In 2022, we laid the foundations for our DE&I plans going forward launching our new strategy and policy. Put simply, the strategy focuses on caring for our people, connecting with our customers and supporting the communities we serve.

Our geographical footprint and the broad range of our services offered, means we already employ people from all corners of the globe, representing many customs and cultures, history and heritage. Our leadership commitment is to ensure that we continue to focus on our DE&I strategy to ensure that our work environment is one where all our employees, no matter their differences, feel they are
cared for, they belong and can be themselves. In such an environment, ideas and innovation will thrive, employees' voices and views will be heard, and our customer needs will be better served.

Like all other priorities in our business, the DE&I strategy is being embedded in our core processes with business and country managers taking responsibility for tailoring it locally to their culture and markets.

We have two dedicated forums, one focused on North American operations, the other on our international business, which facilitate strategy implementation. Chaired by Regional CEO’s and DE&I leaders, these forums are also responsible for building awareness, coordinating and participating in events such as International Women’s Day and Inclusion Week and developing and reviewing DE&I materials being issued.

Forum members are allies working on their own inclusion journeys. They give their time voluntarily to support the DE&I work that we do, and we are enormously grateful for their effort, insights and the commitment to making changes that they bring. Their particular focus at present is to help diversify our talent pipelines encouraging more women into operational leadership and minorities into management and leadership positions. 

It is important to us that our workforce reflects the diversity of the communities in which we live and work and that this diversity applies throughout the organization. There is more work to be done to continue to increase the diversity in the talent pipeline across the organization.

Each day, our businesses must overcome stereotypical views of security, challenging conventions that have existed for decades both internally and externally. The best security professionals or leaders do not conform to one gender or race. Alongside the law, we truly don’t believe and welcome everyone with the right aptitude and attitude to apply.

To help us build momentum and also ensure we make progress and hold ourselves accountable for doing so, we are setting DE&I goals. In support of these goals, we are busy gathering more diversity data from employees and our suppliers. Often this is challenging for data protection or practical reasons, but where it is possible and lawful to do so, such as in the US and UK, we are working hard to ensure we have metrics and measures in place.