Schneider Electric’s participation in the Women’s Forum in Deauville this month confirms its engagement to promote the place of women within the company and its commited action in favour of greater professional equality and the importance of China -which will be represented by a delegation of 50- in its strategy of growth.
“We are dealing with a society in movement, which is transforming and changing. Today, there is a real need to balance society, because a uniquely masculine society is much too monochromatic. Women have much finer comprehension. For me, the question is simple; I think we cannot succeed if we deprive ourselves of half the brains and half the talent on our planet” said Jean-Pascal Tricoire, President and CEO of Schneider Electric.
In December 2004, Schneider Electric signed a gender equality agreement to encourage gender diversity at every level of the company and reduce wage differential. This defines rights and obligations.
In this manner, a whole range of actions are introduced to encourage gender equality and these have three fundamental aims:
1. Attracting talents: recruiting 30% of women Engineers and Managers at the end of 2007
2. Acting internally: more women to access strategic positions
3. Encouraging women’s career development