Last year, SMU, the parent company of Unimarc, Alvi, Mayorista 10, and Super 10, achieved certification in NCh:3262 for Gender Equality and Work-Life Balance, becoming the first supermarket chain to obtain it. This allowed them to receive the Equality and Conciliation Seal granted by the National Service for Women and Gender Equity (SernamEG).

For SMU, promoting gender equity is a fundamental axis of their diversity and inclusion model and a key pillar of their CERCA culture, constituting a cross-cutting commitment for all its subsidiaries. A new advancement in this area is the certification of the Lo Aguirre Distribution Center under NCh:3262, the result of teamwork to identify, make visible, and implement a Gender Equality and Conciliation Management System aimed at reducing gender gaps, barriers, and inequalities.

Paula Coronel, Corporate Manager of People and Sustainability at SMU, highlights that "this certification is the result of the company's commitment and conviction to advance equal opportunities between women and men, both in terms of access to employment, training, and professional development, which is consistent with SMU's CERCA cultural seal, where efforts are also made to promote inclusive leadership through talks, training, and the example set by leaders, among other actions."

It is worth mentioning that the company's Logistics Division has played a prominent role in the development and inclusion of women in male-dominated workspaces, such as forklift handling and logistical operations, through its training program that reinforces inclusive leadership. In this way, more women each year are able to hold positions that were historically occupied only by men. Currently, the female workforce in their distribution centers is at 16%, a figure that they aim to increase to 20%.

"I am very proud of this distinction we have achieved; it is a true reflection of the commitment we live daily in the Logistics Division. We are increasingly more women performing tasks and holding positions that traditionally were carried out by men," says Victoria Mardones, from the Lo Aguirre Distribution Center.