Tuesday 17 September, 2019: Woolworths Group has been named Australia’s top company, and number one in Asia Pacific, in the 2019 Refinitiv Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) Index.

Woolworths ranked 19th globally and it’s the second consecutive year the Group has led the way for Australian businesses on the index.

Woolworths Group Head of Diversity and Inclusion, Rachel Mead said: "We are proud to once again be ranked in the global top 20 of the Refinitiv Diversity & Inclusion Index. 

“Together with our 190,000 of our team members, we are delighted to be recognised for our efforts to build an inclusive culture that celebrates diversity in all its forms.

“It’s this diverse mix of talent that enables us to engage, innovate and create better experiences for our teams and customers.”

In 2019 the Woolworths Group continued to focus on diversity and inclusion initiatives including LGBTI inclusion, refugee employment programs, and the launch of the company’s second Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP).

With more than 3600 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander team members across the Woolworths Group, the company’s second RAP was launched in July 2019 to further contribute towards Australia’s reconciliation journey.

The Woolworths Refugee Employment program - in partnership with Community Corporate - also helped provide even more employment opportunities for displaced refugees from Syria and the Middle East in 2019. Through the 2019 program, 55 refugees commenced employment in New South Wales and Victorian Woolworths Metro stores. The program is now set to expand into Queensland and South Australia in 2020.

Earlier this year the Woolworths Group was also awarded gold tier status at the 2019 Australian LGBTI Inclusion Awards for the second year running. This recognised Woolworths’ efforts to progress LGBTI inclusion initiatives in the workplace. The Woolworths Group remains the only retailer in Australia to be awarded gold tier status.

Rachel Mead added: “This result and recognition is a testament to our team members across Australia and New Zealand who make the Woolworths Group such a great place to work.

“As a customer led business, it’s critically important that our team members reflect the communities we serve and that we create a working culture where everyone can succeed. 

“We are extremely proud of this result, and our achievements to date, but know we still have more work to do. We now have ambitions to work even harder to build an even more diverse and inclusive workplace for the benefit of our team and customers.”

The Refinitiv D&I Index ranks the top 100 publicly traded companies out of a pool of more than 7,000 globally, and measures 24 metrics across key categories including Diversity, Inclusion and People Development. The index is then calculated by weighing each metric based on importance in the market and how each company compares with its peers.