3M

At 3M, the “I’m in. Accelerating Women’s Leadership” initiative has accelerated progress for women leaders in business and STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) in the past five years with global results that include increasing the percentage of women at the director level from 18.2 per cent to 23 per cent; the percentage of women at the vice president level and above grew from 16.7 per cent to 24.2 per cent; the representation of women in technical and lab manager roles jumped from 19.1 per cent to 23.9 per cent; and, the percentage of women manufacturing facility managers grew from 11.4 per cent to 17.4 per cent.

Around the world, women leading 3M subsidiaries increased nearly 10-fold from 2.4 per cent to 22.7 per cent, and women’s representation on the executive team – those reporting to the CEO – increased from 12.5 per cent to 20.0 per cent.

While 3M’s initiative focuses on women in the management pipeline and across the company, it is part of a broader “I’m in.” organizational approach to engage and develop all 3M people worldwide. Programs to support overall inclusion, like the network of 84 women’s leadership chapters that align activities with global priorities championed by the executive steering team, and the formal leadership development programs like, 3M Leadership Way emphasizes continuous learning.

Encouraging everyone to have a formal development plan that includes stretch projects and opportunities to take on different roles, training and coaching as well as the FlexAbility program that supports a flexible workplace culture, all contribute to 3M’s culture where all individuals can succeed.