OREANDA-NEWS. At the end of June 2016, 40 country presidents of Schneider Electric, the global specialist in energy management and automation, ratified the global Women’s Empowerment Principles  (WEPs) set out by UN Women and the Global Compact. These 40 leaders oversee more than 90 percent of Schneider Electric employees.

WEP signatories publicly commit to making every possible effort to provide men and women with the same opportunities and enable them to reach their potential. They must also engage employees in business development in addition to promoting a process of ongoing gender equality improvements across the organization.

“The 40 WEP signatories at Schneider Electric exemplify the commitment of all our leaders to gender equality and the effectiveness of this value in mobilizing employees,” said Olivier Blum, Chief Human Resources Officer and Executive Vice President, Schneider Electric. “This move demonstrates the willingness of our local leaders to align everyone with the same objective of empowering women consistently and ensuring sustained action. This is crucial for achieving long-term change. It also shows that we didn’t rest after Jean-Pascal Tricoire, our Chairman & CEO, received the WEPs CEO Leadership Award, but continue to be steadfast in the pursuit of our vision.”

Team diversity: a prerequisite for performance and quality

Pursuing gender equality is a critical priority for Schneider Electric. The Group is convinced that team diversity is a prerequisite for successful business. Promoting an HR policy that empowers women at every level is one of the Group’s strategic objectives, helping to boost the attractiveness of its employer brand, as well as its performance. It is also part of the company’s broader commitment to diversity and inclusion.

For several years now, Schneider Electric has been actively committed to better integrating women at every level of the company, both locally and globally. It does so through four main ways:

  1. Leaders who are also role models, in particular by their commitment to the WEPs;
  2. Increasing the number of initiatives in support of women empowerment and career development, especially through its Women in Leadership workshops;
  3. Organizing change management campaigns, while actively participating in initiatives such as #HeForShe IMPACT 10x10x10, launched by the United Nations in 2015;
  4. Aligning all of its major human resource processes and policies with this objective, particularly through its equal pay policy.