SPIE rallies together for "La Parisienne"

Cergy, September 2nd 2019 - In the lead up to the 23rd "La Parisienne" event, being held on 8th September 2019, SPIE, the independent European leader in multi-technical services in the areas of energy and communications, is celebrating the steps it has made in promoting greater gender diversity by sending an international delegation of 250 female staff members representing the Group’s main European subsidiaries, including twenty from the UK, to the French capital.

Gender balance is a daily commitment for SPIE

SPIE employees are running in La Parisienne to celebrate SPIE Group’s daily commitment to gender balance, encouraging women to take their place in a traditionally more male-dominated professional sector. This commitment, championed by the creation of the So’SPIE Ladies European network in 2015, was further reinforced a year ago by the appointment of two-person teams, consisting of a So’SPIE Ladies network leader and a Executive Committee member, within each national subsidiary. Their mission is to roll out a programme of action in each SPIE subsidiary, with clearly defined annual targets for improving diversity. This includes powerful national initiatives to strengthen gender balance in teams year on year.

"Through the numerous actions we have put in place, we are concentrating our efforts on raising awareness about our lines of business among 14- to 18-year-old girls. In 2019, we have set ourselves the target of entering into an additional 10 partnerships with schools", notes Carolyn Gindein, CSR Manager and "So’SPIE Ladies" leader for SPIE UK. 

These local and national initiatives are now bearing fruit: in 2018, women accounted for 16 percent of the Group’s new employees, compared with 10 percent just three years ago.

A specific mentoring programme

In 2018, a specific mentoring programme aimed at female managers was introduced. Within each subsidiary, around ten women in operational and support roles were selected to get the benefit of specific personal development guidance from a member of each subsidiary's Executive Committee. The goal is to prepare them for the responsibilities they will be likely to assume within the company, with a special focus on gaining new skills.

"La Parisienne": a key event in SPIE life

France’s leading women-only running race, La Parisienne, has brought thousands of women together since 1997. The event takes place on a 7km course around the French capital's most prestigious sites, including Champ de Mars, the banks of the Seine, the Eiffel Tower, Place de la Concorde and the Grand Palais. La Parisienne has been a key feature in SPIE life since 2012. This year, almost 250 female staff members, mainly from Europe, will take up the challenge along with the other 25,000 female participants.

All the women, whether keen athletes or walkers, are motivated by the pleasure of sharing together in a sports event focused on conviviality, friendship and the promotion of gender balance. This is a strong priority for SPIE group’s general management, some members of which will be present on September 8th.

"La Parisienne provides an ideal opportunity to shift people’s attitudes on gender balance and women's place in the company’s development." says Elisabeth Rasmussen, the Group’s Director for Human Resources. "This is a friendly, sociable and meaningful event".

"The La Parisienne event is a fantastic opportunity to bring women from all divisions, locations and ranks of the business together", says Carolyn Gindein, CSR Manager and leader of SPIE UK’s So’SPIE Ladies network. "When you add gender diversity the creativity and perspective of teams increases resulting in better ideas and solutions based on facts rather than bias."