Lion’s Global Inclusion and Diversity Leader, Sarah Abbott, has stepped in to lead the See Difference workstream now that Sandra Gibbs has been appointed Chair of the Embrace Difference Council.
Lion is an industry leader when it comes to diversity and inclusion and to have Ms Abbott steering the See Difference workstream brings great promise for the industry as a whole.
Of the current trends in advancing diversity and inclusion, Ms Abbott says, “There is a maturing understanding that we are all more than just a gender and that it is this intersectionality and broader sense of the word ‘diversity’ that organisations are now considering.
“There is also a focus towards the need for this broader diversity at a team level, which is where it really counts if organisations are wanting greater innovation, not just at an organisation wide level.”
Lion is currently focussed on embedding diversity at that team level and building a culture of respect throughout the organisation.
“I would like to see us taking these learnings and see how we can bring these to the industry more broadly for an industry wide commitment,” says Ms Abbott.
Focusing on the See Difference workstream, Ms Abbott says the feedback on the newly created toolkit has been positive with organisations finding it an useful whether they are starting out and new to the diversity and inclusion journey or well along the way.
“There is something in it for everyone and we will be using this year to partner with organisations to embed its use more broadly,” she says.
Specifically the See Difference workstream will be coming together to consider ways in which the toolkit and scorecard can be used “to drive accountability and a united approach to making the drinks industry somewhere that women want to work in and thrive”.
Since 2008, Ms Abbott’s professional life has been a journey of developing strategies to support and progress diversity and inclusion. She worked with Microsoft, Commonwealth Bank and University of Sydney before she landed at Lion in January last year.
The Drinks Association thanks Ms Abbott and welcomes her to the role.