While GODIVA works to empower women globally, our partners at Yildiz Holding are equally committed to promoting gender equality in accordance with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals through the Yildiz Holding Women’s Platform, a global initiative that galvanizes the collective efforts of the Yildiz Holding group to empower women in every country where we operate.
“Our goal is to make sure that wherever we have a presence across the world, Yildiz Holding is working to generate opportunities by ‘Investing in People’ – but equally important is investing in women,” Nurtac said at a recent event between the platform and the United Nations. “As a global family of brands and businesses with tens of thousands of employees worldwide, it is a necessity that our Holding is also synonymous with the mission to uplift women in the countries and regions where we operate.”
With flagship programs like The Lady GODIVA Initiative, companies like GODIVA in the Yildiz Holding family all work locally and globally to forward the mission of empowering women and push for gender equality in every market where we operate.
We’re excited to share an update of one such project with a guest blog from Begüm Mutus, Yildiz Holding Public Affairs General Manager and Women’s Platform Ambassador, and Verda Duysak, CMO of Kerevitas on Kerevitas’ work to empower female ‘agri-preneurs.’
Begum: As part of Yildiz Holding’s work to support women in agriculture -- our company Kerevitas (which specializes in offering frozen foods to numerous grocery stores in Turkey) has prioritized the purchase of 3.6 million pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables from female farmers. This project was undertaken in partnership with Turkey’s Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Prof. Vahit Kirisçi and the Chairman of the Board of Yildiz Holding, Mr. Ali Ülker.
As we look to meet our company wide pledge of “Investing in People,” this is one way we position our company as one that supports women across our supply chain and as we continue to uplift women in leadership across our company at businesses like GODIVA, where over half of our senior managers are women.
Verda: This commitment constitutes the first part of our plan to ultimately purchase 10 million pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables from women ‘agri-preneurs’ through 2025. Within the scope of this project, we are proud to support the women farmers who undergird our supply chain by also providing them with financial literacy tools and and mentoring, in addition to direct procurement. It is truly a joy to partner with these women whose work ensures our consumers can have a healthy and nutritious meal on the table any time and day of the week.
Thanks to our partners at Yildiz Holding for sharing this update about this fantastic program. Check out some photos of the female farmers who have signed on to this transformative agreement above.