitment by sharing our pledges to help build a more gender-balanced world.

Quotes from dunnhumbians around the world

I'll stand up against inequality so my children and the next generation don't have to.
Laura Reilly, HR Business Partner, London

I will help to bring less-heard voices and opinions into the boardroom.
Phil Crookes, Global Head of Transformation & Delivery, London

I will call-out when I see unconscious bias happening
Denise Sefton, Chief People Officer, London

A diverse talent will provide different perspectives, creative ideas and passion a growing company needs for success
David Kwon, Country Head, South Korea

Organisations make better decisions and breed more complete ideas when they are led by and made up of a group that is representative of the world we live in. These are the businesses that will thrive and outperform against the others in the future.
James Merritt, Head of APAC, Thailand

Calling out when you see or hear something that can undermine a person or a group. Even if it is a culture norm or not meant in an unbalanced way we all have a responsibility to think about how any action we take could tip the balance.
Kevin Hilne, HR Business Partner, Thailand

Balance for better means a lot for our business and our world. It is law of nature or in Chinese philosophy- Yin yang which opposite could be complementary, interconnected and interdependent. Gender-balance team would drive diversity and more sustainable growth to the business. I am fully committed to support career progression of individual regardless of genders and create workplace of equality.
Tippawan Vongthammachart (Noy), Country Head, Thailand

I will champion flexible working for senior roles at dh
Sarah McCarthy, Chief Legal Officer

"I won't judge"
"I won't assume anything just as the person enters the room"
"I won't tolerate wrong behaviour because it is culturally accepted"
"I will ask men with kids how do they feel when they travel, not only women"
"I won't build a male team because the client is sexist"
"I will never tell a woman she needs to be less feminine to succeed"
Our Latin America team

Let's build a gender-balanced world. From grassroots activism to worldwide action, the world expects balance. Balance drives a better working world, so let's all help create a #BalanceforBetter.

Collectively we can all play a part