Publicis Groupe is committed to respecting gender equity and has been involved for many years in promoting women’s rights in civil society and in the workplace (see Section 4.3.4.1).
Pursuant to legal requirements, Publicis Groupe ensures a balanced representation of women and men up to the highest levels of responsibility. Publicis Groupe SA has been one of the first groups to apply gender parity to its Board, well before it became a legal requirement.
As of 2018, Publicis Groupe set itself a gender diversity target of 40% women in key management positions by 2020, a target that was achieved (see Section 4.3.4.1).
In line with the recommendations of the Afep-Medef Code, the Board of Directors has adopted a policy designed to promote gender balance within the Company’s governing bodies.
Publicis has defined a group of “key management positions” made up of all members of the Executive Committee, of the Management Committee and of the most significant Executive Committees. Apart from the Board of Directors, whose gender balance is governed by article L. 225-18-1 of the French Commercial Code, these bodies exercise the highest levels of responsibility within the Groupe.
| Percentage of women | Objective by 2025 | |
|---|---|---|
| Global workforce | Global workforce Percentage of women 52.4% |
Global workforce Objective by 2025
|
| Executive Committee | Executive Committee Percentage of women 40% |
Executive Committee Objective by 2025
|
| Management Committee (excl. Executive Committee) | Management Committee (excl. Executive Committee) Percentage of women 50.0% |
Management Committee (excl. Executive Committee) Objective by 2025
|
| Key management positions (excl. United States)* | Key management positions (excl. United States) *Percentage of women 46.5% |
Key management positions (excl. United States) *Objective by 2025 46% |
In order to achieve this objective, Publicis is continuing its gender diversity policy, which has been in place for several years (see Section 4.3.4.1). Special attention has been paid in recent years to the promotion and career development of women within the Groupe. In coordination with the Chief Talent Officers, an action plan is implemented to ensure that there is a balanced representation of female and male candidates in both recruitments and promotions, including in the final short-list phase. A more specific plan has been drawn up for countries or jobs where women are less represented to take action starting from the recruitment of junior profiles. Finally, arrangements are made to promote the retention of female talent in order to allow them flexibility in organizing their professional and personal lives, which is also granted to men. The 2025 data can be found in Section 4.3.4.1 and the history is publicly available on the Publicis Groupe website, in the CSR Smart data section.
The results show a steady progression, the Groupe’s trajectory targeting 46% women among the key management positions, outside the United States, in 2025. The target having been reached and surpassed in 2025 has made it possible to raise the target to 46.7% for 2026.
This is a very ambitious target given the Groupe’s development in technological professions where women are often less well represented, particularly among managers.
The Executive Management has implemented cross-functional actions to achieve the target of 46.7% women among key executives by 2026, in particular:
In addition, for more than ten years, Publicis Groupe has voluntarily chosen to publish interim indicators specific to the Company and its professions, such as the percentage of women on the Executive Committees of agencies or the percentage of women CEOs of an agency, data supplemented in recent years by the percentage of women leading the Creative, Media, Data and Tech teams, corresponding to the Company’s major business lines (see Section 4.3.4.1).
The internal network VivaWomen! plays an important role in agencies, particularly amongst younger women, as a space for dialogue, meeting, inspiration and support. The Women’s Forum, a subsidiary of Publicis Groupe, continues through its events and publications to promote the voice and contribution of women to equity issues as well as to the main global social and economic challenges. The missions and activities of VivaWomen! and the Women’s Forum are detailed in Chapter 4 of this Universal Registration Document.
