WeQual recognition for Rafaela of British American Tobacco highlights importance of diversity

Rafaela Alves Souza, Global Head of Activation, is one of three women finalists in the WeQual UK 2020 awards  in the Head of Division category. The WeQual Awards aim to identify successful senior women in business and, in so doing, champion gender equality at the top and encourage greater progress in the appointment of women to executive roles.

Diversity is a key element of our strategy and central to our new ethos, which is about being bold, fast, empowered, responsible and diverse to create a future-fit culture at BAT.

“A key driver to deliver A Better Tomorrow is our ethos of which diversity remains a crucial part, not only because it makes commercial business sense, but also because it is a key component of what sets us apart as an organisation,” said Hae In Kim, Director, Talent and Culture at BAT. “We applaud this important initiative for recognising and promoting successful women in leadership roles. On behalf of the Management Board, I’d like to say congratulations to Rafaela for being a finalist in the WeQual UK awards 2020.”

Rafaela’s success follows recent external recognition of our efforts to promote diversity, which include being named as a ‘Diversity Leader’ by the Financial Times and Reynolds American Inc. being designated as a ‘Best Place to Work for LGBT Equality’.

“We’ve come a long way in driving gender diversity across BAT, having doubled the representation of women in our senior management roles – from 11% in 2012 to 23% in 2019. We are proud to have one of our very own recognised in the prestigious WeQual UK awards 2020”, concluded Simi Dubb, Group Head of Talent Development and Diversity and Inclusion.

Rafaela and the other finalists will now be interviewed by David Lawlor, President - Europe, The Kellogg Company, to determine the category winner, who will be announced online in September.

Rafaela added: “It's a real honour to be selected as one of the three finalists in the WeQual awards 2020. I believe in today's world it’s paramount that any company nurtures the leadership traits of its diverse range of people to be successful. I'm grateful to all of my colleagues for their support - especially in these challenging times.”

Click the link to find out more about diversity initiatives at BAT, including our Women in Leadership programme.