Created in 2005 and based in Paris, the Women’s Forum for the Economy and Society is a subsidiary of Publicis Groupe. In the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, it fully played its key role as a global platform with the ambition of bringing the voice, vision and added value of women not only to equality issues but also to other issues concerning humanity as a whole, and to defend the rights of women and girls as well as human rights.
In 2020, the Women’s Forum launched its first Barometer, carried out with IPSOS, which is based on two axes: firstly, the analysis of relevant data from international databases and, secondly, via a questionnaire sent to a representative sample of 3,500 respondents in the G7 countries, on the assessment of public awareness of gender disparities. The results presented at the Women’s Forum Virtual Global Meeting in November 2020, showed that, even if stereotypes remain too entrenched everywhere, 91% of the population questioned in the G7 countries call for an end to gender inequalities.
Since 2018, the Women’s Forum has Daring Circles, bringing together around 50 partners: companies, international institutions, NGOs and experts. Grouped around five unique and innovative cross-sector working groups, the goal is to implement solutions where women are disproportionately affected and where their leadership is crucial: Women4AI, Women4Business, Women4Climateaction, Women4Health, Women4STEM. These action-oriented coalitions aim to develop concrete solutions on the climate, technology for the common good, access to health and economic empowerment. Collaborative working groups, Daring Circles work on targeted opportunities for pioneering solutions for inclusion and equality.
The Women’s Forum has been a force for international proposals recognized by the G7 and G20 since 2018. In 2019, following the G7 Summit in Biarritz under the French Presidency, the Director General of the Women’s Forum was entrusted by the French government with the task of proposing a national mobilization plan in favor of jobs in the STEM fields and to better support women in key roles with critical responsibilities. The recommendations of the Women’s Forum were presented in February 2020 in the report “Women at the heart of the economy”.
In the context of the global crisis linked to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Women’s Forum launched a Call to action for an Inclusive Recovery, aimed at G7 leaders and focused on seven key themes where the contribution of women is essential for sustainable growth: Entrepreneurship, Métiers d’Avenir, Tech4Good, Work-Life Balance, Governance, Climate, Health. These proposals are concrete, pragmatic and easily achievable. In line with the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) of the United Nations, they aim to contribute to the UN Sustainable Development Objectives and enable women to hold key positions in which they will drive a real “SHE-Covery”, an inclusive recovery.
2020 was marked by a strong mobilization around the “Black Lives Matter” movement. More than 2,000 employees took part in a “Brave Space” sharing session in the days following the murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor and many others. 300 volunteer employees were trained to run these sessions in all entities. On June 17, all of the Groupe’s agencies took a “pause” and together reflected on the priorities for combating racism and strengthening the levers of inclusion: 18,500 employees from the United States and Canada took part and attended one or more of the 13 sessions and the three different learning tracks. A group of around 100 employees then worked on the action plan presented by Arthur Sadoun, Chairman of the Management Board, in early July 2020. This plan is based on seven points and is monitored by the US Executive Committee:
The Talent Engagement & Inclusion (TE&I) Brain Trust bringing together 16 diversity managers across the United States provides monthly updates on the progress of programs and activities within the agencies, and also works on the development of policies and practices by sharing experiences.
The Talent Engagement & Inclusion (TE&I) Council meets quarterly, in the presence of the Groupe’s Secretary General, or with the Groupe’s CSR Department. The monthly newsletter TE&I Quarterly reports on activities on Marcel, along with the Inclusion Activated podcasts. 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 Groupe employees to develop by way of attractive career paths.
