De Beers Pledges to Empower Women

RAPAPORT… De Beers has partnered with the United Nations to support the
advancement of women in the company and across areas of life its operations affect.



As a UN Women partner, De Beers has pledged to invest $3
million in empowering women in diamond-producing countries, the miner said last
week. This will include accelerating the growth of female-owned
micro-enterprises in Botswana, Namibia and South Africa. In Canada, De Beers
and UN Women will fund studies in science, technology, engineering and
mathematics for young women and girls from underprivileged communities.


De Beers also plans to double the rate of women appointed
into senior leadership roles in its organization, achieving parity in the
appointment of women and men into top positions by 2020. The company is also
focusing on attracting and developing women at earlier stages of their careers
across the diamond trade. It has set up a gender-diversity steering group, which
reports to the group executive committee.


Since earlier this year, De Beers has carried out an
evaluation of how it attracts and develops staff, held unconscious-bias
training, launched a mentoring program and reviewed its policies and
recruitment guidelines.


The company’s consumer brands, Forevermark and De Beers
Diamond Jewellers, will launch marketing campaigns that reflect women’s diverse
roles in society, the company added.


“Diamonds hold a unique place in marking the most precious
moments in the lives of millions of women around the world,” said De Beers CEO
Bruce Cleaver, who has been named a “UN Women ‘HeForShe’ Thematic Champion.”


“At De Beers we believe it is our responsibility and
privilege to stand with women, to lead in the pursuit of equality and to give
even deeper meaning to the diamonds they are proud to wear and pass on to [the] next
generations,” Cleaver added.