Empowering Women and Communities

Our diamonds are worn by dynamic, successful women all over the world. The iconic phrase ‘a diamond is forever’ was coined by a woman, and we recognise the exponential impact that investing in women’s economic empowerment has on their communities, for generations to come.

At De Beers London, women constitute a high proportion of our workforce. Yet within our wider Group and communities, women continue to be underrepresented. So, we’re taking action to redress the balance.

In 2017, De Beers partnered with UN Women and committed to enacting change, globally. Our ambitious goals included increasing the number of women in senior leadership positions across the Group, supporting women and girls in our communities, and promoting gender equality through our marketing.

Since then, through training, mentoring and policy changes, we’ve increased the representation of women across our workforce - particularly at senior and technical levels. Yet our mission isn’t complete. As signatories of the Women’s Empowerment Principles, we are continually developing our in-house programmes to support greater gender parity across our organisation.

Beyond our own company, we founded a long-running programme called EntreprenHer, in partnership with UN Women and local governments. Through mentoring, networking and training, the programme supports female microentrepreneurs across southern Africa. From hairdressers and bakers to plumbers and renewable energy providers, we’ve helped thousands of women to build and grow their businesses, employ more people and serve the communities in which they work.

We believe that diamonds should not only bring radiance and confidence to the women who wear them, but to all the women involved. That way, our jewellery helps to change lives every day.