PETALING JAYA: Philip Morris International (PMI) has announced that it has reached its global company-wide target to improve its gender balance, which will see at least 40% female representation in managerial roles by 2022.

       “I am immensely proud of PMI’s vision, commitment and achievement in ensuring equal opportunities are given to all in the workplace, irrespective of gender. Meeting this target demonstrates that our inclusion and diversity strategy is working,” PMI chief executive officer Jacek Olczak said in a statement.

       “Diverse profiles, backgrounds and perspectives allow us to make better and more considered decisions, as well as contribute to a better and more sustainable performance.

       “I firmly believe that a culture of fairness, inclusion and diversity is crucial to PMI’s progress in achieving a smoke-free future and will continue to benefit the company as we become more reflective of our consumer base,” he added.

       “What gets measured really does get done.

       “This was a whole company effort requiring everyone to take responsibility.

       “I am delighted that we have met our target on time but recognise that we still have a long way to go on our diversity, equity, and inclusion journey.

       “With this in mind, we have our next gender representation target for 35% of women in senior roles by 2025,” chief diversity officer Silke Muenster said.

       As of April 2022, the company said that women formed 33% of total employees at Philip Morris Malaysia (PMM).

       There was 46% female leaders in the workforce and an almost equal representation of both genders in the management team, it said.

       PMM said it was constantly reshaping and enhancing inclusion and diversity initiatives.

       “I am very proud of the progress we have made to date.

       “Having inclusive and diversified teams enhances the team’s performance in high-diversity environments making a significant impact on our drive towards a smoke-free future,” managing director of PMM Naeem Shahab Khan said.

       The company also announced that it had also been recertified as a global Equal-Salary organisation for the second time since 2019 by the foundation.

       The recertification verified that PMI continued to pay female and male employees equally for equal work in the more than 90 markets where PMI operates, and one of them is Malaysia, it said.