Canon Central and North Africa further celebrates International Women’s Day with its “SHE RISE” programme
More than half of Canon Central and North Africa’s leadership positions today are filled by women
A gender equality mindset since our regional headquarter opening in 2015 with a 6 person management team of which 4 were women; at Canon Central and North Africa, the number of females in 2020 has been significantly multiplied by 5 in 3 years since 2017;
Canon Central and North Africa further celebrate International Women’s Day with its “SHE RISE” programme to empower females across the organisation with inspirational talks and mentorship.
Regarding gender equality in the workplace, Africa’s progress is similar to other regions, largely due to the high participation of women in the labour market, according to McKinsey.
Africa has the highest female representation at the board level of any region at 25% against a global average of 17% and marginally higher than average representation on executive committees at 22%.
Nevertheless, the percentage of African women in senior and middle management positions is a little below the global average.
In North Africa, only 9% attain middle management roles. However, Roland Berger Survey estimates a 34% improvement in performance when African women hold managerial positions.
At Canon we are pleased to announce that more than half (57%) of Canon Central and north Africa’s leadership positions today are filled by women.
We keep ladies at managerial posts with flexible working arrangements, training programmes, helping to create a more level playing field and empower females.
Canon also encourages women to return to the workforce and achieve success after a career break. For instance, it introduced extended maternity leave and flexible working hours to provide more career opportunities for women in the technology and imaging industry.
On the occasion of the International Women’s Day, the Company will launch its internal campaign SHE Rise, to mark the occasion in support of female empowerment.
The programme features inspirational talks from female leaders in Canon as well as mentoring, training and feedback sessions designed to support women in the workplace.
Mai Youssef, Corporate Communications and Marketing Services Director, Canon Middle East, said: “The survey findings are extremely encouraging as we can see there is an overall positive sentiment to women empowerment in the workplace in Central and North Africa, with the region seening an improvement in terms of policies and gender parity in the last five to ten years.
At Canon, we have a strong commitment to women and the community, something that is engrained in our organisation as part of our corporate culture of kyosei.
Creating opportunities for women to rise in their respective roles in the organisation will continue to remain part of our focus as we continue in our growth trajectory across the region.”
Veronica Juul-Nyholm, Human Resources Director, Canon Middle East and Central and North Africa, said: “Our SHE Rise campaign has been designed to support women empowerment and is testament to our ongoing commitment to females and their advancement.
The programme will focus on the delivery of talks and mentorship for young females working in the organisation supporting them to enhance their skills and not just perform in their roles but feel confident to pursue their career objectives.”
The SHE Rise campaign is a multi-stage programme of engagement, involving 10-15 young women from across the organisation as a first stage who will benefit from coaching, mentoring and training.
Those participating will enjoy a presentation and Q&A session, amongst other activities as part of the programme.
International Women’s Day (IWD) is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women.
The day also marks a call to action for accelerating women’s equality. Taking place for well over a century, with the first IWD gathering in 1911 supported by over a million people. Today, IWD belongs to all groups and is not country nor organisation specific.
Canon, in Africa and around the world, leads by example on the topic of gender equality.
Guided by its corporate philosophy of Kyosei —living and working together for the common good— The Group respects all kinds of diversity, including gender, culture, customs, language, and ethnicity.
Canon understands the value and strength of women, and for this reason it also established a work environment that supports women to excel and achieve their potential in the workplace.
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