KBL Commits to Entrench Diversity and Inclusivity through Sports

NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 9 – Kenya Breweries Limited (KBL) has reiterated its commitment to supporting gender diversity and inclusivity through sports as it aims to help build a more inclusive society.  

The company, which is celebrating its centennial anniversary this year, is currently implementing policies aimed to achieve greater inclusivity by 2030 as spelled out in its strategic plan.

Under the plan, KBL aims at achieving 45 percent representation of leaders from ethnically diverse backgrounds and 50 percent of all leaders being women by 2030.

The company has earmarked women in sports as an area of focus in its efforts to advance its inclusivity agenda.

Through its premium spirit brand, Johnnie Walker, the company recently announced a Ksh. 25.5 million sponsorship towards the upcoming 2022 Magical Kenya Ladies Open.

The move sees the company secure rights to be the Official Alcohol Beverages partner for the tournament.

Commenting on the sponsorship, KBL Managing Director John Musunga said:

“Through this partnership with the Magical Kenya Ladies Open, we are hoping to support women in sports and showcase that they are as capable and valuable as men are. Sport is an important area for us to advance our support for diversity and inclusivity and therefore this is a great opportunity for us to showcase our support for women in sports.

“We believe that diversity, equality, and inclusion are important parameters in how we as a community live. For that reason, KBL has always been a champion for diversity and inclusivity since its establishment in 1922.”

“These are values that have defined who we are as a company. We do this because we believe that when diverse individuals, perspectives, and experiences are represented and nurtured, everyone gets more empowered for success. As we celebrate our milestones in the past 100 years, we look forward to continuing being champions of diversity and inclusivity.”

On her part, EABL’s Acting Director of Marketing and Innovations, Anne-Joy Michira, said:

“We are delighted to be sponsoring the Magical Kenya Ladies Open and supporting women in sports as sit at the heart of our diversity and inclusivity agenda because we believe that women in sports are yet another way of ensuring that women can actively participate in an equal society today and preparing for tomorrow’s generation.”

She further noted that while there is an increasing awareness in business culture that diversity and inclusion should never simply be a tagline or set of checkboxes, they need to be integral parts of the very fiber of a company’s existence.

In the recently released 2021 sustainability report, EABL reported a 7.4% increase in female hires, majorly as a result of the company’s graduate programs focused on building gender diversity.

The report further notes that as of 2021, 14% of those in the brewer’s senior management and 42% of those sitting on its board were women.  This marks a great step towards the company’s ambition to achieve 50% representation of women in leadership roles by 2030.