A partner of the “Elles bougent” association, VINCI is committed to a gender mix in the workplace

8 March 2019 - Events - France

The partnership formed with the “Elles bougent” association in January 2018 aims to encourage more girls to become engineers or technicians in industrial and technological companies. It is thus very much in the spirit of the commitments entered into by VINCI in its Manifesto.

Why a partnership with the “Elles bougent” association?

The main objective of “Elles bougent”, created in 2015, is to achieve greater gender diversity in businesses in the industrial and technological sectors, where women still only make up a small percentage of the workforce.

Working in cooperation with the Group, it notably facilitates meetings between VINCI employees and female students during forums, site visits and trade fairs, competitions and conferences.

INVOLVEMENT OF VINCI EMPLOYEES

All VINCI employees are invited to join the “Elles bougent” network, which is represented across France – and soon also elsewhere – by regional delegations.

Female VINCI employees – engineers, technicians, or having had scientific training – also have the possibility of becoming an ‘ambassadress’, encouraging girls, notably at events organised by the association in secondary schools, engineering schools and other public institutions, to consider careers in such areas.

Other colleagues wishing to contribute to combating stereotypes and increasing gender diversity in these professions may also serve as an intermediary, accompanying an ambassadress and/or supporting her message, drawing on their own professional experience and expertise.

"GIRLS ON THE MOVE", AN ACTION WEEK TO PROMOTE GENDER DIVERSITY

In 2019, from 4-10 March, VINCI will be participating for the first time in “Girls on the Move”, a week of activities including visits to industrial sites and round table discussions. An initiative launched by “Elles bougent” and its partners, its aim is to bring about direct contacts between female engineers and technicians and female students and secondary school pupils studying scientific and technical subjects.

Several VINCI subsidiaries, in France and elsewhere, will be participating in this event. In Colombia, for example, Soletanche Bachy (VINCI Construction) is organising a conference on 5 March, for pupils at a secondary school, on careers in engineering and the place of women in this profession.

THE TROPHIES REWARD THE NETWORK'S MOST OUTSTANDING INITIATIVES

Elles bougent and Synergies Campus Entreprises recently jointly launched the Elles bougent - Synergies Campus Entreprises Trophies, a system of awards aimed at identifying and promoting the various initiatives deployed by the 5,000 sponsors and representatives of the former, and by the partner companies of the latter. They today reward actions that enhance the attractiveness of sectors lacking in female talents and help to encourage girls to consider a career in science and technology. In July 2019, the teams at S2R (VINCI Construction International Network) on Reunion Island thus won one of the first trophies to be awarded, for a project to train women from disadvantaged neighbourhoods for so-called “men’s jobs”, such as plumbing or tiling, within the framework of rehabilitation worksites. This initiative, undertaken in close partnership with Alter Ego, a temporary employment and local recruitment agency, was set up in 2015 and has enabled several women to get back into work, becoming fully operational on worksites.