1. Home
  2. About us
  3. Our business
  4. Gender Equality at JTI

Gender Equality at JTI

Gender Equality at JTI

TOGETHER

 

For gender equality at JTI

We know that change can only happen when people are given a voice and are inspired to be active. That’s why we set up TogetHER- an Employee Resource Group (ERG) to help foster women’s empowerment and equal opportunities at JTI.

It’s important to us that the TogetHER ERG is a safe environment to talk, challenge and grow on our journey towards gender equality. Employee-led and organized by Co-chairs and Pillar Leads, colleagues from across the global organization share the issues that are important to them - we then ideate on possible solutions, which ultimately feed into our thematic areas of focus today. We also make sure that the Co-Chairs of TogetHER regularly give unsanitized feedback to our Executive sponsor to help promote accountability and inspire change.

 

Nobuya Kato

"JTI TAKES SERIOUSLY GENDER EQUITY AND EQUALITY AS AN IMPORTANT AND STRATEGIC CORPORATE INITIATIVE. BUILDING AND PROMOTING IT IS NOT ONLY A NECESSITY BUT ALSO AN OPPORTUNITY FOR JTI TO FURTHER GROW AS AN EXCELLENT ORGANIZATION. I, AS EXCOM SPONSOR, AM FULLY COMMITTED TO THE JOURNEY WITH ALL EMPLOYEES IN THE COMMUNITY. LET'S JOIN AND DRIVE THE JOURNEY TOGETHER!"

NOBUYA KATO, EXECUTIVE VP & DEPUTY CEO. TOGETHER SPONSOR

Nobuya Kato

“I BELIEVE WE ALL THRIVE WHEN EACH OF US STEPS INTO OUR EMPOWERED ZONE. AS CO-CHAIR OF THE TOGETHER ERG, I'M COMMITTED TO FOSTERING AN INCLUSIVE ENVIRONMENT WHERE EVERYONE IS ENCOURAGED TO EXPLORE THEIR EMPOWERED ZONE, AND WHERE EVERY VOICE IS VALUED. TOGETHER, WE WILL BREAK DOWN BARRIERS, CREATE OPPORTUNITIES, AND ENSURE THAT EVERYONE, REGARDLESS OF GENDER, CAN THRIVE AND CONTRIBUTE TO OUR COLLECTIVE SUCCESS.”

BISSAN ABUSNAINEH , PEOPLE & CULTURE BUSINESS PARTNER DIRECTOR AND TOGETHER CO-CHAIR

Bissan Abusnaineh
Alan Jackson

"BEYOND IT JUST BEING THE RIGHT THING TO DO, GENDER EQUITY IS AND SHOULD BE A KEY STRATEGIC IMPERATIVE FOR OUR ENTIRE ORGANISATION. GENDER EQUALITY IS NOT ONLY A FEMALE ISSUE, BUT ALSO A SUBJECT THAT SHOULD OCCUPY ALL OF US AT JTI AND IN SOCIETY."

ALAN JACKSON, GENERAL MANAGER, JTI CANADA. TOGETHER CO-CHAIR

Alan Jackson

Forward together

 

The TogetHER approach

Our ERG meetings led us to define four key focus areas that touch on the communities in our business. They’ve allowed us to take a more inclusive approach towards gender equity and equality, meaning everyone at JTI can learn, be inspired, and become active on getting more women to the top.

Communication & Events

1. IniSHEate

IniSHEate exists to recruit, educate, and energize members into the TogetHER community. Through regular inductions and informal coffee catch ups, employees can understand how they can get involved with the various pillars and accelerate the momentum across the globe towards gender equality. Advocates of gender equity best practices, IniSHEate is the key connector for our market TogetHER chapters and DEI committees.

Communication & Events
Louise Harris


"Creating a space that is reflective of all backgrounds, experiences and ambitions is an important foundation for our journey to gender equality - a space where we can challenge, grow and succeed together.”

Louise Harris, Communication Manager, JTI UK. TogetHER IniSHEate Pillar Lead

2. Ailes pour Elle ('She for She')

In French, the phrase symbolically means 'giving wings to women'. This group works to create an enabling environment for women to support each other through mentoring, coaching and sponsoring-for women, by women. A 2023 highlight is the launch of Just a Call Away: JACA aims to be the first point of call for women who are facing challenges.

She For She
Elaine McKay


"One of my favorite quotes is ‘Be the woman who fixes another woman's crown, without telling the world that it was crooked’ and Ailes for Elle shows how to do this!"

Elaine McKay, Corporate Affairs and Communications, JTI Canada. TogetHER’s ‘Ailes pour Elle’ Pillar Lead

Men advocating progress

3. MAP: Men Advocating Progress  

We formed MAP with the firm belief that men are key allies in the journey towards gender equality. Our Men Advocating Progress workstream is the cornerstone of our movement. It aims to raise awareness on unconscious bias and encourage men to help drive change and get active in our shared mission, notably through workshops. These efforts have been so successful they are now embedded in our overall People & Culture agenda.

Men advocating progress
George Laskaris


"Men Advocating Progress for gender equality immediately came across as an interesting journey for me, as it would allow me to both explore my (and other men’s) basic gender equality awareness level, but also understand how advanced JTI was in this area.”

George Laskaris, Global Indirect Procurement Director. TogetHER Map Pillar Lead

4. Engagement

This workstream is key to connecting the other three pillars. We’ve created and manage an editorial calendar, which allows us to showcase TogetHER activities across JTI, covering internal and external platforms. We conduct and publish regular polls and pulse check surveys across the business. This allows us to understand what issues employees are facing and what our audiences want to know about in the future. 

Education and Awareness
Leigh Cella


"Gender equity is an absolute must for any organization. Being part of this group at JTI offers so many personal rewards through interacting with people who share a common passion, driving our gender equity agenda for the ERG and being part of an essential movement."

Leigh Cella, Digital Drumbeat and Squads Director. TogetHER Engagement Pillar Lead

Join us on our journey TOGETHER

Our TogetHER journey is growing from strength to strength. We know that for real change to happen we require advocacy and an environment in which people feel safe and empowered to speak up and know they’ll be heard. At JTI this takes the form of our TOGETHER ERG movement to support wider changes across the company.

We know our next steps are crucial, and so we’re focusing on awareness, engagement, and allyship across all levels and departments. We’re immensely proud of our progress, big and small, because what is important is to continually move Forward TOGETHER towards an equitable environment for all of employees in JTI, regardless of gender.

Related Links

Find out more about our Diversity, Equity & Inclusion programs.

Why we founded Pride at JTI
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: my vision for JTI
A Year of Pride at JTI