This principle is intangible. It has always been applied in the fight against all forms of discrimination, on whatever grounds (gender, age, origins, sexual orientation, religion, etc.). It is more valid than ever and must be respected by all, employees and managers alike. This Zero Tolerance principle also applies to moral and sexual harassment and inappropriate conduct. It is described as such in the Janus Code of Ethics (excerpts of which are accessible on the Groupe’s corporate site at: www.publicisgroupe.com).
A centralized whistleblowing mechanism is operational: ethicsconcerns@publicisgroupe.com. Reported concerns are managed by the Secretary General and systematically followed up, with complete confidentiality and protection for whistleblowers (see details in Section 4.2.6 of this document).
During the Viva la Difference virtual seminar, which brought together all Groupe employees in December 2021, the motto at the heart of the Company and the Groupe’s strategy were the red wire of the discussions. This alignment between the Company’s internal culture and the business approach consolidates the core values on which the Groupe has relied for decades, brings meaning to the business lines, and illustrates the Groupe’s intention to see our activities contribute to the construction of a more inclusive world.
The Groupe has a proactive approach to diversity in its workforce (see Section 4.1.1.2 for country examples). The Groupe is pursuing its efforts in eight specific areas, namely: gender, age, disability, cultural and ethnic origins, educational background, sexual orientation, religion, and veterans (military). Monitoring of diversity indicators is subject to national legislative frameworks. At the global level, only gender and age data can be consolidated and published. The Groupe is very mindful of individual situations (illnesses, family responsibilities, etc.) and is always looking for appropriate solutions to support its employees who may be experiencing challenging periods.
In order to maintain the conditions of an inclusive culture that respects every single person, mandatory training on unconscious bias is carried out in almost all countries to train male and female managers and all employees. The legal and human resources/talent teams oversee compliance issues in very close contact with the leaders who are members of the Country/Agency Executive Committees.
The Chairman of the Management Board, Arthur Sadoun, deals directly and personally with the issues of diversity and inclusion. He is heavily involved in the US action plan and in the global internal communication around it. Publicis Groupe regularly reaffirms its commitments to gender equality, as equality for all is a factor of inclusion. The Groupe is a signatory of the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) of UN Women, a United Nations agency: the seven key principles promote women’s rights as fundamental human rights and encourage equality in all its forms. The Groupe is also a stakeholder in CEO Action for Diversity and Inclusion in the United States, which requested that hundreds of CEO signatories share their best practices and data concerning trends in female employment in their organizations. Publicis Groupe is one of the 20 or so corporate members of the Unstereotype Alliance which is placed under the aegis of UN Women and whose mission is to fight against gender stereotypes in communication and advertizing campaigns to promote wide-spread diversity. The Groupe has had a partnership with Catalyst for several years now and the agencies have built local partnerships with committed organizations. Publicis Groupe joined One In Three Women, an international initiative, mobilizing companies around domestic violence against women. Through this commitment, companies are required to set up assistance systems or facilitate access to assistance for victims. Such systems are in place in the United States and Canada, India, France, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand, to name but a few.
In order to increase the impact of measures taken internally, the Global DE&I Council, created in 2020, meets every month, under the responsibility of the Secretary General, and is comprised of some fifteen DE&I experts from several countries coordinated by the Groupe’s CSR Director. Its goal is to scale up common actions on a few themes shared by all countries, such as diversity among teams in the broadest sense, in particular with regard to under-represented populations in each country, gender balance, women with management positions, visibility of LGBTQ+ individuals, and all questions regarding various forms of disability. The public document DEI in Action – 2022 Playbook illustrates the main areas of the Groupe’s policy and the actions implemented by the agencies locally.
In terms of recognition, Publicis Groupe is one of the:
The affinity networks (Business Resources Groups - BRGs or Employee's Action Groups - EAGs) illustrate the Power of One in action for employees. Fifteen cross-functional groups bring together voluntary employees to enhance awareness and develop concrete solutions adapted to the day-to-day running of the agency (see their presentation on the CSR page of the corporate web site). At Groupe level, three affinity groups are active on the international stage: “VivaWomen!” (women), “Égalité” (LGBTQ+) and enABLE (disability). BRGs also play a role at the external level: they take part in different events and actions aiming to change behavior and practices.
