International Women's Day
Building a gender equal business
At IKEA Canada, we believe that gender equality at home and at work lie at the core of gender equality in society. Gender equality has been part of our country business plans for over a decade.
Equal treatment and a shared responsibility for people and planet are deeply rooted in our culture and values. The IKEA vision is to create a better everyday life for the many people, and we believe that an equal everyday is a better everyday. That means ensuring equal opportunities for both women and men at IKEA, and reaching 50/50 gender balance in all countries, levels and positions, including boards and committees.
Today, in Ingka Group, we’re proud to announce that we have gender balance across top leadership roles. Globally, half (45%) of all country CEOs are women, and we have 56% female management across all country retail management teams.
Gender balance in IKEA Canada*
*% of women as of 2022
All managers
All co-workers
We believe that greater gender balance benefits everyone. Whatever the role or position, everyone at Ingka Group should expect to be paid equally for work of equal value. We’re members of the Equal Pay International Coalition (EPIC) and have pledged to secure gender equal pay throughout Ingka. Building a gender equal business means creating an inclusive culture where both women and men are valued for their unique contributions and are able to impact the culture of the organization. Because when people have the same opportunities to grow everyone wins.
Eliminating gender inequality, one initiative at a time
IKEA Canada was proud to host an installation by The Canadian Library that honoured thousands of murdered and missing Indigenous women and children throughout all stores from September 30 – December 31, 2022. Each installation featured a BILLY bookcase filled with books covered in Indigenous-inspired fabric and instead of titles, the book spines noted the individual names of missing Indigenous women and children. Our ambition was to create awareness and enable tough conversations about the ongoing violence that affects Indigenous women, girls, and two-spirited people. Our hope was for these installations to spark meaningful change with our co-workers and customers.
In 2022, IKEA Canada supported Canadian women’s shelters through a partnership with Women’s Shelters Canada and National Aboriginal Circle Against Family Violence. This included a $50,000 in-kind (product) donation that provides needed home furnishings to emergency and second-stage shelters in the communities nationwide where we operate to create the feeling of home for the women and children living there.
We believe a balanced working environment is better for our co-workers, customers, and our business. To align with our values, the Gender Balance in Fulfilment Operations Co-worker Resource Group (CRG) was formed in 2022. This group is focused on making a positive impact towards gender balance and equality in our fulfilment operations. Their mission is to work towards closing the gender gap for supply chain positions, helping to develop and retain women leaders at all levels and functions, and support a better work/life balance for fulfilment operations co-workers.
