SHE: Making SABIC the Preferred Brand for Women in the Chemicals Industry

As a global organization with over 29,000 employees worldwide, at SABIC, diversity and inclusion is celebrated as the core of what makes our company a great place to work – and a leader in the global chemicals industry.

We know that attracting, developing and retaining the very best talent regardless of any personal characteristics –– is essential to help us realize our vision of becoming the preferred world leader in chemicals.

In pursuit of this goal, for over a decade, the SABIC Women’s Network (SWN) has helped make our company a place where women can learn, develop and thrive - achieving their ambitions no matter where in the world they are based.

Today, under the backdrop of a changing world and workplace, SWN has recognized the need to refresh its strategy in order to align even more closely with SABIC’s values and business priorities.

The network’s recent relaunch as “SHE” places an even greater focus on inclusivity – and seeks to make SABIC the preferred brand for women working in the chemicals industry.

SHE: Empowering women as Leaders, Partners, and Influencers

The foundation of SHE in its refreshed strategy is built on three pillars: Women as Leaders, Women as Partners, and Women as Influencers.

Women as Leaders: Based on SABIC’s core value to “Inspire”, SHE’s first pillar focuses on empowering women to be leaders and subject matter experts, while helping them achieve their aspirations through greater visibility, capability, and sense of community. 

Women as Partners: Centered around SABIC’s core value to “Engage”, SHE’s second pillar uses stakeholder engagements – internally and externally – to attract and retain women, create new female brand ambassadors, and develop the next generation of women in STEM.

Women as Influencers: Supporting SABIC’s core values to “Create” and “Deliver”, the third pillar of SHE builds success by encouraging greater workplace diversity and belonging for all. It also supports the company’s corporate priorities while delivering insights for improvements.

Crucially, each SHE pillar is led by a senior female employee, alongside a SABIC Executive Vice President - helping to inspire action, champion change, and develop agile teams that can drive real impact.

Boosting careers for women at SABIC

In action, one of SHE’s primary goals is to foster growth and development for women across every level of SABIC’s organization.

Libbie Craft, Director, Global Talent Solutions at SABIC, says: “SHE boosts careers by empowering SABIC women to seek the 3 E’s of career development: education, experiences and exposure. In this context, the network delivers experiences through its dynamic global community in which women can lead and engage with site, region, and global management teams on meaningful contributions - from recruiting to community development.

Libbie adds: “SHE also provides exposure opportunities for female employees – for example, by encouraging members to develop as mentors, or as mentees paired with SABIC’s top leadership.”

Regarding education, SABIC offers diverse training and career development options for all employees. The SHE network strives to amplify this, ensuring women take advantage of every possible learning track to reach their career goals: from casual “lunch and learn” moments to more formal workshops.

A string of recent successes

SHE builds on the solid foundation established by SWN. The network played a key role during International Women’s Day 2022, bringing over 1,000 SABIC colleagues together globally to celebrate successful women and learn from them, both internally and externally.

Since its foundation, SHE’s impact has also been felt across every region where SABIC operates. MEAF, for example, has seen SHE collaborate with external organizations such as the Pearl Initiative, which seeks to enhance corporate governance, accountability and transparency in the Gulf.

Meanwhile, in the Americas, SABIC’s women have taken lead roles in the Women’s Energy Network (WEN) and Plastics News’ Women Breaking the Mold conference – driving their influence across industries. 

In Latin America, SHE was also instrumental in supporting the placement of SABIC’s first female operators in the region across its manufacturing facilities.

A bright future ahead

SHE is moving forward at a rapid pace and with limitless potential. Its new strategic pillars have set a strong structural foundation, and the network’s close engagement with SABIC’s senior leadership team and Executive Committee (ExCom) will ensure the momentum continues. 

Naveena Shastri, Executive Vice President, Corporate Governance at SABIC, says: “SHE is not just about employing more women at SABIC. Having a quota for women on its own won’t bring success. Instead, we are focused on bringing the very best women on board – because they have the talent and capabilities to take our organization to new heights. There’s work to be done, but we are confident we will achieve our goal.”

Sharing her advice for women seeking to join SABIC, Libbie says: “I would tell any woman looking to join SABIC to ask herself ‘Why not’? I would also emphasize that SABIC puts equal balance and respect for who you are as a person – both inside and outside of the company. That’s rare, and makes our organization a great place to work. Additionally, women are often pleasantly surprised to discover that the global chemicals industry is a hidden gem that allows them to grow their careers over a long-range horizon.”