Diageo is a company truly committed to diversity and inclusion in the workplace - and they're supporting the International Women's Day 2019 #BalanceforBetter campaign theme.

Employees at Diageo speak candidly about the experiences, achievements and challenges they face both in their professional and personal lives - and how they strive for a positive balance.

Honest an open conversations

“These videos shine a spotlight on a diverse group of individuals doing very different jobs from around the globe. I’m proud to hear our employees talking honestly and openly about their personal and professional lives and we hope to contribute to the discussion on why inclusion, diversity and of course balance is always better," says Mairéad Nayager​​​​​​, Chief HR Officer at Diageo.

“Celebrating our inclusive and diverse culture is core to Diageo's purpose of ‘celebrating life every day everywhere’. For us, ‘Balance for Better’ is also about being a great place to work for people of every background, experience and capability - from supporting and celebrating our LGBTQ+ employees and those of every ethnicity, thinking style and more.”

Diane Farrell, Senior Site Manager, Talisker Distillery at Diageo

Diane talks about how her ambition and work ethic combined with her family’s support have enabled her to overcome her self-doubt and run Diageo's Talisker distillery.

"I'll never forget the time I was driving into my driveway and one of my new neighbors was walking past with his dogs and he said 'does your man work at the distillery'. I just took a moment and I said 'no no I run the distillery I'm the manager there' and his face just dropped. It was one of the best moments of my life," says Diane.

“I think the biggest obstacle is self-doubt. But it’s about recognising those inner voices, stopping them and turning them on their head so you just see the positives."

Preeti Arora Razdan, Finance Director for Asia Pacific at Diageo

Preeti talks about how she balances her work life with her family life and the importance of women in the workplace.

"My mentor once told me that you can't be a perfect mum every day and you can't be a perfect employee everyday – that gives me a lot of freedom," says Preeti. 

"Asking for help seems like a sign of weakness. A lot of women shy away from asking from what they want - I think we end up asking what we think people will actually do versus what we really need so we never get what we need. I truly believe in diversity of thought. To me gender is a way of bringing that in if you're all the similar kind we will all keep doing the same thing over and over again you won't challenge anybody else I think women bring in huge amount of positive energy a huge amount of compassion camaraderie and teamwork and empathy."

Mairéad Nayager, Chief HR Officer at Diageo

Mairéad talks about the variety her role offers and how she feels becoming a mother is her greatest achievement to date.

“There are a whole load of assumptions that people make about women or diverse groups when in fact we are all individual, we all have ambitions and we all have lives outside of work," says Mairéad.

 "I work on a team that has many senior women honored diversity brings different perspectives and experiences it brings intuition and I think it brings balance as well. I have always personally believed that we should be as inclusive as as possible of others."

Sara De Pablos, Iberia Country Director at Diageo

Sara talks about the experiences that have shaped who she is, both professionally and personally.

"Over time I have realised that the value I can bring is by being myself, by being a woman and by having a completely different way of thinking, a completely different mindset," says Sara. "I don't need to hide myself anymore it's great if we can try to get as much as diversity we can in our thinking because life is going to be much much richer."

Claudia Schubert, President, US Spirits & Canada at Diageo

Claudia discusses how her upbringing in East Germany has influenced her life and how her grandmother was her biggest role model.

“If you surround yourself with different perspectives and different people, then the questions that they will ask will be so much richer," says Claudia.

Melissa Yorke, On-Trade Sales Director at Diageo

Melissa talks about how she got to where she is today and what she learned from her role models, her mum and her grandmother.

"In your career you get you get elements from each and every different experience that you have when you're driven and you want to achieve great things. It's really easy to be pretty hard on yourself know what you bring endorse your own strengths. Don't always focus on the stuff that you're not so great at because someone else is probably gonna bring that and if you're working in a diverse environment you don't all need to be the same," says Melissa. 

"I'm a massive believer and everyone brings something different and you can achieve whatever you want to achieve. Believe in yourself, believe in your abilities. Everyone's a human being. It doesn't matter whether you're male or female - know your strengths and bring them."

Hina Nagarajan, Managing Director, Africa Emerging Markets at Diageo

Hina talks about the importance of family and how she has balanced her family life with her professional ambitions.

"Believe in yourself and have the confidence to express yourself without fear. Don’t be hesitant to try; be fearless," says Hina.

Apurvi Sheth, Managing Director, South East Asia at Diageo

Apurvi talks about what it’s like being a female entrepreneur and how she overcame barriers to have confidence in her position.

"The most powerful traits that any woman should have are the ones that anyone should have. It's not restricted to gender.  It's confidence in yourself, who you are, in your own strengths and also a level of self-awareness of where you need to go and what's holding you back and how can you can liberate yourself from that," says Apurvi.

"What I think women bring is a very different perspective because they come from a very different angle, which I think is very valuable."

Lavanya Chandrashekar, Chief Financial Officer, North America at Diageo

Lavanya talks about the important role her grandfather played in her life, and how she balances work life with family life.

“The most important thing is to allow women to be women in the workplace.”

Catriona Mackie, HR Director, Global Supply & International Supple Centre at Diageo

Catriona talks about how she got to where she is today and the people in her life who have inspired her.

“Encourage more women to come into different industries, different kinds of jobs, that’s something that I’ve really been inspired by over the years.”

Pamela Scott, Global Operational Excellence Strategy and Standards Director at Diageo

Pamela talks about her journey as a single working mum and the lessons she’s learned along the way.

“One thing that I tried to do is learn from the attributes that I admired in everybody around me, the richness that you get from different thinking styles, different backgrounds, male and female, ethnicity.”

Join talented women at Diageo

Women's work is valued at Diageo and they thrive with the support and opportunities given to them in the company. As one of the leading alcohol beverages companies, Diageo offers a wide range of opportunities to talented women. Learn more and apply now!

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