Coats, a leading industrial thread manufacturer and a major player in the Americas textile crafts market, has been recognised by the Turkish Parliament for its gender equality. The company has been named as one of the top three companies in the country where working conditions show equality of opportunity for women and men.
Turkish Prime Minister, Binali Yıldırım, presented the award at a ceremony on 2 November in Ankara, Turkey. It was accepted on behalf of the company by Erhan Aras, General Manager, Industrial Zips, Coats Turkey.
Inclusive working environment
“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 Network,” commented Rajiv Sharma, Group Chief Executive, Coats.
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.
D&I initiative
Recognising the benefits which a diverse workforce brings through different perspectives, employee engagement and business performance, Coats launched a companywide D&I initiative in 2015. It 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 unconscious bias and how to manage a diverse team.
Headquartered in the UK, Coats is a leading industrial thread manufacturer and a major player in the Americas textile crafts market. At home in some 60 countries, Coats employs 19,000 people across six continents.
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