Gender diversity: why hire all talents?

When it comes to accelerating gender diversity at all levels of an organization, it is essential to involve all employees. Simply because this is a topic that concerns everyone. It's not just about women.

When this subject began to be discussed within companies, it tended to be approached in this caricatured way, but it was soon realized that the subject, when it had started, may have started a little like that, but it was soon realized that it could not work.

First of all, it is a social issue and then it becomes a business and organizational issue, so it is essential to involve all the stakeholders, from the employee to the manager. Knowing that the manager has an extremely key role in the process. That is to say, having his or her approval and commitment will contribute considerably to the implementation of the action plans.

Engaging all employees in a gender diversity approach, but for what purpose?

What does it mean to engage everyone? It's not just a matter of setting objectives and saying, "We're going to develop gender diversity because a law has just been passed. No, it's about saying: "What are we trying to achieve and for what purpose? So explain the meaning, the purpose of what we want to do, why we want to do it and how we will do it.

And behind that, it means setting up communication actions, it also means steering actions, setting objectives that are concrete and that can be monitored and that are also ambitious but accessible. And behind that, setting up action plans for different targets and different populations.

What type of actions should be implemented to engage all talents in a gender diversity approach in companies?

For example, if you start at the level of all employees, there is a lot of work to be done, often on inclusive dialogue. Or for example, how to get out of ordinary sexism? Typically, how to work on ways to avoid this sexism by making sure, for example, that every wrong step will be systematically reframed by any person in the organization...

Within the Human & Work group, we have a company called EQUILIBRES that can intervene very well in this type of subject. They are specialized in D&I, Diversity and Inclusion, and they set up programs and coaching on this type of subject.

Then, what can we do? We can also work with managers. Managers work on a daily basis to develop their talents and manage their teams. What framework do they want to give to this management? How can we help them to encourage more gender diversity in their recruitment process, in their work on mobility, on the promotion of women? This can be done through webinars, workshops and communication actions.

Same thing about the leaders. What can they be interested in? Is it thinking about what leaders can do about it? There is a subject of awareness to understand where the benefits are for them. Indeed, what does working on gender diversity develop? The performance of the company because there is a better complementarity, but it also works on the retention of talents, on the attraction of talents. It also means making sure that rules are in place throughout the organization, such as taking paternity leave when you are a young man. Make leaders aware of all this so that they set their roadmap for engaging the various stakeholders and moving the topic forward in each company.

Can we be optimistic about the acceleration of gender diversity within companies?

The subject is evolving with, as in any other subject, some backtracking. It is a subject that will take a long time to work on and that is normal, there are still brakes that are normal, that are natural.

In particular, there are generations of men who feel a little disadvantaged today.

So yes, it's a complex issue but it's moving forward and that's why it's important to work together and engage everyone.

And it is only in this way that the subject, at one time or another, will end up evolving.

‍