Gender diversity in companies: what actions to engage leaders?

F/H diversity is one of the key challenges for businesses in 2023. What are the effective actions to be implemented at the level of leaders to allow companies to really score points and support their talents, female or male, at the same level of equity? The highlight in X key actions with Valérie Rocoplan, CEO of Talentis & Executive Coach.

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1 - Obtaining the support of managers

Valérie Rocoplan: “The first thing is that we know that we need strong conviction on the part of managers, especially the executive committee and the management committee. You need a team of leaders who are convinced of the subject. When it is the business of only one or two people, really involve managers around the subject of gender diversity as a business subject. As long as it's a social or cultural problem, it doesn't work.”

2 - Ensure that leaders know their “facts & data” on the subject of gender diversity in companies

Valérie Rocoplan: “What do managers need to understand in order to engage effectively on the subject of gender diversity? First, they must know the facts and figures in their company, but also in comparable companies in France, Europe and the world. They need to understand the data. Once they understand the data, they see that there is a problem. It's not normal that we have 40% female managers, then after 20% in management positions, then after not even 10%, 5% or 3%. Thanks to our 15 years of experience, we know how to explain to managers: “There is problem A, problem B, problem C, problem D.” And we identify the problems, we help them to see them.

3 - Implement an action plan at the executive level.

Valérie Rocoplan: “For each of these problems, what can you do as a manager? What can you do as an HR team? What can you do as a manager? At Talentis, we recommend actions, tools and best practice benchmarks of what works in businesses, which can help managers have an action kit. Basically, a dashboard to assess the people recruited, promoted, on the move, trained, departures, arrivals. Build a dashboard that is distributed and shared every month, in Comex, in CoDir.”

4 - Disseminate these best practices to all employees

Valérie Rocoplan: “Then, what elements of language should we communicate to our employees? How do you train HR? What subjects should they be trained on to help support male and female talent pools? How to make succession plans that systematically integrate female talents, male talents, regardless of jobs, etc.

In a sense, it is a battery of actions that are relevant and that are proven to be effective. Because the problem today in 2023 is that many leaders and managers still recognize that there is a subject, that there is a problem, but do not know how to explain why and behind it, not knowing how to explain why, do not see what the levers are at their level. Often, they put the subject in HR or schools by saying: “It's the fault of engineering schools, we don't have enough women.” or at the State, the governments, they just have to make laws, thingy, but all outside. However, we know from experience that it is the daily decisions of directors and managers that make the difference.”

5 - Rely on laws setting quotas.

Valérie Rocoplan: “There are laws that have worked very well. The Copé-Zimmermann law, 2011, which said at the time: “We need 40% women on boards of directors by 2019 or 2020.” That's the case, that's good, we have 45% women on boards of directors. Congratulations to the law of quotas because we don't like quotas, but we like what quotas do. New law in December 2022, the Rixain law, voted on December 24, 2021, which marks a huge turning point also in France, which will also become an example in other European countries that are inspired by it. The objective of companies with more than a certain number of employees is 2,500, 30% of whom are women in ComExes and CoDiRs by 2027 and 40% by 2030.

These laws will force all companies to involve managers, managers and employees right now to stimulate the recruitment of female talent, advance them at each stage of the organization and organize a system so that there is just as much chance when you are a man and a woman of reaching 30-40% in the end.

Of course, some industries, such as the building industry, are bothered because today, they mostly have 10 to 20% women, so they will have to speed up recruitment to reach 30-40. But the idea is for the startup percentage to increase and for them to progress the same way at all levels.”

F/H diversity in companies has not yet been achieved at all levels but the good news is that solutions exist. Best practice benchmarks are studied and working. Now, the goal is to educate leaders and managers and stop only doing things for your talented women. Otherwise, we will not advance at the desired speed.

Do not hesitate to call on Talentis. We have all the tools to educate your leaders, managers and employees on the daily actions to be implemented to succeed in the challenge of gender diversity before 2027.

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