Initiative

Collective agreement on gender equality

Summary of the initiative

Électricité de France S.A. (EDF) is an electric utility company and is the largest electricity producer in the world.

EDF’s involvement in favour of gender equality was officially rewarded for the first time in 2006 with the certification of Label Egalité Professionnelle (Gender Equality Label), renewed in 2011.

In 2012, a third collective agreement was signed to address gender equality by setting new objectives, action plans and to focus on how to get a greater number of women among Steering and Management Committees, as a way to accompany societal changes and to change the traditional and male-dominated culture in the company. To achieve this ambitious goal, EDF follows five main principles:

i) To ensure equal pay for equal work and equal qualifications for women and men. Since 2004, EDF has freed up a budgetary envelope of € 2.4 millions in order to eliminate the 5% pay gap between men and women. Equal pay has been reached in 2009 on base salary. A systematic examination system has been established with the support of the local social dialogue. Because nothing is ever won forever, equal pay remains a key concern throughout any career path.

ii) To promote gender equality and gender diversity at any level, to help women break the glass ceiling and have more women in top management. To achieve this aim EDF has undertaken several projects. For instance, a social network “Interp’Elles”, also open to men was created in 2004 and today has more than 1,300 members. It serves as a forum for exchange, information and discussion. This network not only helps women to be in control of their own career, to empower them but also involves EDF top management in activities like mentoring, coaching, awareness workshops, personal development, etc.

iii) To generate vocations and to improve gender diversity in recruitment. In order to have more women in technical jobs, recruitment providers working for EDF signed a non-discrimination agreement and must submit one application from a woman out of every three applications in shortlists on the condition of equal qualifications. EDF issued a target to recruit each year at least the same proportion of women as there are graduating from engineering schools (around 30%). Furthermore, in 2011, EDF established a partnership with the organisation “Elles bougent” in order to promote scientific and technical careers among girls in schools. More than 40 girl sponsors, all EDF employees, agreed to share on a regular basis their experience with high school and undergraduate students. The goal is to break down stereotypes surrounding “masculine” jobs and encourage girls to choose scientific or technical paths.

On the same level, EDF co-founded the Fem Energia Award with the organisation Women In Nuclear that promotes every year women’s careers in the nuclear field. With more than 6,000 recruitments in 2013, EDF needs more than ever to stay attractive to every talent from the widest pool possible.

iv) To improve work-life balance. Questions concerning work organisation, time management and flexibility necessarily are more significant to women given the gender-based distribution of home and care duties. Several initiatives have been taken in that direction: the paternity leave is fully paid for all EDF male employees, EDF is co-funding the “CESU petite enfance”, which is a voucher cofounded by EDF and employees for childcare needs.

v) To raise awareness to change both practices and attitudes in the long term. EDF has organised raising awareness actions and training sessions to break the stereotypes addressed to employees, managers, HR partners and unions (more than 7,000 employees trained). EDF also communicates on a regular basis on the progress made on the Gender Equality Agreement and promotes women’s careers within its external and internal communications.