International Women's Day: Veolia is taking action with "Girls on the Move"
Veolia is participating in "Girls on the Move Week" organized by the “Elles Bougent” association, a Group partner, as part of International Women's Day. This international initiative aims to boost gender mixing in industry. Veolia teams in 10 countries are taking action to introduce 1,000 girls and young women aged 12 to 24 to their technical and scientific professions.
As part of its diversity policy and its commitments to gender equality, Veolia encourages women to opt for trades as technicians, engineers and scientists. On this basis, the Group is participating in the “Girls on the move” operation, throughout the week of March 8th: women of Veolia teams from 22 entities spread over 4 continents will meet with 1,000 middle school, high school and university students. They will explain their professions, offer advice on how to beat stereotypes and encourage them to show ambition when it comes to making career choices.
"We look for three types of equality in order to protect rights within our Group, ensure gender equality and encourage gender mixing in our professions: equal treatment, equal opportunities and equal access to promotions. We have one target: allow our 35,000 female employees to access the same careers and obtain the same recognition as men.
In an international context of whistleblowing, where women are obtaining the freedom to speak out about unacceptable behavior, we also owe unconditional respect to women. Our Group values of respect, responsibility and solidarity define the framework for behavior between men and women. We need to promote diversity and mixing, both factors in social cohesion, boosting performance and triggering creativity, in order to prepare Veolia for the future", confirmed Veolia CEO, Antoine Frérot.
Veolia gender targets for 2020
The Group has set itself the target of ensuring that 30% of its managers are female by 2020 (compared with 26% in 2017).
The "Elles Bougent " association
For the last 12 years, the "Elles bougent" association has organized over 300 annual meetings between girls and young women and "sponsors", who explain their profession in many sectors: aerospace, automotive, rail, maritime, defense, construction and public works, chemistry, energy and digital. The association is sponsored by five ministers and includes 3,500 sponsors and 150 companies and higher education institutions.
