As a signatory to the CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion™, Air Products on Friday joined more than 150 other member companies in a collective day of conversations to continue embracing differences and increase understanding of Diversity and Inclusion in the workplace and beyond.
The “Day of Understanding” and its goals are an excellent fit with the goal Air Products has set to be the safest, most diverse and most profitable industrial gas company in the world, providing excellent service to customers.
“We joined the CEO Action for Diversity and Inclusion because it is a collection of like-minded companies focused on advancing diversity and inclusion in the workplace,” said Seifi Ghasemi, Chairman, President and CEO at Air Products.
As part of the Day of Understanding events, Air Products’ senior leaders from across the company shared personalised communications modules with their global teams to continue the dialogue on Diversity and Inclusion; the company created a video featuring Ghasemi and senior leaders’ perspectives; encouraged all employees to join Air Products’ Inclusion Network or participate in Inclusion challenges designed to increase awareness of behaviours and skills that promote inclusivity; and invited employees to take the CEO Action for Diversity and Inclusion’s “I Act On” pledge, which is a personal commitment to tackling bias and cultivating more inclusive behaviours.
Ghasemi added that while marking this “Day of Understanding” is a short-term observance, Air Products’ commitment to Diversity and Inclusion is a journey.
“Our employees can help make Diversity and Inclusion a reality at Air Products by taking a look at their own prejudices and putting them aside, looking at things in a positive way, and truly creating an environment where people of diverse backgrounds feel that they are part of the team,” Ghasemi said.
Victoria Brifo, Senior Vice-President and Chief Human Resources Officer at Air Products, echoed the importance of engaging employees and potential future employees in the conversation.
“My number one priority is that we achieve our goal of being the most diverse industrial gas company in the world. And that means bringing forth innovative strategies to recruit, retain, and develop the talent necessary to help us be collectively powerful in the marketplace,” Brifo said.
Air Products holds regular events to engage employees on the topic of Diversity and Inclusion, including hosting unconscious bias workshops globally. The company’s Intranet provides an extensive Diversity and Inclusion Toolkit comprised of activities and discussion topics focused on developing awareness and competence.
Air Products’ Inclusion Network and seven Employee Resource Groups, as well as partnerships with organisations such as Society of Women Engineers, Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers and National Society of Black Engineers, are designed to attract and develop diverse talent.
