March 8 is International Women’s Day (IWD), a global day to mark the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The theme for 2023 is #EmbraceEquity which seeks to highlight that equal opportunities are not enough – as people have different circumstances, experiences and needs and so they require different resources and opportunities to reach an equal outcome.
At CRH, we are committed to building an inclusive and diverse organisation, in which talented people of all backgrounds can work in an environment which enables them to perform at their best. We have set a target of 33% female leadership by 2030 and are committed to increasing the representation of women across the organisation.
We have established Inclusion & Diversity (I&D) Committees across our Divisions and corporate offices to lead and embed change throughout CRH and many of our operating companies have their own I&D plans in place at a local level. Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) are also forming across many of our businesses to support people from other under-represented groups. These will help us to understand their needs and experiences and what we can do to better support them.
We are marking IWD at our corporate offices – in Dublin, Amsterdam and Atlanta – with a breakfast morning hosted by our Women and Allies’ ERG followed by an I&D Committee discussion on how we can continue to make CRH a more inclusive organisation.
Elsewhere, our businesses are also celebrating IWD. Evergreen, the Women’s ERG for the Great Lakes region within our Americas Division, hosted a virtual event for employees, with panel discussions on CRH’s I&D journey both now and in the future. In Canada, we hosted the General Manager of Les Scientifines, an organisation which promotes STEM to girls from underprivileged backgrounds, who shared the impact that our support has had on the work of that organisation.
Across our Group, our operating companies strive to build a more inclusive work environment every day. For example, Tarmac, part of CRH’s Europe Division, has established a menopause employee community. This closed network is a safe space for employees to chat openly about their own experiences with menopausal and perimenopausal wellbeing. In addition, Tarmac’s Menopause Policy, launched in 2022, outlines how the company supports employees during this time of their career.
Our people are our priority and in 2022, we appointed a Chief Culture and People Officer (CCPO) at executive committee level, to elevate the strategic focus on culture and people at CRH.