In Paris, in November 2019, the Global Meeting of the Women’s Forum for the Economy and the Society welcomed over 2,600 participants. After Mexico in May 2019, on the eve of the G7 in Osaka in Japan in June, the Women’s Forum made a pledge to managers worldwide to call for action in the fight against climate change. The second meeting, held in September 2019 in Singapore, welcomed 1,000 participants. Attendance at the Women’s Forum is growing every year, with women coming from 80 different countries and an increasing number of men in attendance. The Women’s Forum is very strongly focused on action. This is reflected in the Group’s own initiatives: Rising Talents which, every year, honors several talented women under 40, tomorrow’s leaders; CEO Champions which commits managers to making progress together on diversity in their organizations (public or private sector); and the five Daring Circles, which brings partners together on the subjects of: Women & Climate, Women & AI, Women & STEM, Women & Access to Health, Women & Business. Daring Circles has resulted in the launch of a number of projects (see www.womensforum.com). The aim of the Women’s Forum is to act on several fronts: to accelerate real gender equality and, in particular, equal pay; to value the essential contributions made by women to the economy and society; and, lastly, to continue the fight for the rights of women and girls.
The Women’s Forum has been part of Publicis Groupe for 10 years. It is a community of 50,000 women (and men) that has been mobilized and has been a recognized force for proposals to the G7 and G20 since 2018.
The team that oversees diversity and inclusion activities has completed its first 10-year cycle, demonstrating the progress made. This was reflected in the number of training programs followed, managers’ receptiveness and the development of affinity groups. The Talent Engagement & Inclusion (TE&I) Council brings together managers responsible for Diversity in the United States. It sets the priorities for the year and tailors joint actions in relation to policies, good practices or experience sharing. It meets every quarter, in the presence of the Group’s Secretary General or with the Group’s CSR Department. The quarterly newsletter, TE&I Quarterly, reports on its activities. This newsletter is accessible under the Talent section of the CSR page on the Group’s website.
The TE&I Council plays a supporting role for agencies’ Talent or Human Resources teams in terms of recruitment or retention, with particular focus on the various internal options that enable Group employees to develop by way of attractive career paths. The TE&I Council is there to help managers and provide them with tools such as: Unconscious Bias, Inclusive Recruiting, Managing Inclusion and Straight Talk training, and more. The Group’s eleven BRGs (Business or Employee Resource Groups) have a presence in 21 US cities where the Group’s main entities are located, and rely on volunteers to run them and determine their actions. These BRGs are, by definition, open to all. The aim is to build affinity groups to take joint action: VivaWomen! (women), Égalité (LGBT), VivaWomen! of Color (Women of Color), VivaMama (Mothers), (women in Tech), MOCA (Men of Color Alliance), GenNext (Young Talents), Publicis Connects (for HR managers and to facilitate internal mobility), Cross Boundary (international mobility), Cool Grays (for the over fifties) and PubVets (Military veterans).
The TE&I Council coordinates the Group’s participation in a selection of conferences. These initiatives enable employees to take part in theme-based day events and leave with concrete projects to take back to their agencies. It forms and coordinates delegations of employees attending conferences such as the 3% Conference, Adcolor, ColorComm, AfroTech, Black Enterprise Women of Power Summit and many others. Group agencies also took part in Times’Up Advertising activities.
In May 2017, Publicis Groupe joined CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion, a US initiative with several hundred CEOs and Executive members of international companies highly committed to creating workplaces that are inclusive and inspirational. The focus of action is three-pronged: Management commitment – in its actions, the implementation of large-scale training programs to counter unconscious bias, and the public sharing of best practices. This approach relies on using leverage to prompt a change in behavior in the private sector.
In 2018, the Group’s agencies also joined the Alliance for Inclusive Multicultural Marketing (AIMM) to welcome and support more interns from diverse backgrounds with a view to future recruitment. In this same spirit, the alumni network of the MAIP (Multicultural Advertising Intern Program) remains an interesting recruitment platform. Created by the US multi-industry organization, 4As, (American Association of Advertising Agencies), this program welcomes interns from minority or disadvantaged backgrounds throughout the summer and even offers some of them jobs.
Lastly, at the beginning of 2020, in recognition for their actions carried out upstream, nine Group agencies received a 100/100 score on the Corporate Equality Index organized by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, within the framework of the Best Place to Work – for LGBT Equality ratings.
With nearly 15,000 employees in India, the Group has a significant presence there. Within the context of the induction program organized to welcome new employees into the Company, all female and male recruits take part in an Unconscious bias session designed to anchor the culture of diversity. Publicis Sapient has compiled a roadmap in which women have a central role. The agencies continued their mentoring programs and in-depth analyzes of potential to help women to envisage their professional career in an inclusive environment.
The WLN (Women’s Leadership Network) is overseen by women in leadership positions, encouraging women to take the floor at professional events such as TechGig Geek Goddess, NASSCOM (Indian trade association), Great International Developper Summit and Grace Hopper, in order to broaden their outlook. The WLN ran a number of activities in 2019, involving both women and men, such as the Howathon, which brought together 100 people for a coding hackathon where each team was managed by a woman. With regard to parenthood, or facilitating family life, in addition to providing breastfeeding rooms and on-site creches on Publicis Sapient campuses, a partnership was signed with various childcare services to offer affordable childcare, thereby taking the pressure off parents in terms of finding reliable care for their children. Internal network activities such as PRIDE (Potential Realized in Diverse Experience) give those affected by LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer) issues a dedicated space.
The agency continued its managerial program on interactions with transgender people. With regard to people with disabilities, the agency launched the PwD (People with Disability) program to promote inclusion in the workplace. Agencies were recognized for their inclusion efforts relating to under-represented minorities via projects like TRANScend with The Humsafar Trust for LGBTQ people. Lastly, the agency strengthened its approach to diversity with its local suppliers.
