Catalyst Announces 2019 Award Winners

Bank of America, Deutsche Post DHL Group, Eli Lilly and Company, and Schneider Electric Honored for Accelerating Progress for Women in the Workplace

Most Visible Global Women in the Workplace Event Shines Spotlight on Future@Work for Women

NEW YORK, Jan. 17, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Catalyst announced today that Bank of America, Deutsche Post DHL Group, Eli Lilly and Company, and Schneider Electric will receive the prestigious 2019 Catalyst Award for their bold and forward-thinking initiatives that help create safe and inclusive workplaces where women can advance. This year's Catalyst Awards Conference and Dinner—to be held Thursday, March 14, 2019, at the New York Hilton Midtown—celebrate these exceptional initiatives that show us change is possible. Following a turbulent time for women in the workplace, this year's event will focus on the Future@Work and what it takes for companies to transform workplace cultures and remain innovative and competitive, now and in the future.

"This is a critically important moment where diverse and inclusive workplaces matter more than ever," said Lorraine Hariton, Catalyst's new President & CEO. "We honor and celebrate these companies and leaders that have the ability to make a change and are choosing to do so. The four organizations awarded this year—Bank of America, Deutsche Post DHL Group, Eli Lilly and Company, and Schneider Electric—support and celebrate women. Each of us has a role to play, and these four companies are leading the charge."

Award-winning company leaders will receive their honors at the 2019 Catalyst Awards Dinner, chaired by Michael K. Wirth, Chairman & CEO, Chevron Corporation. During the day, Conference attendees will immerse themselves in breakthrough conversations about global workforce trends that will impact the Future@Work, and how companies can embrace diversity and inclusion and create environments where women can thrive.

This year's Catalyst Award-winning initiatives include:

• Bank of America—Investing in Women.  Bank of America's global initiative and strategy includes a sharpened focus on being a great place to work for women and advancing the economic empowerment of women around the world. Company leaders achieve this through hiring practices to increase diversity in the talent pipeline; courageous conversations to dismantle unconscious biases; and robust data collection to identify and address talent management challenges as well as develop solutions with employees. Among the results: from 2015 to 2018 women's representation in senior leadership increased from 33 to 44 percent.
• Deutsche Post DHL Group—Women in Management. This global initiative from the German-headquartered company is rooted in internal research focused on identifying the main barriers to women's advancement. It is centered on four pillars: culture and mindset, flexible work arrangements, women's career support, and data monitoring. These global and regional efforts prioritize diversity across all dimensions of difference, including gender and nationality. From 2011-2017, women's representation in management positions increased by nearly 4 percentage points, up to 21.5 percent.
• Eli Lilly and Company—Employee Journeys and People Strategy. Using storytelling and experience-sharing to address employee-reported biases and barriers, this global initiative focuses on "moments of truth" and creating a common language to help employees understand one another's experiences. The transparent workplace culture has led not only to a strong network of allies and champions, but also measurable results—from 2015 to 2017, women's representation increased from 29 to 40 percent in the C-suite, and in the U.S., women of color at the senior director level increased from 6 to 11 percent.
• Schneider Electric—Attracting and Retaining Women in Schneider Electric India. Grounded in a commitment to equal opportunity and inclusion as a business imperative, this initiative in India serves as a role model for the global company's diversity and inclusion transformation. It uses a holistic approach with a focus on the recruitment, professional development, and retention of women at all levels. From 2015 to 2018, women's representation across all levels increased from 15.9 to 20.8 percent.

For more than 30 years, the initiatives and companies honored by Catalyst have been a driving force for change in a global movement to build workplaces that work for women. With the theme "Future@Work," the 2019 Catalyst Awards Conference and Dinner bring together more than 1,500 attendees, including forward-thinking experts, the distinguished Catalyst Board of Directors; Catalyst CEO Champions For Change leaders; and executives from top global corporations, professional firms, governments, NGOs and educational institutions.