Bridgestone EMIA Launches Inaugural Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DE&I) Report

For the first time today, Bridgestone EMIA (BSEMIA) launches its Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I) Report, which highlights the most recent measurement on DE&I across the region and details the actions being taken to make progress in this vital area. The report is being launched during Bridgestone EMIA DE&I week, an event which aims to engage employees to play a part in reaching the company’s DE&I goals.

“This is the start of a long-term journey,” said Laurent Dartoux, Chief Executive Officer & President, Bridgestone EMIA. “As a business and as individuals, we are committed to making Bridgestone EMIA a truly inclusive, diverse and equitable business where everyone feels comfortable to be their true selves, every single day. It’s also critical that our people fully represent the customers and communities we’re serving, with a more equal mix of genders and equal opportunities to excel, whatever their age or background.”

“Our people are our strength,” added Wim Van Der Meersch, Chief HR Officer Bridgestone. “By increasing our understanding of DE&I through continuous data analysis, we can make Bridgestone EMIA a better place to work while ensuring we reflect the full diversity of the communities in which we operate.”

The report finds that currently only 11% of all employees in EMIA are women. While acknowledging the challenges of hiring and retaining a female workforce in a traditionally male industrial business, BSEMIA commits to the ambition of making half of all new hires women by 2025. It also aims by 2030 to have the demographics of its leadership team reflect the BSEMIA population in terms of gender and background.

Employees within BSEMIA have acknowledged the efforts that the company has been making with 89.2% of those surveyed believing that Bridgestone values and promotes diversity and 77.2% of employees agreeing that their input is valued and considered.

In addition to the statistical analysis of Bridgestone DE&I measurements, the report also enumerates the initiatives and achievements to date as the company accelerates efforts to improve in this area. Key highlights and achievements from the last year:

• Bridgestone EMIA established a dedicated DE&I Center of Expertise with a specific focus on creating strategy, tools, and resources, and facilitating training and education to further the DE&I agenda.  73% of employees completed DE&I training.
• Two Employee Resource Groups have been established – B-WIN for Women’s Inclusivity and B-Proud for LGBT+ community.
• Bridgestone EMIA is ranked in the top 1% of over 100,000 companies worldwide by business sustainability experts, EcoVadis for two consecutive years, 2021 and 2022.  
• Bridgestone named a ‘Top Employer’ in Belgium, Spain and South Africa, and a ‘Great Place to Work’ in the Middle-East.
• Bridgestone Lead4Success training programme launched to help junior managers, including young leaders take the next step in their personal development.
• Bridgestone Women in Motion development programmes rolled out across EMIA.

Bridgestone’s efforts to enhance diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace align with the Bridgestone E8 Commitment, a global corporate commitment to a more sustainable world for future generations, and which focuses the company’s efforts to provide social and customer value through eight fundamental values.

To find out more about Bridgestone’s DE&I measurements, initiatives to empower employees, and actions being taken to increase diversity, download the full report by clicking the image below:

Media information: Liesbeth Denys, Director Public Affairs and Communications EMIA: +32 478 78 26 22

About Bridgestone in Europe, Middle East, India and Africa

Bridgestone in Europe, Middle East, India, and Africa (Bridgestone EMIA) is the regional Strategic Business Unit of Bridgestone Corporation, a global leader in tyres and sustainable mobility solutions.

Headquartered in Zaventem (Belgium), Bridgestone EMIA employs more than 20,000 people and conducts business in 40 countries across the region.

Bridgestone offers a diverse portfolio of premium tyres, tyre technologies and advanced mobility solutions. The company’s vision is to provide social and customer value as a sustainable solutions company. The Bridgestone E8 Commitment is a broad, global corporate commitment that clearly defines the value the company is promising to deliver to society, our customers and future generations in eight focus areas; Energy, Ecology, Efficiency, Extension, Economy, Emotion, Ease and Empowerment. These provide a compass to guide strategic priorities, decision making and actions throughout every area of the business.

For more information about Bridgestone in EMIA, please visit www.bridgestone-emia.com and press.bridgestone-emia.com. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter and LinkedIn.