Salesforce joins forces with HeForShe campaign to create new set of corporate principles to accelerate gender equality in Australian businesses
Salesforce, the Customer Success Platform and world’s #1 CRM company, today announced a unique partnership with UN Women National Committee (NC) Australia and its HeForShe program, making Salesforce the first corporate partner for the HeForShe program in Australia.
To accelerate gender equality in Australian workplaces and to make it a more inclusive conversation, UN Women National Committee Australia and Salesforce will develop a guiding set of corporate principles to help companies develop a gender equality strategy and take affirmative action to create change.
The need for a whole organisation approach to gender equality has never been greater than today. In fact, a recent McKinsey Global Institute report found that $12 trillion could be added to global GDP by 2025 just by advancing women’s equality. And a recent study by the Peterson Institute found that 22,000 companies whose executive management was gender-diverse realized a 6 percent increase in corporate earnings. Yet a recent Australian Workplace Gender Equality study shows that 79.4 percent of organisations in Australia have no gender equality strategy in place. In order to drive the Australian economy forward, local businesses are looking for a way to accelerate their gender equality practices.
Corporate Principles to Advance Equality
Over the coming months, Salesforce and UN Women NC Australia will run several workshops with staff from both organisations. Leveraging the best practices from the HeForShe campaign and building on the programs Salesforce has already implemented to advance gender equality, the team will create a set of corporate principles that other businesses in Australia can learn from. The corporate principles, which will be released later this year, will give businesses a framework to develop their gender equality strategy and to start to drive change in their business.
Comments on the News
- “Our partnership with UN Women NC Australia and its HeForShe program will provide a blueprint for every Australian company to embrace gender equality and drive actionable change in their business. It’s important that corporate Australia comes together and collaborate with organisations like UN Women NC Australia so that no one is left to be a bystander on this issue,” said Wendy Johnstone, Vice President of Marketing, Asia Pacific, Salesforce
- “To support our focus on advancing gender equality, we look to partner with organisations deeply committed to women’s empowerment. Salesforce shares our same vision and values and we look forward to working with the company to accelerate gender equality in corporate Australia,” said Janelle Weissman, Executive Director at UN Women National Committee Australia.
- “It’s widely acknowledged that equality in the workplace is a real issue in Australia. In fact, the Workplace Gender Equality Agency recently released stats showing the gender pay gap for full-time workers in Australia is 17.3 percent. From speaking to corporates, we know they want to do something but they don’t know where to start,” Weissman continued.
Igniting Broader Support for UN Women NC Australia’s Mission
As UN Women NC Australia’s first corporate partner focussed on the HeForShe campaign in Australia, Salesforce will work with the organisation to explore how technology can help them drive their message and organisational impact. Using Salesforce’s unique “Ignite” process, UN Women NC Australia will work in collaboration with Salesforce to design a vision and ideate on how to uncover opportunities for them to get closer to their community and their donors. This workshop will also be a chance for the two organisations to brainstorm and develop elements of the corporate principles.
Gender Diversity Panel at Salesforce World Tour Melbourne
This announcement coincides with the Salesforce World Tour Melbourne, Salesforce’s largest national event with almost 7,000 registered attendees. To demonstrate the company’s commitment to equality, Salesforce will be running a diversity program throughout the day. The stand-out session will be a panel focused on gender diversity as the next frontier for corporate Australia. The panel, hosted by Leigh Sales, ABC 7.30 Anchor, features Janelle Weissman, Executive Director of UN Women National Committee Australia; Elizabeth Broderick, Former Sex Discrimination Commissioner; Andrew Stevens, Non-executive Director Male Champions of Change; Vanessa Hudson Executive Manager Customer & Commercial Relationships, Qantas and Wendy Johnstone, Vice President Marketing, Salesforce Asia Pacific.
About Salesforce World Tour Melbourne
Salesforce World Tour Melbourne is Salesforce’s premier event in Australia and New Zealand. The global roadshow brings Salesforce experts, partners and customers together to demonstrate how companies can leverage the Salesforce Customer Success Platform to connect all of their apps, devices and customer data in today’s cloud, social, mobile and data science world. With keynotes from Salesforce executives that showcase cutting-edge technology, specialized breakout sessions, live demos, and inspiring customer stories, attendees will learn how companies of all sizes and industries sell, service, market, engage, analyze data and develop apps.
About Salesforce
Salesforce, the Customer Success Platform and world’s #1 CRM, empowers companies to connect with their customers in a whole new way. For more information about Salesforce (NYSE: CRM), visit: www.salesforce.com.
For additional background on Salesforce’s gender equality programs that focus on equal pay, advancement and opportunity, see our blog:
Working Toward a More Diverse Salesforce Future
Equality at Salesforce: The Equal Pay Assessment Update
Connect with Salesforce
- Follow @Salesforce on Twitter and join the conversation
- Like Salesforce Australia on Facebook
- Follow Salesforce Australia and New Zealand on its blog
About HeForShe
The world is at a turning point. People everywhere understand and support the idea of gender equality. They know it’s not just a women’s issue, it’s a human rights issue. And when these powerful voices are heard, they will change the world. The time for that change is now. The HeForShe program is grounded in the idea that gender equality is an issue that affects all people—socially, economically and politically— and it seeks to actively involve men in the conversation and movement on gender equality. HeForShe is inviting people and corporates around the world to stand together to create a bold, visible force for gender equality. And it starts by taking action right now to create a gender equal world.
