International Beverage secures UK's Best Workplaces for Women award

The issue of equality for women in the workplace might seem like a problem from the past. But in reality, the structures and traditions that can prevent women from reaching their potential in all corners of business are still something employers need to be aware of and address.

At International Beverage we strive to be an inclusive employer, and to ensure all our people – including our female employees - are treated equally, fairly and with the same opportunities and rewards. As the business grows, our Human Capital team is busier than ever with a dynamic range of initiatives and programmes to achieve this goal.

So how are we doing?

The benchmark for us in recent years has been the stamp of approval we receive from employees in the form of Great Place To Work® status - the global scheme based entirely on anonymous employee feedback which we’ve been accredited to for the past three years.  The same scheme also awarded us prestigious ‘Best Workplace’ recognition in 2024.

We are also thrilled to add to this accolade with a place on the UK’s Best Workplaces for Women™ 2024 list in the large organisation category. This list examines the daily experience of women in a business, measured against the company’s value proposition. It then recognises the organisations that are removing barriers to women’s career advancement to create a good balance between women and men, where all employees, regardless of gender, can flourish.

In short, this is a measure of real progress and results, rather than just plans and intentions. We’re extremely proud to have been included, and it gives us even greater confidence in our equity, diversity and inclusion programmes; from the training new starts receive when they join us to the ongoing open-door feedback policy for all staff on every aspect of life in our business.

As we reach a headcount of over 250 people, another benchmark is our first Gender Pay Gap Report - a requirement for all UK businesses of our size and over, measuring the difference in average earnings between men and women within an organisation.

Our first full report explaining how the Gender Pay Gap is calculated and our findings is published here. We’ve found that our mean Gender Pay Gap is 8.52% and our median figure is 0.57% - results that reflect our ongoing commitment to gender pay equity.

As Sam Kirk, our Human Capital Director says:

‘These are two major updates for our business in terms of progress in building an inclusive and equitable workplace, where everyone has the opportunity to thrive. Combined, they give us a good insight into the impact our work is having for all employees, and for our female staff in particular. It’s a positive picture, and we will be continuing our efforts to measure results in the year ahead and to ensure that every person in our growing team is valued, supported and rewarded for their contribution.’