Asda colleagues recognised in Women to Watch and Role Models for Inclusion index

The Women to Watch and Role Models for Inclusion in Retail Index 2023 highlights inspirational leaders in retail and senior decision-makers who are using their influence to drive change.

Sadia Ashiq, Senior Director for South Manchester, Vicki Mains, Senior Director for Retail and Lindsay Goldsborough, Senior Director for East Yorkshire were recognised as women to watch in the index.

They were joined by and Chloe Fletcher and Laura Walker who Job Share the Senior Director for Finance Transformation role and were hailed as Role Models for Inclusion in this year’s list.

Commenting on the recognition, Mickey Greenhalgh, Senior Director - Learning, Leadership & ED&I said:

“It’s been brilliant to see that five of our colleagues have made it on to this year’s Women to Watch and Role Models for Inclusion index.

“At Asda, we are passionate about creating a truly inclusive culture that enables of our colleagues to bring their best and true selves to work every day. We also want to create an environment where all our colleagues feel supported and able to reach their full potential.

“All of the colleagues recognised on this list play a huge role in helping to bring this vision to life and I’m proud of the difference they have made in developing an inclusive environment across the Asda estate.”

Asda has committed to increasing the percentage of women in General Store Managers to 30% by 2025. As a step towards achieving this goal, in 2022 Asda ran a bespoke six-month female development programme designed to help improve female representation at a senior level in the business. The programme saw over 292 women from a host of functions across the business to work with over 80 senior leadership mentors.

Speaking about each of the winners, Mickey added:

“Sadia has had an impressive career as a General Store Manager, leading some of our biggest stores in the UK. Since her promotion to Senior Director, she is now leading the South Manchester region and has used her knowledge and experience to not only encourage diversity within her teams, but also educate other Central Division Senior Directors on how to effectively trade Ramadan.

“Vicki is an inspiring, passionate and effective leader in the business. She goes above and beyond to support underrepresented colleagues and is committed to creating a work environment where her colleagues can lead as their authentic selves.

“Lindsay has risen through the ranks at Asda and has used her experience to inspire a progressive environment for women. Lindsay leads Asda’s female allyship programme that involves mentoring, sponsoring, and supporting women to help them accelerate their career development.

“Laura and Chloe are true role models for making flexibility work in the workplace at Asda’s head office in Leeds. They’ve hosted a range of events including book clubs and coaching circles on the topic and are great case studies for high-performing flexibility in action!”

To celebrate their recognition, Sadia, Vicki, Lindsay, Laura and Chloe were invited to London on 25th May to meet with women from across the retail industry that were included on the list. The event highlighted the breadth of senior and executive talent exemplified in women’s careers across the retail industry, as well as individuals who are striving to foster a culture of inclusion and belonging within their organisations.