Global leader in water, food safety and infection prevention technologies and services Ecolab South Africa has turned its attention to the acceleration of the advancement of women leaders as its local chapter of the employee resource group (ERG) programme, E3, gains traction.

The group has recommitted to leading the way in gender equality as it commemorates the achievements of women in the industry, says Ecolab sub-Saharan Africa VP and market head Qasim Abrahams.

“We are working to make Ecolab a place where women have greater opportunities to grow and advance their careers. For us, it is [essential] that we acknowledge the importance of women leaders across the businesses in our societies,” he said during the International Women’s Day celebrations at the company’s Johannesburg headquarters.

Ecolab has achieved major strides in its effort to provide greater opportunities for women leaders, with its 4 000-member global E3 chapters continuing efforts to grow the number of female leaders in the group globally.

“Our mission in E3 is to empower, engage and energise our company to measurably accelerate the advancement of women and develop leaders to drive business growth,” says Ecolab sub-Saharan Africa compliance head Eleni Pavli.

Founded in the US in 2005, the initiative went global when it launched its second chapter in Sydney, Australia, in 2014.

Every year since, Ecolab has been launching new chapters. The initiative now has a presnce in more than 38 countries and total membership currently stands at more than 4 000.

“Ecolab strives to have gender-equal working environments and a diverse working environment, and this is just one of the platforms to achieve that,” she continues, noting that it presents an opportunity to continue the conversation of change and policy to challenge the norms and to continue to push boundaries.

“Globally, our ERGs grew 25% in 2018 – showing that associates find value in belonging to these organisations,” the company highlights.

The E3 team also created member-driven videos connecting to the greater Ecolab International Women’s Day theme, #HerImpactMatters, as well as the worldwide #EachforEqual theme.

The group also recognised 24 outstanding Ecolab leaders who model inclusiveness and equality, inspire and empower women and drive business growth.