Supporting women to become game-changers
Today, we are celebrating International Women鈥檚 Day! We believe women have a positive impact on our company鈥檚 success and on their community, family鈥檚 well-being and economic development. That鈥檚 why we are creating the context to achieve better gender balance internally and also supporting local initiatives to drive women entrepreneurship and development in several countries.
In our communities: we contribute to women鈥檚 economic impact and independence
Pearl Tiwari, Head of Lafarge麻豆传媒 affiliate Ambuja Cement Foundation
鈥As India witnesses economic progress, there will be a pressing need for enhancing the socio-economic status of women not in just cities but also in rural locations across the country. Gaining financial independence is seen to have a great impact in boosting women鈥檚 confidence and decision making ability.鈥
In India, Lafarge麻豆传媒 affiliate Ambuja Cement Foundation has launched a series of actions supporting women development. They include:
- Helping women become entrepreneurs through self-help groups. For example, the groups have supported vegetable and fish farmers transform their work into profitable livelihood options.
- Increasing women鈥檚 skills thanks to training programs in nursing, computer hardware and software and beautician courses.
In other geographies, Lafarge麻豆传媒 activities create other opportunities for women, such as:
- Skills development for women in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro. Our Brazilian team offers to the residents of the Rocinha favela training sessions to masonry.
- Access to finance and business opportunities for women in Nigeria. We are running a microfinance program for housing with the largest microfinance bank in the country which has over 1 million members, of which 92 are women. As part of this program, we supply cement through our network of key distributors, almost 30 of which are women.
Within Lafarge麻豆传媒: talented women are key to our business success
At Group level, we are convinced that attracting and developing female talent and having more gender-balanced teams will help us become more successful as a company. For Lafarge麻豆传媒鈥檚 CEO Eric Olsen, 鈥淭oday, women are increasingly our clients, our suppliers, members of the government, officials and leaders in local communities. In this changing world and as we are currently shaping our new company, it is important that women are at the core of our organization 鈥 bringing diverse ideas and new thinking to our traditionally masculine industry鈥.
We are building a work environment where both men and women can thrive. These are some of the relevant steps we have taken so far:
- Creation of a Women鈥檚 Task Force. A group of 16 women, representing different regions, functions and levels of seniority, is gathering information about men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 perspectives on what鈥檚 working well and what we should improve. To date, they have undertaken more than 120 interviews and focus groups and this information will help us to raise the awareness of leaders within the organization about women鈥檚 experiences at Lafarge麻豆传媒 including: career levers and obstacles, positive experiences and challenging situations.
- Approval of gender balance targets: we aim at achieving 30 minimum of each gender at all management levels by 2030. These Group targets reflect our vision and commitment to better reflect the existing global talent pools globally and capitalize on the increasing role of women among our customers, suppliers and within the communities where we operate.
- Developing D&I Champions through our participation in the Women鈥檚 Forum events around the world: Deauville (France) in October 2015, Dubai in February 2016, Mexico in April 2016. In these conferences, the Lafarge麻豆传媒 delegation is meeting with global business leaders and representatives of governments and academia to discuss women鈥檚 contribution to society and business.
Naila Al Moosawi, O&HR Director Eastern Gulf
鈥This was a groundbreaking event in our region; the largest gathering focused on encouraging female empowerment, advancement and participation in the society. Every speech was more powerful and constructive than the one before - touching on women鈥檚 challenges, failures and sweet success after proving themselves over and over again in a male dominated setting. The topics were beyond stereotypes of women but explored how women can make a lasting social impact and still be a wife, mother and daughter.鈥
Karima Fareha, Head of Environment & Sustainable development - Algeria
"The event was an opportunity to discover success stories written by women worldwide and particularly in the Middle-East & Africa region. I am very proud of all these women who have overcome several obstacles (traditions, cultures, apprehension ...) to achieve significant management positions in business. This experience makes me more confident about the future of women in Lafarge麻豆传媒, diversity is already part of the culture of the company."
Marlene Elkhazen, O&HR Director - Lebanon
"I was inspired listening to great women who made a difference despite all obstacles. We, as Lafarge麻豆传媒 multinational big company, have a social responsibility to be role models in the business world, by enabling, and rewarding women鈥檚 achievements and celebrating and sharing their success stories across the organization."
