Globally, being part of a community is recognized as integral to the human experience. Apart from allowing people to fully embrace who they are, it provides different opportunities for people to learn from each other, give support, encouragement, and guidance in creating a greater impact in today’s world.
“In Cargill, it has always been a part of our values “To Put People First” while remaining committed to creating a culture where employees feel welcome, valued, and heard. This is why we recently launched the Cargill Pride Network and Cargill Young Professionals Network to redouble our efforts in providing equal opportunity to all employees to grow in their line of work,” shared Sonny Catacutan, Cargill Philippines Country President.
Marching with Pride
Cargill Philippines is the second country in the Cargill APAC to establish the Pride Network that aims to create a culture of inclusion for its LGBTQIA++ employees across the company, and focus on continuously fostering an equitable, safe and supportive business environment for all employees, allies and business associates.
With employees in Cargill Philippines’ workforce identifying with the LGBTQIA++ community, the Cargill Pride Network prepares engaging events, hosts seminars and various pride projects that will provide training and resources to promote values such as equity, integrity, openness and will advocate for inclusive policies.
With the responsibility of tackling some of the biggest global challenges in food and agriculture, Cargill is committed to making the future of the industry to be more diverse and inclusive by providing different solutions and innovations through a wide range of experience, ideas and talents.
“While Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion have been in most corporate agendas for several years now, we can’t deny the fact that many LGBTQIA++ employees continue to face discrimination in the workplace, and with these efforts, we want our employees to feel safe in knowing that the company supports them regardless of race, ethnicity, age and gender among others,” added Catacutan.
Empowering the Youth
To harness and develop the potential of the youth and break the stereotype that age is a requirement to perform specific tasks, Cargill Philippines, the fourth country in the Cargill APAC launches the Cargill Young Professionals Network to create a community that will empower future leaders to develop their careers and influence Cargill’s culture.
“The youth – defined as those below the age of 40 – make up 50% of our workforce. These are the same people who will take on the reins of our company in the next few years and in a rapidly evolving landscape driven by Industry 4.0, their involvement in shaping our workplace is actually key to staying competitive in the markets we operate in, in the coming years. By giving our youth a voice today, we give them a fair stake in the future they are expected to lead”, said Christopher Ilagan, Corporate Affairs Director of Cargill Philippines and himself a member of the youth demographic.
As a beacon to create a community where it champions the youth, Cargill will provide programs to develop the next set of leaders and to share the best practices across business units. It will be offered to young professionals within the first 10 years of their careers and to those who are interested. Cargill will also be offering a program for professionals to help upskill their talents with the next generation skillset.
“Our work spans the supply chain from field to finished goods. No one party has all the answers when it comes to the challenges the industry faces but by bringing in a greater range of participants, we can find solutions together”, added Ilagan.