Committing to greater gender equality: the challenge facing us all

Women represent more than half of the world's population. Their skills, talent and creativity are essential to accelerate economic development for all and to contribute to a better future.

Our company has been a signatory to the UN’s Women Empowerment Principles since 2011 but we have been fostering equality in the workplace for more than ten years. It’s a long-term effort.

When I was contacted in 2015 by the UN Women’s France committee to be an ambassador for the HeForShe campaign, I immediately agreed to get personally involved. The campaign is a positive initiative that brings men together to make a public statement and commit to furthering gender equality worldwide.

The world needs men’s commitment as much as women’s.

Today, in the name of BNP Paribas, I am furthering my commitment by becoming a “Thematic Champion”. This initiative aims to encourage government leaders, as well as top managers in the public and private sector, to publicly demonstrate their commitment and to take concrete steps to foster gender equality in specific domains.

Today, in the name of BNP Paribas, I am furthering my commitment by becoming a “ Thematic Champion”.

Ten years ago, fewer than 10% of our 2,500 most senior managers were women. Today that figure is 27%. Furthermore, women represent 39% of our “Talent” programme which brings together the men and women who will be in charge of the bank in the future. Things can change if we are willing and we will continue in this direction.

Striving to achieve equality between men and women also means working to change certain mentalities. As an example, when I receive a list of candidates for an executive or managerial appointment, I am extremely vigilant in ensuring diversity among the candidates’ profiles and career paths.

It is also a source of creativity and innovation in a company

Striving to achieve equality is a response to a clear ethical and human-rights imperative. It is also a source of creativity and innovation in a company. It enables improved decision-making and a collective dynamism, and it also raises customer satisfaction when a company’s workforce reflects society as a whole. In short, it is synonymous with performance as demonstrated in Sodexo case study.

Women make up 53% of BNP Paribas employees but certain areas of the bank, such as Human Resources and our Global Markets business, have historically had a preponderance of male or female employees. We are going to put in place the means required in order for the gender balance to reach 40%, at least for certain key positions in these areas. 

This is not about making “compromises” on skills and talent. Rather it is about being transparent and measuring progress with respect to our new commitments.

In the framework of this 3-year partnership, we are making commitments in two areas: 

• Advancing gender equality inside the bank. It will allow us to increase male and female representation in certain business lines, and to strive for greater equality with regard to job positions, salaries, etc.
• Strengthening our help to women entrepreneurs around the world who are working to create and develop renewable-energy solutions. 

This is not about making “compromises” on skills and talent.

This is an ambitious task, and this subject is not only in the hands of companies. It’s also a combination of external factors such as education, personal choice, bias and stereotyping. However, companies can play a key role in pushing back the boundaries regarding gender equality, whether internally or externally. Gender equality is in this sense at the heart of our company engagement strategy.