Gender Equality at Sims Limited
Women Working @ Sims
In 2018, acting on feedback from the Women Working @ Sims Forum – our employee resource group designed to inform our approach to attracting and retaining qualified women in our industry – the company embarked on a journey to provide a minimum level of paid parental leave for all employees globally.
Sims demonstrates an inclusive mindset, as well as values and appreciates each unique opinion of our employees. We now regularly conduct an employee engagement survey to inform and plan our engagement strategies and initiatives, including forming focus groups, which are led by members of our executive leadership team, focused on driving improvements in employee experience and engagement.
Women Leading @ Sims
In 2021, we launched our Women Leading @ Sims program that offers a coaching and development workshop for emerging female leaders at Sims Limited. This will support the next generation of women leaders across our various business divisions, as well as expand on the work we started with the Women Working @ Sims forums.
The 10-month development program was created directly from the candid, actionable and practical feedback women working at the company shared with executive leaders through a series of women-led forums in each region. Women Leading @ Sims provides the internal mentorship and skills needed for career growth that women requested, and it is packaged in a virtual, monthly workshop-style course.
"Women Leading @ Sims is a new and exciting opportunity for us to recognize and support the leadership capabilities of high performing women at Sims, and I am honoured to be the co-creator and executive sponsor of this initiative," stated Ingrid Sinclair, global president of Sims Lifecycle Services. "I am extremely proud to work for a company that values diversity and welcomes new perspectives. Not only is diversity one of our core values, but it is also a key driver of our success."
"Fostering a diverse and inclusive workforce that reflects the clients and communities we serve is vital to our success. There is a plethora of research that indicates women have unique learning and development needs, and Women Leading @ Sims was designed with those needs in mind," said Brad Baker, group chief human resources officer for Sims Limited.
"Through this program, we are nurturing and developing the bench strength of the emerging female leaders across our organization, building our internal capability pipeline, and demonstrating why the distinctive set of strengths and insights that women bring to the organizations where they work leads to success. I am grateful to witness these leadership capabilities firsthand from the talented women with whom I have the pleasure of working."
We've Updated our Paid Parental Leave Policy
We are happy to share that our updated parental leave standard promotes the shared responsibility for all parents and caregivers – regardless of gender, location or circumstances.
In 2018 we developed a global standard for our paid parental leave policies as part of our ongoing diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) work. As we’ve continued to monitor the terms and benefits of this policy, we determined that an update was in the best interest of Sims and our employees who may become parents while working at Sims. Although parenthood can look different for everyone, we are committed to supporting all employees through this significant milestone.
We strive to have our standards and policies reflect the inclusive culture that we are cultivating. In that spirit, as a result of the review, we are happy to share that our updated parental leave standard promotes the shared responsibility for all parents and caregivers – regardless of gender, location or circumstances. We have also decided to improve the paid parental leave entitlement standard for primary and secondary caregivers to:
- A standard of 12 weeks paid leave for primary caregivers paid at basic pay
- A standard of six weeks paid leave for secondary caregivers paid at basic pay
- A consistent standard of 26 weeks service requirement prior to benefit eligibility
If the statutory requirements in your country are greater in benefit, or lesser in service eligibility, the country statutory requirements will be applied.
International Women’s Day 2022: Break The Bias
This year, we acknowledged the International Women’s Day theme of #BreakTheBias focusing on the need to call out instances of bias against women in the workplace, at school and at home.
See how Sims Limited is celebrating International Women's Day in the video below, where women from all geographies and roles throughout the company share how they plan to #BreakTheBias.