We strive to create a sense of belonging and opportunities for all. Our CEO, Dan Witten‐Hannah, is a member of Champions for Change. Alongside a diverse group of leading CEOs and Chairs, Dan is committed to accelerating inclusive and diverse leadership.
Over recent years, we have reflected and worked as an organisation to both understand our people and create spaces, programmes and a culture where everyone can thrive. Through our enduring commitments and long-term initiatives, we have led systemic changes at Fisher & Paykel that will foster gender and cultural diversity and an inclusive leadership culture long into the future.
We have made great progress, including:
- Established a global employee‐led Gender Inclusion and Cultural Diversity network, as well as a Māori and Pasifika network in New Zealand. These networks play a big part in organising internal cultural, religious and social events such as Māori, Samoan and Tongan language weeks and Matariki (Māori new year) in New Zealand, International Women's, Men's Days and Lunar New Year Globally – all to raise awareness of the diversity within our teams
- Developed and implemented Thrive, career mentorship programme for women, focusing on supporting acceleration of our pipeline of female talent
- Sponsored and attended events with Women in Engineering at Auckland and Christchurch universities
- Updated key policies and practices, like flexible working and Whānau (Family) Leave, to enable greater participation and ensure all our people – regardless of gender, ethnicity, or background – have the opportunity to thrive at Fisher & Paykel with equitable career opportunities and progression paths
- Launched an annual Global Diversity Survey to help us understand the diversity of our people and the progress we are making towards becoming a more diverse workforce
- Implemented Unconscious Bias training for everyone to raise awareness and provide education around appropriate workplace behaviours
- Introduced global language courses: Te Reo Māori courses in collaboration with Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei, as well as Chinese (Mandarin)
- Launched a new People Networks portal for all Fisher & Paykel employees who wish to contribute their voice and vision towards the future of our organization
- Developed a new DEI playbook to support teams with implementing good DEI practices
- Designed inclusive Leadership Development Programme for all our leaders globally
While we are proud of how far we have come as an organization, there is still more we want to achieve. Through global and local initiatives and ongoing ‘business-as-usual’ activity we aim to strengthen, embed, and sustain Diversity, Equity & Inclusion across all parts of our people's journey at Fisher & Paykel. Our continuous focus also remains on lifting DEI awareness, engagement, and communication globally.
