Five Companies Honored with 2025 Catalyst Award for Driving Representation and Inclusion for Women
CIBC, JDE Peet’s, KPMG, McCarthy Tétrault, and Sanofi to Be Recognized at Annual Gender Equity Conference and Dinner
NEW YORK, Dec. 12, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — CIBC, JDE Peet’s, KPMG, McCarthy Tétrault, and Sanofi are advancing women and inclusion through their best-in-class workplace initiatives. Catalyst, the global nonprofit promoting gender equity and workplace inclusion, will honor them with the 2025 Catalyst Award at the Catalyst Awards Conference & Dinner on 11 March 2025.
Since 1987, the Catalyst Award has recognized 115 initiatives at 102 organizations from around the world. Catalyst Award Winners lead a community of forward-thinking organizations that are developing new and innovative ways to advance talent and strengthen their organizations.
“This is exactly what building workplaces that work for women looks like in action,” said Jennifer McCollum, President and CEO of Catalyst. “These Catalyst Award-winning initiatives prove what is possible when organizations prioritize gender equity and inclusion in their workplaces with intention and investment. While progress for women is slow and stalling globally, these five companies show us how to turn that tide by implementing programs that are good for their business, their employees, and their communities.”
The 2025 Catalyst Award-winning initiatives are:
CIBC
Leading with Inclusion
CIBC, a North American financial institution, emphasizes inclusion as a business strategy. Their Leading with Inclusion initiative helped increase women’s representation by 7 percentage points among senior managers globally at the company, from 33% in 2019 to close to 40% in 2023. Representation of both women of color and other employees from talent segments historically underrepresented in the financial services industry also increased.
“At CIBC, inclusion is a cornerstone of our bank,” said Victor Dodig, President and CEO of CIBC. “Building an inclusive culture that reflects the clients and communities we serve allows for unique perspectives, experiences, and drives innovative solutions. Our entire CIBC team is honored to receive the 2025 Catalyst Award, which is a testament to our bank’s commitment to building an inclusive workplace and advancing opportunity across our industry.”
JDE Peet’s
TrueYOU: Standing Together in Our Differences
A strong governance structure guides and cascades the TrueYou: Standing Together in Our Differences strategy at JDE Peet’s, a global leader in the coffee and tea industry. Through its initiative, JDE Peet’s saw an increase in women’s representation globally from 25% to 36.4% (11.4 percentage points) on the Executive Committee, from 37.2% to 41.5% (4.3 percentage points) on the Global Leadership Team and from 23.1% to 38.5% (15.4 percentage points) on the Board of Directors.
“At JDE Peet’s, we’re creating a future that authentically serves, reflects, and embraces everyone,” said Rafa Oliveira, CEO of JDE Peet’s. “Our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion — guided by our belief in ‘standing together in our differences’ — has fostered a workplace where everyone can bring their true selves to work. We are honored to see our progress recognized by Catalyst, and it is a powerful reminder that while we celebrate milestones, our journey continues, and when we unleash our full potential, we succeed as a team.”
KPMG
KPMG Accelerate
The prioritization of inclusive, diverse teams is a part of every business function throughout KPMG LLP (KPMG), the US audit, tax, and advisory firm. It is embedded not only through the governance structure and accountability mechanisms, but also through talent management. From 2014 to 2023, women’s representation increased at almost every level, including a 37.8-point increase from 22.2% to 60% in the C-suite and an 8.3-point increase from 25% to 33.3% on the Board of Directors. Representation of women of color also increased at nearly every level.
“We are incredibly proud of our efforts to advance women at all levels of our business,” said Paul Knopp, Chair and CEO of KPMG LLP. “When we bring the best people together from all backgrounds, we enhance the experience and results for our people and our clients for the long-term. By recognizing and celebrating the impactful contributions of our workforce we create a culture that lifts up everyone. This award serves as a testament to the tremendous efforts of our people and the progress we’ve made, and it inspires us to continue building a workplace where everyone feels valued and respected.”
McCarthy Tétrault
Inclusion Now
Canada-based law firm McCarthy Tétrault’s Inclusion Now strategy focuses on recruitment, retention, and advancement and has developed innovative ways of addressing obstacles to inclusion in the legal sector. Through its initiative, it increased the representation of women across the firm by 11.2 points, from 51.3% in 2019 to 62.6% in 2024.
“At McCarthy Tétrault, the collective commitment of our people to our core values has been the key to our success,” said Dave Leonard, CEO of McCarthy Tétrault. “It has allowed us to make equity, diversity, and inclusion part of what it means to be a member of our firm. Our Inclusion Now strategy enables us to focus on improving our diversity and providing an inclusive workplace for our people. Equity, diversity, and inclusion will continue to be a key part of our identity. The pursuit of gender equality in our profession continues to be a journey. We are making progress, but more needs to be done. We are honored to receive this recognition.”
Sanofi
Diversity Edge
Global healthcare company Sanofi’s Diversity Edge initiative’s dedicated policies and programs have driven a transformation internally to make it a model of inclusion. Since its gender balance ambition was launched, Sanofi saw an 8.6-point increase in women’s representation. Women currently make up 42% of executives and hold 45% of senior leadership positions.
“As a purpose-driven healthcare company chasing the miracles of science to improve people’s lives, the evolution of our organization must reflect the evolution of our society,” said Paul Hudson, CEO of Sanofi. “It’s an honor to receive the Catalyst Award, a recognition owed to our incredible teams who show up every day with the courage to create positive change in and beyond the workplace. I’m proud of the progress we are making to foster a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive culture. While there is still work to be done, I am confident we are headed in the right direction.”
A transformative learning and community-building experience dedicated to championing inclusive workplaces for women, the 2025 Catalyst Awards Conference & Dinner will take place in person at the New York Hilton Midtown in New York City and online.
Ticket packages and individual tickets are on sale now for both the Conference and Dinner events on 11 March.
About Catalyst
Catalyst is a global nonprofit supported by many of the world’s most powerful CEOs and leading companies to help build workplaces that work for women. Founded in 1962, Catalyst drives change with preeminent thought leadership, actionable solutions, and a galvanized community of multinational corporations to accelerate and advance women into leadership — because progress for women is progress for everyone.
Contact:
Mariana Vanin
Director, Global Communications
Catalyst
[email protected]
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