For International Women's Day (IWD), Chief Human Resources Officer Charise Le reflects on Schneider Electric's journey and where the company hopes to be in a few years' time.
Charise also shares how Schneider Electric is adopting IWD's theme of #ChooseToChallenge and applying it to leadership and teams in a drive to be more inclusive and hire talent that is future-ready.
"I am proud to share that over the years at Schneider Electric, we have challenged our organization to take action to create an inclusive company, one where everyone feels safe to be their unique self. But even through all that we’ve achieved, we know that there is still more to do to ensure we have a culture of respect that fosters gender inclusion throughout all levels of the organization," says Charise.
Inclusive leadership and gender-balanced teams
For Charise, having an inclusive leadership team is about creating a team that acts with trust, accountability, and inclusion to build high-performing teams.
"We want our leaders to dare to disrupt within their teams and build a culture of inclusion for all diversities," she adds.
In addition to Schneider Electric's leadership, creating teams that are gender-balanced is key. Charise cites Schneider Electric's Sustainability Impact for 2021-2025, where the company has committed to increasing gender diversity in its teams and at all levels in the organization. The goal is clear, what Charise calls "50 / 40 / 30" - women should represent 50% of all new hires, 40% of all frontline managers, and 30% of senior leadership in our organization by 2025.
Using a multi-hub approach to increase diversity
Charise explains that having a multi-hub approach at Schneider Electric helps the company maintain inclusivity and be future-ready.
"We are not constrained to your country or region in order to have a fulfilling career," she says. "Our multi-hub approach gives our employees the opportunity to work in one of our global hubs (Boston, Paris, and Hong Kong, and India) meaning that you don’t have to leave your region to have a career."
Creating a future-ready team
With Schneider Electric's goals of hiring, the company also wants to ensure that all talent is future-ready.
Charise explains the meaning of future-ready: a diverse, empowered, and digitally proficient team.
"You don’t have to have it all, but knowing that you can develop through role modeling, learning on the job and education, means you are one step closer to being future-ready and creating a diverse and inclusive team," she adds.
From challenge comes change
Committed to gender equality, Schneider Electric knows from challenge comes change. Therefore, the company is here to #ChooseToChallenge gender bias and stereotypes, and it encourages others to be part of the change by acting as allies and by role modeling gender-inclusive behaviors to build an inclusive company for all.
"I encourage everyone to make a commitment to promote gender inclusion. I hope you will join us on this journey, let’s all #ChooseToChallenge for #InternationalWomensDay!" finishes Charise.
Join a company that boasts talented female leaders like Charise
Diversity & Inclusion is at the heart of Schneider Electric. It's an integral part of the company's history, culture and identity. By embracing diversity, Schneider Electric unlocks innovation and creativity and fosters collaboration.
Schneider Electric wants its employees to reflect the diversity of the communities and customers it serves. If you can bring something unique to the table, find your place at Schneider Electric.
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Disclosure: Where Women Work researches and publishes insightful evidence about how its paid member organizations support women's equality.