Creating a culture of inclusion is at the heart of everything we do.
At DS Smith we have around 29,000 talented individuals working across three Continents – from North America to China – and we’re growing every day. Together we are all working to build a more sustainable world. To make that possible, we are creating a culture of inclusion, where everyone is respected and valued - and where everyone has a voice and can thrive.
Our aim is simple: to make you the very best at what you do, regardless of your race, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, social class, physical or mental ability, religious or ethical values system, national origin or political beliefs.
We have zero tolerance for discrimination
We have firm policies on equal opportunities and discrimination of any kind.
Our Equal Opportunities and Anti-Discrimination policy and training are available in multiple languages to ensure all job applicants, employees and contingent workers receive equal treatment regardless of age, disability, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity or any other characteristic protected by local law.
Our Speak Up! policy is here to encourage any employee that believes they’ve witnessed or experienced discrimination or unethical behaviour to ask for advice or raise their concerns via a confidential, independent, 24/7 telephone number and website that is available in local languages.
Our approach to Diversity & Inclusion has three pillars
Visible leadership
Our senior leadership is role-modelling inclusive leadership.
A clear narrative on why D&I matters to us.
Inclusive leadership workshops with 120 of our senior leaders.
Clearly visible ambition and progress to external stakeholders.
‘Reverse Mentoring’ pilots so our leadership can gain a 360° view of D&I challenges and learn from their colleagues from different backgrounds.
Regular and positive engagement with our people on D&I.
A new Health & Wellbeing framework.
We are creating a culture that can attract and retain the very best, diverse workforce. We are leading from the top; raising awareness, building networks and mobilising champions to build the inclusive business we can all be proud of.
Our senior leadership is role-modelling inclusive leadership.
Active networks
The D&I conversation is evident across our business.
Group-wide D&I forums to reinforce our corporate intent. These include lively roundtable events with external speakers on a range of diversity and inclusion topics.
Local inclusion networks, such as LGBTQ+ & Allies Network and Ethnic & Cultural Diversity Network, that drive action and share learning in major markets and key operational sites.
Multi-language Equal Opportunities and Anti-Discrimination policy and training.
D&I is embedded in our employee value proposition and ways of working.
A D&I ‘lens’ informs our talent reviews & development actions.
Actively target the recruitment and retention of women and other under-represented groups.
Gaining awareness as an inclusive employer.
We have growing awareness and advocacy of D&I.
Meet Socky
Reverse mentoring helps to break down barriers and encourage an inclusive working environment. It provides a safe space that allows experiences to be shared, enhancing our understanding of each other and the D&I challenges we face.
Socky Angel
North European Cluster Sales Director at DS Smith Paper
Inclusion has no boundaries
Around the world we are creating a workplace that our people are proud of. However, as a global business, we know diversity and inclusion challenges differ between our counties and regions. So we translate our policies and procedures into our 8 core languages and have established a diversity and inclusion forum with broad representation to build the local networks and action plans needed to deliver consistency and have the greatest positive impact for our people and communities they serve, wherever that may be in the world.
Our culture of inclusion also helps us to check our workforce reflects the communities we operate in, and the customers we serve. As we grow, we’ll improve our understanding of local priorities and expand our strategy to include other under-represented, under-protected groups and under-privileged groups which we currently support via the Ernst & Young Foundation.
We are supporting women and we are transparent on equal pay
Historically it’s been tough to attract women into our industry, but we are determined to change that. We are a corporate member of the WISE (Women In Science and Engineering) campaign that promotes opportunities for women in STEM careers and are showcasing our female talent and demonstrating the diversity of opportunities available across our business.
We are currently ranked 4th in our industry sector (general industrials) for Board diversity, with 37.5% women on our plc board. At the other end of the career ladder we are proud to have gender parity in our graduate offers.
We're encouraging women into STEM careers, showcasing their talent and demonstrating the diversity of opportunities available across our business.
It is our objective to provide equal pay for work of equal value in a safe and productive working environment. For gender pay gap reporting we go above and beyond our legal obligations and report across all our sites. This year our mean gender pay gap was 3.5% but to move further we are actively encouraging more women in senior positions, where women now make up a third of all our global senior management population.
We support our female employees with extended mentoring and executive coaching support. We are also actively recruiting women who have paused successful careers to have a baby with a Returnship Programme which includes re-training and other life-management skills.
Meet Shona
We are bringing together our female colleagues across our organisation and learning from each other’s experiences, creating a small network that provides unique insight and connections.
Shona Inglis
Group Head of Internal Communications at DS Smith
