Home > Founding Partners > Shell Nederland > Women Are Good For Business

Women are good for business

Thu 01 January 1970

, Shell

Dutch surveys give Shell high marks as employer for female professionals and parents

Women are good for business. Researchers from McKinsey and the Erasmus University in Rotterdam have, for example, linked the inclusion of women in a company’s top ranks to higher financial and organisational performance. In 2008, Shell scored above average as an employer of choice for women. Three Dutch surveys among managers, young professionals and working parents show Shell success in attracting female talent and creating a workplace where women can thrive.

In the quest for the Netherlands’ most women-friendly employer, research institute TNS Nipo and Management Team magazine quizzed 1029 male and female managers on the following questions:

• Where are women most likely to make it to the top?

• Where do they have the best working conditions?

• Who stimulates them most to move up the career ladder?

The survey showed that Shell is perceived to offer good career opportunities for women. As the “most-women friendly employer of 2008”, Shell achieved the highest results in the first and third category. The research also confirmed that Shell is no longer a company that only gets high marks from men. Male and female respondents alike thought that Shell was the second most women-friendly employer. Men gave the first place to Philips. Women ranked Rabobank highest.

Popularity scores were similar in a research by magazines such as Intermediair and Synovate, which is seen as a good barometer for our attractiveness as an employer in the Netherlands. When they asked 6000 young professionals about their employer of choice, Shell came second after Philips. Also here the ratings from men and women were comparable. On women’s wish list Shell featured as number three after the Rabobank and Unilever. Lia Belilos, HR Director of Shell Nederland said: “Attracting, retaining and developing talented women is an important part of our commitment to diversity and inclusion. We are very proud of our performance in these surveys.” The male respondents gave Shell a second place after Philips.

Apart from having a great image as an employer for women, Shell also received praise from parents in the Netherlands. Lof, a multi-media platform for working mothers, also teamed up with research institute Synovate: they asked 500 professional parents what they expected from their employer. Seventy companies volunteered to be judged against the established criteria. Together with seven others Shell was best able to answer parents’ needs and got high marks for offering them flexible working hours and a good work life balance.

Lia also added: “As employee value propositions and societal expectations continue to change, Shell’s success depends on our ability to attract, motivate and retain this increasingly diverse pool of talent. Being able to tap into the female talent pool, offering women the working conditions and career prospects they are looking for is not a nice thing to have but key to our business success”.