“Do you feel you deserve to move forward in your career? Don’t hold yourself back just because you’re a woman.” These words make you think. For Mélanie Jourdain, this is not just personal advice. The Vice President Group Talent has made this one of the core principles of Arkema’s development. The École Polytechnique graduate joined Arkema in 2005, just before the spin-off, because “I wanted to experience an emerging group and watch it take shape.” She has held a variety of roles over the last fifteen years, from development engineer to General Manager Fluorochemicals Europe, as well as positions in purchasing and strategic planning working with the Executive Committee. Throughout this time, she has always felt encouraged in her career in the organization. “The Group helped me realize that these positions were within my reach. More and more women are accessing management and executive roles in all our business lines. This is a global target and all our entities are on board.” There are many examples of successful career paths in a company that is careful to ensure women have equal access to employment and the same career development opportunities as men. These core principles and those concerning equal pay form part of its non-discrimination charter.
HELPING WOMEN TO GROW
The figures speak for themselves. Today, 25.3% of the Group’s employees are women, rising to 34% among middle managers, providing a large talent pool for increasing the percentage of women in senior management roles to 30% by 2030. “We need to step up the pace as this is a societal issue and expectations are high,” says Mélanie Jourdain, aware of the challenge that lies ahead. “With 20,600 people in the Group, we can’t make it happen in two years. And we aren’t looking to achieve numbers for the sake of the numbers alone. We want to get women on board because workplace diversity and the success of our female employees clearly help to drive the Group’s performance.” Researchers, engineers, technicians and operational staff, in support functions or highly operational roles, women are everywhere and are doing every bit as much for the company as their male colleagues.
A KEY ROLE IN IMPROVING PERFORMANCE
Reducing inequality also means combating stereotypes and creating the conditions for a discrimination-free environment. Arkema pays very close attention to this, particularly in the United States. “We have launched the Respecting the workplace campaign to raise people’s understanding of rules of good conduct, such as not saying ‘Hi guys’ when addressing a group that includes women. Little things like this that are not meant badly can nevertheless give offense,” stresses Sandra Auffray, Arkema’s Vice President Human Resources for the United States. “We’ve also extended the principle of safety shares, used at the beginning of meetings to remind people of basic safety practices, and we now also have diversity shares. Everyone, male or female, is welcome to share their experience.” Women’s networking has been around in the United States for a long time and has been adopted by the Group. Arkema’s US branch has launched “Women@Arkema,” a close network of women who meet up for mutual support and to further their careers. “The feedback is excellent. It’s become a valuable in-house tool,” explains Jennifer Trolley, Senior HR Manager at Sartomer Americas. “We also actively support women interested in our mixed Leadership Development program, which helps them assert their management potential. Increasing numbers are taking part in this program that can set up tomorrow’s female leaders,” she observes. “Hiring women at the highest level sends out a strong signal,” confirms Sandra Auffray, citing the recent appointment of Samantha Hollingsworth Davis as CIO Americas.
In Asia too, female talent is being encouraged. “Arkema China has a good number of women in management roles and many in executive positions. The proportion is higher than at the Colombes head office or in the United States,” explains Alan Tan, Chief Human Resources Officer for Arkema Greater China. She stresses the importance of adopting inclusive practices at the recruitment stage. “We highlight the gender balance during campus visits. When presenting our strategy, we remind people that this is one of our key goals for the next five years. Some jobs attract mostly men. Our aim is to do all we can to get more young women to apply to them. We have many success stories in this area.”
