How long have you been supporting actions for gender diversity in Engineering?
Corine de Bilbao : “I‘ve been engaged in diversity programs for the last 20 years, first of all as a woman in the industry (Energy, Oil and Gas) as most industries struggle to attract, retain and promote women. I was leading the GE Women network in France, I’m still part of numerous networks in France. There are very few women in the industry, and even less in the engineering positions. Yet, while organizations have made undeniable progress over the decade, in 2020 women are still underrepresented at the top. There’s still a lot of work to be done and this is why I want to contribute.”
Franck Vigot : “I have always supported diversity within companies and at all levels. This should be a natural subject for me, but I have to admit that this is not always the case. However, diversity is a real performance lever for the company. Our teams must reflect the most faithful image of our company. I would therefore like to contribute to promoting more diversity and fairness within SEGULA, alongside Corine as a sponsor.”
Why did you decide to become a SEGULA sponsor for gender diversity?
Corine de Bilbao : “As the International CEO, I have a role to play inside and outside of the company to lead this initiative and drive the change. I’m eager to bring my experience and support the development of professional women at SEGULA. I’m really pleased to co-sponsor this network with Franck Vigot. We both think we can do better with more diverse teams.”
Franck Vigot : “As President of a department of more than 5,000 people, I have a duty to ensure that gender diversity is respected for the reasons mentioned above and others. It’s also a pleasure to share this same will with Corine.”
Why is this important to you? And for the Group?
Corine de Bilbao : “There are many surveys which demonstrate that there’s a connection between performance and diversity. So the gender diversity is important if we want to improve the performance of the company, better connect with our customers, as well as be an employer of choice for the young talents joining us.“
Franck Vigot : “We can’t deprive ourselves of the female wealth talent present in our company, as this would be tantamount to denying ourselves significant development potential, whether for innovations or ways of improving performance.“
How would you like to disseminate and strengthen this commitment within the Group?
Corine de Bilbao : “The first step is an awareness of the importance of diversity in SEGULA. This is why we wish our managers men and women to be engaged and promote gender diversity. There are 3 important levers today:
- Attracting more women, that starts with convincing the young girls at school;
- Retaining and promoting women in our organizations;
- Connecting with our customers, partners, other networks.“
Franck Vigot : “This subject obviously concerns all the countries where we are present. In some countries, our rate of feminisation is rather close to balance, as in Romania (feminisation rate of 40%) or in North Africa or Eastern Europe more generally. It’s therefore important to understand, first of all, why the rate can vary from one country to another as in France or Germany where we have globally fewer women. This will enable us to identify good practices to be implemented at all levels of the company and in all our countries.”
Which level of involvement do you expect from employees?
Corine de Bilbao :”The SEGULA diversity network is based on volunteers willing to engage themselves through local hubs and driving initiatives . As a group we will support and promote those initiatives (recruiting female engineers, mentorship, training , connecting with external speakers …).”
Franck Vigot :”Corine explained it very well, it’s by acting together and with optimism that we will be able to carry out our actions and see the results directly.”
Do you have a particular message to convey? / In 2020, what place do you think is given to gender diversity within companies?
Corine de Bilbao : “The best talents want to work for a company which reflects the society they want to live in; respectful of the environment, promoting diversity and equity, ensuring a truly inclusive work environment.”
Franck Vigot : “For me, the role of gender diversity is more than essential and it’s urgent to act in its favour, particularly within engineering companies such as ours. Once again, I agree with Corine’s comments, which testify to the need and the growing search for well-being and recognition within companies today.”
FIND BELOW TESTIMONIES OF WOMEN AND MEN FROM SEGULA BROADCAST ON THE OCCASION OF INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY:
SEGULA employees were able to express their commitment this Sunday, March 8 on the Group’s social networks:
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