Together we #EmbraceEquity – International Women’s Day 2023

As an organisation we believe in an inclusive working environment where we utilise our diverse perspective to collaborate and make a difference. As part of our journey to build a culture of inclusion, where everyone can thrive, we want to cultivate an environment where all colleagues feel seen, heard and valued for what they bring to the table. Without the diversity within our teams we would be the successful organisation we are today – our people make us ASSA ABLOY and every day, we ensure our colleagues feel empowered to achieve great things.

What is equity and why are we so passionate about it?

Equality and equity sound similar, but have a very different meaning in order to achieve equality, we must embrace equity.

Equality means providing everyone with the same resources and opportunities, whereas equity recognises that not everyone has the same starting point, we must all acknowledge and make adjustments accordingly.

One of our core values is integrity. It ensures we create a space and respectful environment, in which we value results rather than titles or backgrounds. We also value empowerment, this means giving all our team members responsibility and authority to act.

Here’s what #EmbraceEquity means to some of our team members across the UKI

"In my experience, no matter what your background, gender, ethnicity -Embracing Equity allows everyone to play a part in forging a positive change and should always be encouraged. Within Assa Abloy, I am pleased to say we not only ‘talk the talk’ but apply this philosophy across all the business functions, which I have the pleasure of working with." Julie Harris – Strategic Projects Director UKI

"I work to embrace equity in the workplace. We have different backgrounds and experiences which must be considered when determining the unique resources and support each of us needs to succeed. We all make plans as leaders but being flexible within those plans is an essential as one size doesn’t always fit all." Philip Woodrow, Head of Operations - Lorient

"International Women’s Day isn’t just one day of the year where we all acknowledge the rights and opportunities of our female counterparts – this should be something we all actively do every day of the year. As a man, it’s simply not enough to stand by and do nothing any more." Azeem Ahmad, Digital Lead – Door Hardware Group

"International Women’s Day celebrates women and reinforces that we can do anything and enter any industry we want based on what we offer and without gender holding us back. I also believe that it empowers women by highlighting the many amazing achievements we have brought over the years. Equity and diversity go hand in hand. To me, embracing equity means embracing what makes us different and our difference should be accepted. Also, these differences give way to various thinking and unique ideas from a different perspective. Michelle Sutton – Senior Internal Sales & Technical Administrator, Mul-T-Lock UK

"#EmbracingEquity to me is being able to create an environment and culture where people who have a diverse range of experiences are able to access relevant, but tailored opportunities to work together, develop or grow into the best that they want to be. " Neil Martin, Director, Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) and Financial Accounting