At Rainbow, we take great pride in celebrating International Women’s Day every year.

We believe that women should be treated fairly and equitably in every aspect of our business, and we are committed to ensuring that they are well-represented at all levels within our organization. To achieve this goal, we have taken several steps to eliminate barriers to entry into any role and to address the challenges faced by women in our workplace.

Our policies and practices are constantly reviewed and updated to ensure that we remain progressive and responsive to the needs of our female employees. The best example of this is the recent review of our Maternity Leave Policy. In order to access maternity leave benefits, an employee no longer needs to have been with the company for 6 months.

We are also reviewing all our HR policies to ensure gender neutrality.

In the past couple of years, we have been running the Basadi Bereka program. This program equips women (grade A to C) to successfully navigate the challenging transition from leading themselves to leading others. The program inspires and enables them to thrive in their roles as leaders, as well as in other areas of their lives. Through this program, we expand what is possible for them and impact their future. A total of 129 women have successfully participated in the program. In addition to this, we are also taking bold steps to break down gender stereotypes and promote gender parity.

We are currently in the planning phase of establishing an all-women farm in the Regions, which will provide women with opportunities to take on roles that were traditionally seen as male-dominated. We also offer various programs to support our female employees, such as EAT, LOVE, PLAY & TALK, which focuses on educating new mothers and fathers on the importance of nutrition and caring for their babies. This program is primarily attended by women in our workplace and aims to build stronger, healthier families.

At Rainbow, we are committed to creating a workplace that values diversity and inclusivity. Currently, 44% of our employees across the company are women. Only 31% of managers (D band and above) are female, and we are working hard to improve this representation at management levels to at least 40% by 2025. In F23, 36% of all promotions were given to women and 52% of women received training. These statistics indicate the challenges we face in our quest to achieve gender equity.

Finally, we take a zero-tolerance approach to violence and harassment in the workplace, and we have run several awareness campaigns to highlight the issue of Gender-Based Violence. We have implemented a Tip-Off anonymous system through Deloitte, where victims of harassment, who wish to remain anonymous, can report issues. We believe that everyone has the right to work in a safe and secure environment, free from any form of harassment or abuse.

As Gloria Steinem once said, “The story of women’s struggle for equality belongs to no single feminist nor to any one organization but to the collective efforts of all who care about human rights.” Let us continue to stand together in support of gender equality, not just today, but every day.

Happy International Women’s Day!