RWS Annual Report 2022 web - Flipbook - Page 69
DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
Being part of a vibrant, globally diverse community, we
know that tremendous value is gained from colleagues'
differences. An inviting culture that recognises and
celebrates diversity enables colleagues to reach their
maximum potential and achieve their best, which is
fundamental to us and critical to our success.
Due to the constraints of the Covid-19 pandemic, the 2022
AGM was held as a hybrid meeting. Shareholders (and
their proxies) were only permitted to attend the AGM via
a virtual meeting facility and not permitted to physically
attend.
Research has shown that when colleagues experience
a diverse, caring company it is a key driver of revenue
outperformance. When companies invite every colleague
into the innovation process, they generate more high
quality ideas, realise greater speed in implementation,
achieve greater agility, deliver sales targets and
outperform their competition.
The 2023 AGM will be held on 22 February 2023, at CMS
Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang LLP, Cannon Place,
78 Cannon Street, London EC4N 6AF. Details of how
shareholders can attend the meeting are set out in the
Notice of AGM. Shareholders will be able to vote at the
AGM in person or by submitting their proxy in advance of
the AGM and to appoint the Chairman of the AGM as their
proxy with their voting instructions.
Given the unquestionable impact diversity and inclusion
has on colleagues, the business, and society at large, we are
committed to further extending our culture of diversity and
inclusion. It is simply the right thing to do (see the Diversity,
Equality and Inclusion section of the ESG on pages 32 to
33). In our Executive Team workshops we work to include
ideas from our Employee Resource Groups on how to
further improve the work place.
We are very keen to engage with all shareholders and
look forward to meeting with some of them at the AGM.
I would be delighted to answer any questions that
shareholders may have.
The Board understands the importance of diversity and
is committed to increasing the diversity of the Group’s
workforce and of the Board itself. The gender diversity
split of the Board was 37.5% female, 62.5% male at the
beginning of the year, but at year end (and as 1 October
2022) the split is 44.4% female and 55.6% male. Females
made up 20% of our Executive Team at the beginning of
the year but at the year end (and as of 1 October 2022),
females comprise 33% of the Executive Team. We aim to
increase the ethnic diversity of the Board and Executive
Team as soon as reasonably practicable.
14 December 2022
Andrew Brode
CHAIRMAN
We place a sustained focus on diversity and inclusion.
Learning from our efforts in this regard, we take an
holistic approach to inclusion, choosing to develop a fair,
equal and inviting work environment for all colleagues,
rather than purely targeting the most obvious groups that
are typically under-represented in organisations with our
profile (see Our People section page 32).
GOVERNANCE REPORT RWS — Annual Report 2022
69
