CHARLESTON, SC – Sonepar dropped a film this week entitled “Equal Every Day,” inspired by a thought-provoking conversation that took place during a recent internal workshop. The workshop was hosted by the Women Advocating Today for Tomorrow (WATT) employee resource group and encouraged women to identify roadblocks and take control of their careers. WATT board members both directed and are featured in the video.
The workshop, entitled “UnMute Yourself: Elevate Your Courage, Confidence and Career,” was facilitated by Rachel Druckenmiller, founder, and CEO of UNMUTED. The interactive session propelled a robust conversation that was as impactful as – and continued well beyond – the presentation itself. “Women were openly sharing their personal stories and feelings about the obstacles they’ve experienced throughout their career, as well as the negative self-talk they often wrestle with,” said Selenah Njoloma, Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Sonepar. “We knew we had to manifest that really powerful moment in other forms – the first expression being this film.”
“Today, Sonepar has 12 WATT chapters across Sonepar operating companies. We were the first employee resource group to form in 2019, and we’ve been growing ever since,” said Robyn Joyner, current Sonepar WATT president and Sonepar corporate communication manager. “Leadership has been so supportive of our efforts, providing space to talk about things that are important to us, helping to raise awareness and effect change.”
“The film seeks to deliver the important message to women and allies that there is still work to do and that inclusion and equity means everything, including being in the pool of possible candidates for hiring, special projects, promotions, recognition, coaching support and more,” added Njoloma.
Sonepar has formed strategic partnerships with organizations like Catalyst, a non-profit that advocates for women in the workplace, and Fairygodboss, the largest online career community for women. Sonepar also had the largest group from a single distributor attending the June NAED Women in Industry Forum, recently won the international GEISS award for gender equality and diversity and the Fairygodboss Best Company status, and just announced several new female branch managers at locations across the U.S., such as Nicole Mazerbo at Cooper Electric’s new Buffalo branch. Additionally, Sonepar has increased parental leave time and pay, provided additional sick leave, increased vacation time, and implemented flexible work arrangements.
“We’re happy to report that we are hiring more women than in prior years and seeing more internal mobility as well,” added Njoloma. “We have clearly stated in our global Corporate Social Responsibility report that Sonepar is listening and ready to take action on the issues affecting women in the workplace.”
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