CHARENTON-LE-PONT, France—Essilor has been awarded the title of “Diversity Leader 2020” by the Financial Times, recognized in the publication’s new annual ranking of diversity and inclusion in the workplace. The Essilor Group is listed 62nd out of a total of 10,000 companies scanned as part of this first-of-its-kind ranking which assesses companies’ success in promoting all types of diversity. “The award is an endorsement of Essilor’s continuous commitment and concrete initiatives towards greater diversity and inclusion within the company,” Essilor said in a statement.

Essilor said it defines and fosters diversity across multiple areas, ranging from “gender balance, integration of people with disabilities, openness to all forms of sexual orientation to generational and cultural diversity.”

Laurent Vacherot, CEO of Essilor, remarked, “We receive Financial Times’ award with pride. Diversity has been a key value for Essilor from the very beginning, shaping both our culture and identity and contributing to our continued success. For us, promoting diversity and inclusion is not only an ethical obligation, it is also one of our fundamental convictions: to achieve our ambition to provide better vision and protection to 7.7 billion people on the planet, we need a full diversity of talents. Diversity and inclusion are key vectors of our ability to innovate as they nourish our creativity and bring together varied perspectives, thereby creating value. With more than 69,000 employees worldwide, the diversity of our talents and culture is one of our greatest strengths.”

The Financial Times’ “Diversity Leaders” ranking was established based on an independent survey from a vast sample of more than 80,000 employees. In addition, the opinions of human resources and recruitment experts have been considered to refine the analysis. The participants evaluated listed and privately-held companies across 10 European countries and 26 industry sectors on various diversity dimensions such as general diversity, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age and disability. The 700 companies receiving the highest total scores were recognized as the Diversity Leaders 2020.