June 30, 2021 (Gaithersburg, Md.) – Sodexo, a leader in food service and facilities management, announced today the company’s recognition as one of the 2021 Best Companies for Multicultural Women by Seramount (formally Working Mother Media). This honor recognizes organizations that create and use best practices in hiring, retaining, and promoting multicultural women in the United States.

“For more than 50 years, fighting for gender equality and the empowerment of women have been critical to our success at Sodexo,” said Tony Tenicela, VP of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Sodexo North America. “Being named as one of the Best Companies for Multicultural Women, a recognition we’ve earned for the past 13 years, is a testament of our ongoing commitment across our organization to fully support women – especially women of color – in the workplace and beyond. At Sodexo we know that when women do better, we all do better.”

Since 2003, Seramount’s Best Companies for Multicultural Women has tracked corporations’ progress in creating cultures that encourage multicultural women to join and rise through the ranks. Participation in this initiative is up 19 percent year over year, and over the last five years, it has increased by 358 percent; this comes as a result of increased interest in hiring and promoting women of color across companies in the United States.

“The increased participation in this initiative confirms that the importance of retaining and advancing multicultural women is not lost on corporate America,” said Subha V. Barry, CEO, Seramount. “By offering programs and implementing policies instrumental to their success, whether it’s sponsorship and mentoring programs or tying managers’ compensation to diversity goals, our Top Companies for Multicultural Women continue to demonstrate their commitment to this critical talent pool.”

Key findings from the 2021 Seramount report conclude that formal sponsorship with senior leaders in addition to mentorship with a DE&I lens are two of the most essential ways to advance multicultural women in the workplace. Additionally, the report shows that 75 percent of winning companies currently implement specific anti-racism training, versus 45 percent of nonwinners.

Sodexo’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion – shown through initiatives like Sodexo’s partnership with Women Back to Work, designed to help bridge the employment gap for women re-entering the workplace -- is consistently recognized by external organizations and notable publications. In 2020, Sodexo was named to Bloomberg’s Gender-Equality Index and FORTUNE’s list of the World’s Most Admired Companies.  
 

About Seramount

Seramount is a strategic professional services firm dedicated to advancing diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace. Over four decades, partnering with some of the most iconic companies in the world, we’ve built a deep data-driven understanding of the employee experience which lays the groundwork for everything we do. Our comprehensive DE&I toolkit includes actionable research and insights, membership, strategic guidance and consulting, and inspiring events, meeting each client’s needs no matter where they are on their journey, and guiding them along an ever-changing landscape. Seramount has empowered over 450 organizations to realize the business benefits of diversity, equity and inclusion. Learn more about Seramount.

Back to the list