Culture, values and diversity at Sisal

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Talking about diversity, equity and inclusion means paying attention to every single piece that makes up the corporate population, knowing how to grasp their uniqueness, specific contribution and the various opportunities that present themselves.

We have set ourselves an ambitious but fundamental goal with respect to the path taken and our values of equity and inclusion, to eliminate the gender pay gap in Italy by 2030, reducing the gap annually by around one percentage point. This is done through promotions and increases in merit for women for whom there is a gap in the salary review compared to their male counterparts, with the same role and same level of performance.

Every day, we strive to ensure that the dissemination and implementation of DEI values and associated behaviours, covering all applicable spheres Gender, Accessibility, LGBTQIA+, Generations and Multiculturalism, are increasingly at the core of our company culture.

Each sphere of DEI works on activities and initiatives with the goal of spreading a culture of respect and knowledge:

Gender: dedicated to gender issues, to counter inequalities in the company and spread the culture of equality and equity.
Accessibility: organizes initiatives, meetings, webinars and in-depth studies on all facets of disability, physical and otherwise, to understand its complexity and to be increasingly attentive and prepared to act-and react-to those who live a different everyday life.
LGBTQIA+: focuses on issues of gender identity and affective and sexual orientation, helping to spread the values of equal rights, respect for each person's identity and freedom of expression.
Multiculturalism & Integration: within a society increasingly rich in different stimuli, strives to integrate different cultural facets, respectfully and without distorting ourselves.
Generations: facilitates mutual help between generations in the company through broad cooperation, interchange of experiences and expectations, and a more homogeneous future vision that takes into account the needs of all and sundry.

Inclusion Team

Our Inclusion Team is made up of 35 colleagues who together have decided to actively contribute to change, starting a path that has made them spokesperson for the new behavioural model in the company.

The team took care of identifying and formalizing a series of guidelines (the Inclusion Guidelines) that each colleague should adopt in order to live and work in an increasingly fair, collaborative and inclusive environment.

Inclusion Guidelines and Human Rights Policy

The guidelines, drawn up in 2021, are the first step towards concrete change in the company: they indicate the actions and behaviors that we are all called to follow and we must make our own to understand, respect and value every identity, promote inclusion and integration of each identity and encourage change.

The Human Rights and Anti-discrimination policy, drawn up in 2022, has further defined the objectives, commitments and methods through which Sisal undertakes to promote the principles of diversity, inclusion and equal treatment and opportunities, but also undertakes to guarantee the right working conditions that respect people and their dignity.

Discover our INCLUSION GUIDELINES and the HUMAN RIGHTS AND ANTI-DISCRIMINATION POLICY

A look at training

Inclusion Team Trainings: our Inclusion Team participated in several training meetings on DEI issues and collaborated with the HR team to develop active promotion initiatives inside and outside the company. The people in the team have been our ambassadors by attending external events developed by our partner associations, which have enabled them to gain greater knowledge of the issues and bring our testimonials. One day was dedicated to inclusive language. What impact does language have in our interactions with others? How aware are we of the stereotypes inherent in the things we say? The aim was to translate this awareness into everyday actions and to have an impact on the lives of everyone, as well as to spread the culture of inclusive language at all levels of the organisation.
Include to Grow: in 2021, in collaboration with Wise Growth, we created a path structured in 4 thematic areas, for a total of 20 video-pills, to learn the value of diversity, with concrete examples of behaviours to be avoided or, on the contrary, to be made one’s own in order to contribute to making the working environment fair and inclusive for everyone. Among the topics covered:
Generations in the company
Men and women at work
The difficulties of inclusion
Towards a culture of respect.

To date, this course is an integral part of the onboarding of all new hires and counts the participation of 100 % of Sisal employees in Italy.

DEI Talk - awareness programme: since 2023, we have developed a programme called DEI Talk, a series of webinars and panels that tackles DEI issues from episode to episode, with the support of experts, starting from the whys, the historical constructs to a better understanding of what and how we can do as individuals and as an organisation to actively engage in the co-construction of an inclusive and respectful environment. To date, we have conducted more than 9 webinars with attendance ranging from 300 to 400 participants per webinar. In 2024, we will continue this journey by offering new webinar proposals to the entire Group, particularly in the areas of Gender Equity and Accessibility.
"The culture of respect" video fiction: in 2023, we also produced a videofiction series on "The Culture of Respect": the episodes recount scenes from everyday life in the company and explore respectful behaviour in the workplace, demonstrating how even a single word can make a difference. With this video-fiction, we began our journey towards a Culture of Respect spread throughout our Group, which continues in 2024.
DEI Magazine & Intranet: the DEI Magazine and an intranet section dedicated to topics such as visible and invisible disabilities, violence against women, gender, multiculturalism, LGBTQIA+ and generational differences have been made available to all colleagues.
DEI Managerial Trainings: in addition to the learning paths and webinars aimed at the entire corporate population, we provide specific trainings aimed at Managers, spokespersons of change ("change agents") within their teams and the first people to set the right example on inclusive leadership, gender equity, disability management, multiculturalism and generational complexities.
"Sisal Talk" entitled Dialogue and Confrontation: we concluded 2023 with a "Sisal Talk" entitled Dialogue and Confrontation, our event format designed to create synergies and initiate a discussion and dialogue on sustainability and innovation. This meeting was dedicated to discussing how new technologies can and should be vehicles for inclusion and sustainability. Organised in collaboration with DiverCity Mag, it involved experts, researchers and entrepreneurs dealing with DEI issues and was attended by 90 online users and 60 in-person guests.
Women Empowerment Programme: as part of our DEI awareness and empowerment journey, we are continuing with our programme dedicated to women, which aims to provide them with useful tools to tackle the cognitive prejudices and obstacles that surround them, in order to foster their personal and professional growth. Since May 2022, when the programme was launched, more than 200 women have been involved through numerous online and in-person workshops that have enabled them to acquire useful tools and approaches to confront the mechanisms of exclusion/self-exclusion of the female gender from the world of work;
recognise and eliminate gender stereotypes;
explore managerial leadership styles based on gender differences;
promote personal branding and networking.

Certifications of our commitment to gender equality and inclusion

Our DEI plan and our actions place diversity as a guiding value for a commitment and continuous improvement that involves the whole company, measurable and constantly supported by data.

UNI/PdR 125:2022 gender equality certification

Sisal has obtained UNI/PdR 125:2022 certification on gender equality.

The certification certifies the effectiveness of the policies and organizational measures adopted in Sisal with the aim of reducing the gender gap in relation to:

career opportunities;
the salary levels for the same job;
policies for the management of gender differences;
to the protection of maternity.

The gender equality certification has been recognized by Certifica Sistemi, an Accredia accredited body for UNI/PdR 125:2022.

Winning Woman Institute Certification

We have received certification from the Winning Woman Institute on gender equality. This is an important recognition for Sisal, which has long since embarked on a path with a concrete objective: zero gender pay gap by 2030. This certification is the first step towards further strengthening our commitment to Gender Equality and identifying the actions needed to have a company that is increasingly inclusive and attentive to people's wellbeing.

Our partnerships for gender equality and inclusion

Valore D

For several years we have been part of the Valore D network, the first business association that promotes gender balance and the culture of inclusiveness in the company. As affiliates, the entire Sisal population has the opportunity to participate in meetings, webinars and talks with industry experts and reserved only for member companies. A fundamental opportunity to discuss and receive advice on how to live and work always following the principles of inclusiveness.

Parks- Liberi e Uguali

We are affiliated with Parks – Liberi e Uguali, a non- profit association created to help companies understand, value and encourage differences and inclusion in workplace.

We Pride Sisal for Inclusion

Sisal has long been involved in organizing initiatives and activities to involve the corporate population in the importance of building a future that is more inclusive and open to diversity.

Awareness-raising webinars on LGBTQIA+ issues and in-depth analysis of diversity drivers were organised. Finally, Sisal's ongoing commitment is also reflected in its participation as a company in the Milano Pride event.

DiverCity

Sisal has been collaborating since 2022 with Divercity, a quarterly magazine that deals with inclusion and innovation, for the development of internal DEI projects and since January we have been contributing to the creation of the magazine. We chose Divercity because we reflect ourselves in their values: freedom of expression, fairness in rights, enhancement of diversity; our collaboration was born from these assumptions, which has the aim of spreading and sensitizing colleagues and stakeholders on DEI issues.