Firmenich Receives Top-Recognition by EDGE in Brazil and Mexico for Accelerated Efforts on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Firmenich becomes the first company in Mexico and the second in Brazil to achieve EDGE Lead certification

MEXICO CITY and SÃO PAOLO, Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Firmenich, the world's largest privately-owned fragrance and taste company, has reached EDGE Lead certification, the highest obtainable level of certification, in Brazil and Mexico for its efforts on diversity, equity and inclusion. Firmenich, which also resecured Global EDGE Move certification across its operations globally, is the first company in Mexico and the second in Brazil to achieve EDGE Lead. It is the first time a fragrance and taste company has achieved this certification, and to date, only six other companies worldwide have reached this level.

Economic Dividends for Gender Equality (EDGE) is the leading global standard for gender equality in the workplace. Certification requires a rigorous external assessment of four key areas: representation across the company; pay equity; effectiveness of policies and practices to ensure equitable career flows; and the overall inclusiveness of the company culture. Organizations can progress through the various levels of certification: EDGE Assess, EDGE Move, EDGEplus and EDGE Lead.

"I am very proud that Firmenich has secured these important certifications and continues to advance gender equality under EDGE's demanding benchmarks for continuous improvement," said Gilbert Ghostine, CEO Firmenich. "Being the first and second company to reach the highest level of EDGE certification in Mexico and Brazil, respectively, is a testament to the excellent work of our teams in these countries. We are focused on raising the bar, being an employer of choice and a trusted and reliable partner for our customers."

"Firmenich continues to set the standard for excellence as the best place to work in our industry and beyond, and I am particularly pleased with the progress our teams achieved in Mexico and Brazil," said Mieke Van de Capelle, Chief Human Resources Officer at Firmenich. "When we set out on our journey to achieve EDGE certification, we knew it would require lots of hard work and dedication. This has become a truly rewarding journey: in less than five years, we managed to move from entry level to being a global leader in diversity and inclusion in the workplace. In addition to a strong representation of women across the organization, our efforts have also helped us to successfully grow and retain talent across all demographics and all layers of the organization."

Firmenich Mexico is the first company in Mexico and the seventh in the world to be certified at EDGE Lead level, the highest certification from EDGE. Amongst the factors contributing to the certification:

• 100% women stay with the company after their return from maternity leave and 100% of employees take the full allowance of paternity leave.
• 97% of employees would recommend our company as employer to a female or male friend.
• 93% of employees believe that women and men are given equal opportunity in the hiring process.

Firmenich Brazil is the second company in the country to be certified at EDGE Lead level. The company there has a strong gender balance, from junior to top management level. In addition:

• 100% women stay with the company after their return from maternity leave and 100% of employees take the full allowance of paternity leave.
• 50% of the top leadership team are women today, compared to 14% in 2018.

A pioneer in diversity and inclusion, Firmenich has a strong track record of securing workplace equality. In 2018, the Group was the seventh company in the world and the first in its industry to achieve global EDGE Assess recognition (the first level of certification). In 2021, the Group became the second company to reach the EDGE Move certification (advanced level of certification) globally, a recognition which has been confirmed following a thorough reassessment completed in 2023. Three markets achieved higher levels of certification. Firmenich USA reached EDGEplus certification, recognizing local efforts to systematically analyze and resolve intersectional issues between gender as well as several additional dimensions including gender identity, race, ethnicity, LGBTQIA+, working with a disability, nationality, and age. Extraordinarily, Brazil and Mexico achieved the highest obtainable result, EDGE Lead (the highest level of certification), setting a global example of successfully fostering equity in the workplace.

Since 2018, Firmenich has achieved significant milestones, from eliminating the gender pay gap worldwide to systematically implementing diverse talent pools. The Group has raised women's representation in leadership positions to 42%, expanded flexible working opportunities worldwide, implemented fair recruitment and promotion practices, as well as continuous training and mentoring, and has enhanced equal representation at all levels including critical pathways to senior management. Half of Firmenich's Executive Committee is female.

About Firmenich
Firmenich, the world's largest privately-owned fragrance and taste company, was founded in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1895, and has been family-owned for 127 years. Firmenich is a leading business-to-business company specialized in the research, creation, manufacture and sale of perfumes, flavors, and ingredients. Renowned for its world-class research and creativity, as well as its leadership in sustainability, Firmenich offers its customers superior innovation in formulation, a broad and high-quality palette of ingredients, and proprietary technologies including biotechnology, encapsulation, olfactory science, and taste modulation. Firmenich had an annual turnover of 4.7 billion Swiss Francs at end June 2022. More information about Firmenich is available at www.firmenich.com.

About EDGE
EDGE is the leading global assessment methodology and business certification standard for gender equality. It measures where organizations stand in terms of gender balance across their pipeline, pay equity, effectiveness of policies and practices to ensure equitable career flows as well as inclusiveness of their culture. Launched at the World Economic Forum in 2011, EDGE has been designed to help companies not only create an optimal workplace for women and men, but also benefit from it. EDGE stands for Economic Dividends for Gender Equality and is distinguished by its rigor and focus on business impact. EDGE assessment methodology was developed by the EDGE Certified Foundation, which continues to act as the guardian of EDGE methodology and certification standards. Its commercial arm, EDGE Strategy, works with companies to prepare them for the EDGE Certification. EDGE Certification's diverse customer base consists of 200 large organizations in 44 countries across five continents, representing 29 different industries and employing globally more than 2.4 million employees.
For more information, visit www.edge-cert.org 

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