NCS First in PNG & Pacific to Receive Global Gender Equality Certification

Catering and camp management company, NCS, has further cemented its reputation as an employer of choice for women having received the world’s leading workplace gender equality certification – the Economic Dividends for Gender Equality (EDGE) certification – www.edge-cert.org.
NCS today announced that it has been awarded the EDGE certification in recognition of its current practices and commitment to gender equality in the workplace. NCS is the only business in PNG - and indeed in the entire Pacific region – to be EDGE certified. 
NCS is a 100 percent PNG landco as opposed to a multi-million dollar global entity like most of the other EDGE certified organisations (e.g., Ikea, Roche, Marriott, Pfizer).  Understandably, the Swiss-based EDGE team described NCS’ gender equality achievements as “trail blazing.”
With support and advice from IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, NCS was awarded EDGE Certification after a rigorous third-party audit, which included a comprehensive review of the company’s gender policies and practices, detailed analysis of company statistics from the entire workforce of over 1,200 employees, and evaluation of the employee experience in terms of career development opportunities at the company. EDGE Certification recognises NCS’ existing and planned efforts for change in gender diversity through the implementation of approved action plans and governance in the areas of recruitment and promotion, leadership development training and mentoring, flexible working and company culture.
Violet Aopi, Group General Manager HR said “EDGE Certification, together with our overall Gender Equality program which includes addressing family and sexual violence, reaffirms our position as an employer of choice for PNG women.  Moreover, given that Certification is distinguished by its rigor and focus on business impact, it also is a validation of our commitment to gender equality as a strategic business goal and our focus on creating greater value for our clients.”
“We have been hit by the downturn in PNG’s economy like any other business.  However, rather than looking at gender equality initiatives as a cost we’ve embraced them as a productivity improvement strategy.   We are now better positioned to survive the tough times and having a larger number of better skilled, satisfied and loyal female employees is central to this.  The ‘war on talent’ that we are all fighting will be mitigated to some extent by having EDGE certification and the changes and improvements we’ve made to achieve it.  NCS is now without a doubt a true employer of choice for the women of PNG and I couldn’t be prouder” said John Gethin-Jones, previous Manager Director of NCS and now Chief Executive Officer of parent company, Anitua.