Month: March 2023

As part of a global objective to enhance the diversity of its workforce, Sappi created this new goal in 2021, which also directly aligns with UNSDG 8, which promotes economic growth and decent work. The 2021 goal for women in senior management positions is 20%, and at year end, we exceeded this goal with 21% of women in senior management positions. Despite unprecedented labor shortages, our focus remains to hire, develop, and promote talented candidates with diverse experiences and backgrounds.

For Angela Dodd, finding a career as a female senior scientist meant navigating the STEM world without many women mentors. “When I joined the International Paper Innovation Center out of grad school, there really weren’t many senior scientists who were female. I’m proud to be a senior female scientist and I hope younger scientists can look up to me.”

Located at International Paper’s Innovation Center in Federal Way, Wa., Angela has assisted IP’s GCF business with front-end innovation that creates innovative solutions for our customers’ problems. It’s something Dodd calls “customer-centric, outcome-based innovation.” She said, “We’ve taken on a big role of working directly with our customers to understand their needs and then create a solution that’s measurable, meaningful and delivers value to our customers and their end-use consumers.”

One example is optimizing the production of Supersoft® Odor Control pulp in order to allow IP to offer this product to a broader customer base. Read the full article to learn more about Angela and her work at the IP innovation center: https://www.internationalpaper.com/resources/articles/defining-women-stem-angela-dodd

About International Paper
International Paper (NYSE: IP) is a leading global supplier of renewable fiber-based products. We produce corrugated packaging products that protect and promote goods, and enable worldwide commerce, and pulp for diapers, tissue and other personal care products that promote health and wellness. Headquartered in Memphis, Tenn., we employ approximately 38,000 colleagues globally. We serve customers worldwide, with manufacturing operations in North America, Latin America, North Africa and Europe. Net sales for 2021 were $19.4 billion. See how we’re building a better future for people, the planet, and our company at internationalpaper.com/Vision-2030.

Women in lower-income countries are twice as likely as those in high-income countries to consider starting a business, says Global Entrepreneurship MonitorOver 500 female entrepreneurs worldwide have graduated from the Alibaba Netpreneur Training program

Women in emerging markets are leveraging the digital economy to become entrepreneurs, recent graduates of a training program created by Alibaba Group shared.

Innovation and technology for gender equality is the United Nations’ theme for International Women’s Day 2023, which falls on March 8 and is both a celebration of women’s rights and a reminder of persisting inequalities.

Worldwide, women are 12% less likely to own a mobile phone and 6% fewer have internet access than men, the UN reports. The absolute gap in access to digital tools between the genders has increased by 20 million over the past two years.

“It’s all about opportunities. At some point in your life, there might not be many opportunities available, especially for women in Pakistan,” Sunbul Sameen, a Karachi-based entrepreneur who participated in the Alibaba Netpreneur Training last year, told Alizila.

Barriers, from insufficient funding to a lack of access to a computer, take a toll. In Asia, women are four times more likely to report an intention to start a business than to report taking action to do so, according to a Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) report.

The Alibaba Netpreneur Training program, a suite of classes to support digital entrepreneurship, is working to change this by offering training sessions to upskill entrepreneurs, women and youths in over 60 markets.

Nearly a quarter of program graduates are women, with over 500 female founders counting themselves as Netpreneur alumna.

“The program helped me learn how to think big and set my mission, vision and values,” said Temfah Krisanayuth, founder of Thai women’s clothing brand Tiana and graduate of the Netpreneur Asia Program 2022.

Digital Opportunities

In emerging markets, the digital economy creates opportunities for women to start their own businesses by bridging gender and income inequality.

Since the pandemic, female early-stage entrepreneurs in lower-income countries are 17% more likely than men to report using new technologies, according to the GEM report.

Digital tools, from instant messaging to video conferencing, allow women to work outside offices, balancing traditional caretaker duties with business aspirations.

“Most therapists we have are women and they often work from home, so that is an opportunity for them as well,” said Sameen, who was part of Krisanayuth’s Netpreneur Asia cohort.

Her mental health start-up, Opportunities, launched in 2017 as a WhatsApp-based service for over 1 million users – mostly young women– to connect anonymously with therapists. She is now using her learnings from the Netpreneur training to expand into a web-based platform to meet demand.

As an online-based program, Netpreneur training bridges oceans and allows experts to teach entrepreneurs halfway around the world.

“The program provided us access to a vast network of business partners,” said Ritalee Monde, a Zimbabwean entrepreneur in the medical sector.

Driving Change

Women and men often start businesses for different reasons. In 2021, women globally were more likely than men to report that making a difference or job scarcity were key motives for starting a business, according to GEM.

“We aim to improve the health care system by providing high-quality equipment and supplies to underserved communities, with a particular focus on women and children’s health,” Monde told Alizila.

Monde, a public health officer by training and graduate of the Netpreneur Africa Program 2022, founded a start-up building a plant to manufacture medical oxygen, an essential tool to treat lung diseases that often afflict women in Sub-Saharan Africa who cook over open fires.

For Women, By Women

In addition to improving their communities, many female founders are making a living by serving a significant consumer group with growing spending power – themselves.

“Before I started the company, I worked in finance and I had problems finding work clothing that made me feel confident,” said Bangkok-based Krisanayuth.

Her experience led her in 2020 to start Tiana, a clothing brand with workwear and loungewear lines for the next generation of female business leaders in Southeast Asia.

Globally, women control more than 60% of consumer spending on average, according to a report by consultancy group the International Center for Research on Women, and up to 80% in emerging markets.

While household expenses occupy the vast majority of spending by this group, economic growth and the ease of digital platforms mean more women can buy discretionary items for themselves as well.

“Nowadays, people are more accepting. So I think it’s a very good time for us to enter the field and grow our own businesses,” said the financier-turned-entrepreneur.

Tiana operates as a direct-to-consumer business. Shoppers can also find it on e-commerce sites like Alibaba’s Southeast Asia-focused subsidiary Lazada, which accounts for more than half of its sales.

Visit Alizila’s entrepreneurship hub to discover more stories from business founders around the world

View original content here.

Please refer to https://www.alizila.com/esg/ for additional information about Alibaba’s sustainability efforts.

Ethisphere, a global leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices, has recognized Rockwell Automation, Inc. (ROK: NYSE) as one of the 2023 World’s Most Ethical Companies.

This is the 15th time Rockwell has been included on this prestigious list which honors companies that demonstrate exceptional leadership and a commitment to business integrity through best-in-class ethics, compliance, and governance practices.

“Our organization is committed to doing business the right way, through strong programs and transparent practices that elevate expectations and standards for all,” said Rockwell Chairman and CEO Blake Moret. “We are honored to be among those companies making an impact for employees, customers, and communities, and leading by example.”

Ethics and integrity are among Rockwell’s highest scoring drivers of employee engagement, nurtured and cultivated through a robust commitment and a strong “speak up” mindset, including the company’s long-standing Ombuds program. Rockwell also requires 100% of its Board of Directors, employees, and contractors to complete an Annual Ethics Training, which is updated each year.

Only 16 companies have achieved this honor 15 or more times, putting Rockwell in a special class of honorees.

Rockwell was one of 135 honorees recognized in 2023, and only one of two honorees in the Diversified Machinery industry. The ranking spans 19 countries and 46 industries. View the full list of 2023 honorees.

Learn more about Rockwell’s commitment to ethics and integrity.

DUBLIN, March 13, 2023 /3BL Media/ – Medtronic plc (NYSE: MDT), a global leader in healthcare technology, has been recognized by Ethisphere, a leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices, as one of the 2023 World’s Most Ethical Companies. In 2023, 135 honorees were recognized spanning 19 countries and 46 industries. Medtronic is one of only two honorees in the ‘Healthcare Products’ industry category.

“We strive to act responsibility and earn the trust of our customers and communities, and this award is a true testament to our 95,000+ global employees and the customers we serve,” said Geoff Martha, Medtronic chairman and chief executive officer. “Written more than 60 years ago, the Medtronic Mission continues to be the cornerstone of our culture and business operations. Our Mission commits us to maintaining good citizenship in all the communities in which we live and operate, and to society in general.”

“Every day, we find ways to alleviate pain, restore health, and extend life. At Medtronic, we believe ethical sales are durable sales, and this award affirms our commitment to deliver results the right way,” said Tara Shewchuk, VP and Chief Ethics & Compliance Officer at Medtronic.

“Ethics matters. Organizations that commit to business integrity through robust programs and practices not only elevate standards and expectations for all, but also have better long-term performance,” said Ethisphere CEO, Erica Salmon Byrne. “We continue to be inspired by the World’s Most Ethical Companies honorees and their dedication to making real impact for their stakeholders and displaying exemplary values-based leadership. Congratulations to Medtronic for earning a place in the World’s Most Ethical Companies community.”

Grounded in Ethisphere’s proprietary Ethics Quotient®, the World’s Most Ethical Companies assessment process includes more than 200 questions on culture, environmental and social practices, ethics and compliance activities, governance, diversity, and initiatives that support a strong value chain. The process serves as an operating framework to capture and codify the leading practices of organizations across industries and around the globe.

To view the full list of this year’s honorees, please visit the World’s Most Ethical Companies website, at https://worldsmostethicalcompanies.com/honorees.

More information about Medtronic’s corporate ethics can be found in the 2022 Integrated Performance Report and by visiting http://www.medtronic.com/ourimpact.

About Medtronic 
Bold thinking. Bolder actions. We are Medtronic. Medtronic plc, headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, is the leading global healthcare technology company that boldly attacks the most challenging health problems facing humanity by searching out and finding solutions. Our Mission — to alleviate pain, restore health, and extend life — unites a global team of 90,000+ passionate people across 150 countries. Our technologies and therapies treat 70 health conditions and include cardiac devices, surgical robotics, insulin pumps, surgical tools, patient monitoring systems, and more. Powered by our diverse knowledge, insatiable curiosity, and desire to help all those who need it, we deliver innovative technologies that transform the lives of two people every second, every hour, every day. Expect more from us as we empower insight-driven care, experiences that put people first, and better outcomes for our world. In everything we do, we are engineering the extraordinary. For more information on Medtronic (NYSE:MDT), visit www.Medtronic.com and follow @Medtronic on Twitter and LinkedIn.

About Ethisphere 
Ethisphere is the global leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices that fuel corporate character, marketplace trust, and business success. Ethisphere has deep expertise in measuring and defining core ethics standards using data-driven insights that help companies enhance corporate character. Ethisphere honors superior achievement through its World’s Most Ethical Companies® recognition program, provides a community of industry experts with the Business Ethics Leadership Alliance (BELA), and showcases trends and best practices in ethics with Ethisphere Magazine. Ethisphere also helps to advance business performance through data-driven assessments, guidance, and benchmarking against its unparalleled data: the Culture Quotient dataset focused on ethical culture and featuring the responses of 2+ million employees around the world; and the Ethics Quotient dataset, featuring 200+ data points highlighting the ethics, compliance, social, and governance practices of the World’s Most Ethical Companies. For more information, visit https://ethisphere.com.

Any forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties such as those described in Medtronic’s periodic reports on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Actual results may differ materially from anticipated results.

Contacts:  Erika Winkels Ryan WeispfenningPublic Relations Investor Relations+1-763-526-8478 +1-763-505-4626