BRAMPTON, ON, Feb. 19, 2013 /CNW/ - (TSX:L) - Loblaw Companies Limited
(Loblaw) is proud to announce that it has been named one of Canada's Best Diversity Employers for 2013 by Mediacorp Canada Inc. The award commends Loblaw for its
commitment to creating an inclusive work environment that reflects the
diversity of colleagues, customers and the communities around them. Reflect our Nation's Diversity is one of five principles of Loblaw's Corporate Social Responsibility
(CSR) commitment.
"Loblaw is honoured to be recognized as one of Canada's Best Diversity
Employers. We are proud of the improvement we have made in reflecting
diversity in the products we sell, the people we attract and the
workplace culture we create," said Judy McCrie, executive
vice-president, Human Resources and Labour Relations, Loblaw Companies
Limited.
Loblaw's diversity efforts are spearheaded by its Inclusion Council,
made up of senior leaders from across the organization. On a quarterly
basis, the Council prepares an Inclusion Scorecard that is shared with
the Company's Management Board. Key highlights of the Council's 2012
action plan included ensuring stores reflect the ethnicity of the
communities they serve, increasing the percentage of female store
managers, hiring persons with disabilities within stores and store
support offices and developing and implementing programs to recruit
targeted community groups from the Aboriginal and Lesbian, Gay,
Bisexual and Transgendered/Transexual (LGBT) populations.
Here are some of the initiatives that helped Loblaw earn its place on Canada's Best Diversity Employers list:
Women: Women@Loblaw is a network that is focused on providing professional
development opportunities, exposure to senior leaders and networking
focused on female colleagues. Events include a National Women's
Conference as well as mentoring and networking opportunities. The goal
of the network is to increase the number of women in leadership
positions across the organization, including in stores and in executive
office roles. Loblaw is also a member of the Women's Executive Network
and Women's Foodservice Forum.
Diversity Champions: In 2012, Loblaw launched a "Diversity Champions" program designed to
identify, coach and develop inclusive leaders in the business that
would help to support and drive traction on its inclusion goals. The
role of the Champion is to be a role model for inclusion, a
communicator for building awareness and a local resource for diversity
related issues. Each Diversity Champion is responsible for working on a
project supporting one of Loblaw's strategic diversity goals.
Persons with Disabilities: As part of the Diversity Champions' network, Loblaw has dedicated
diversity champions focused on developing action plans to help support
the goal to hire more persons with disabilities in our stores and store
support offices. Action plans included increasing awareness,
identifying barriers in business for persons with disabilities and
aligning with more community partners focused on job placements for
persons with disabilities.
Loblaw also has a senior executive member on the Panel on Labour Market
Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities. This panel engages
private-sector businesses and other organizations and individuals to
identify best practices and successful approaches, as well as barriers
to employment from the employers' perspectives for people with
disabilities.
Launched in 2008, Canada's Best Diversity Employers competition
recognizes employers across Canada with exceptional workplace diversity
and inclusiveness programs. Employers are examined based on a range of
diversity initiatives covering five major employee groups: (a) Women;
(b) Members of visible minorities; (c) Persons with disabilities; (d)
Aboriginal peoples; and (e) Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and
Transgendered/Transsexual (LGBT) peoples.
About Loblaw Companies Limited
Loblaw Companies Limited, a subsidiary of George Weston Limited, is
Canada's largest food retailer and a leading provider of drugstore,
general merchandise and financial products and services. Loblaw is one
of the largest private sector employers in Canada. With more than 1,000
corporate and franchised stores from coast to coast, Loblaw and its
franchisees employ more than 135,000 full-time and part-time employees.
Through its portfolio of store formats, Loblaw is committed to
providing Canadians with a wide, growing and successful range of
products and services to meet the everyday household demands of
Canadian consumers. Loblaw is known for the quality, innovation and
value of its food offering. It offers Canada's strongest control
(private) label program, including the unique President's Choice®, no
name® and Joe Fresh® brands. In addition, the Company makes available
to consumers President's Choice Financial® services and offers the PC®
points loyalty program.
SOURCE: Loblaw Companies Limited
