Safran committed "to a diversified and inclusive company"

"I have the firm desire to make Safran a diversified and inclusive company, where everyone feels respected, welcomed and recognized. At Safran, we are convinced that diversity is a source of creativity and innovation - it is the core of the Group’s DNA - but it is also a source of well-being for our employees and, ultimately, this is a lever of success for the Group."

It is with these strong words that Olivier Andriès, Chief Executive Officer of Safran, opened the meeting, organized at the Paris-Saclay site, with Elisabeth Moreno, Minister Delegate in charge of Gender Equality, Diversity and Equal Opportunities.

Surrounded by Stéphane Dubois, Group Director of Human and Societal Responsibilities, Charlotte Dieutre, Director of CSR and Delphine Berilloux, Director of Talent Development, Olivier Andriès recalled the Group's values but mainly focused on presenting the concrete actions that are implemented and the objectives set, in particular in favor of gender equality, greater feminine representation in the Group, youth recruitment and the fight against all forms of discrimination.

"We have a very pragmatic approach. What interests us are the facts and the results. At the end of the year, we will be launching a major survey on employee perceptions of diversity and inclusion. Thanks to these results, we will be able to build and work together to strengthen existing systems.” explained Stéphane Dubois, Group Director of Human and Societal Responsibilities. "On the subject of gender equality, for example, we have already formulated objectives and carried out concrete actions: training to help break the glass ceiling, interventions to attract young students to scientific fields, identification of our talents, equal pay for senior executives… There is still a long way to go and we are aware of that. But our commitment is total."

WORDS FROM OUR TEAM

Many employees made the trip to share their experience and talk with the Minister on the subjects of equality of chances, parity and the fight against discrimination.

"I chose in high school to follow a technical course by opting for a DUT training in mechanical and production engineering. 20 years ago, I joined Safran Transmission Systems as a technician. In 2013, I was promoted to manager on a major technical project and since then I have always held management positions. For the past 5 years I have been leading a field team on the subject of quality. During my career, I was fortunate to meet managers at Safran who trusted me, recognized my skills and expertise and showed me that, even though I hadn’t graduated from a prestigious university, I could have a very good career at Safran."

Michelle Dauphin, Head of Inspection and Reception at Safran Transmission Systems

 

"I first joined Safran Electronics & Defense as an HR apprentice for two years in the Human Resources Department. This first very enriching experience opened the doors for me to an international voluntary service (VIE) in a company in Germany, before my full-time recruitment as human resources manager at the Valence site. For two years, I developed my skills and demonstrated my potential. Today, at only 29 years old, I am the director of the plant and legal manager. Thanks to Safran, the career opportunities, the training, the support of my tutors and managers - I never thought I would one day become bilingual in German! - I was able to move up the ranks and grow professionally."

Vincent Nguyen, Plant Director at Safran Electronics & Defense

 

"I spent much of the first 20 years of my career in a production environment in Gennevilliers and Corbeil, with periods in machining and forging. Over time, I have been able to demonstrate my skills in leadership and operational and transversal management. Then, I was asked to take on the commercial management of the avionics division at Safran Electronics & Defense. I had no experience in this field, but the desire to evolve and prove myself was there. And my management was capable of seeing that and capitalizing on my potential. It is a great chance to be surrounded by people who want to give you the means to achieve what you want to do. As part of these new functions, I was supported by a mentoring program that allowed me to better understand the environment in which I was going to be working."

Elysabeth Da-Silva-Jaslier, Commercial Director Avionics Division at Safran Electronics & Defense

 

"In engineering, women are more and more present and that’s a real advantage. They present soft skills that are so important today, beyond business know-how, to face the new challenges and increasingly complex projects on which we are working."

Luc Alba, Methods and Engineering Tools Engineer at Safran Electronics and Defense

"I would like to share a message that is close to my heart to convey to all those people who sometimes doubt: Dare! Go for it! Try! Fail! Persevere! See your ideas through to the end! Because the only risk you take by doing so is to progress and learn! 2 years ago, I joined the Safran booster and I am one of the intrapreneur pioneers. The booster gave me the opportunity to grow, progress quickly and expand my areas of expertise, by testing, exploring, innovating, daring, and all that with agility and perseverance." 

Celine Colonna Ceccaldi, intrapreneur  

 

"Disability is not a barrier to career development at Safran. The barriers are stereotypes and prejudices. That is the heart of my concerns as a disability referent at Safran Electrical & Power. This year and next year for example, we are working on invisible disability by organizing two-hour sessions for managers and teams to discuss this topic. All our communication, awareness-raising and training actions aim to ensure that everyone can pursue their career by being assessed only on their skills and potential."

Sophie Delorme, Head of Recruitment & Mobility, Training and Disability Referent at Safran Electrical & Power

 

"For the past year, I have been helping Charlotte Dieutre, Director of CSR, and her team on the issue of inclusion of LGBT+* people. The daily life of LGBT+ people is to put up with jokes, remarks, LGBT-phobic** behavior everywhere, all the time, whether at the coffee machine, in meeting rooms, in offices, in workshops, in the canteen, and so on. Even if the people who behave this way don’t mean any harm, it does not create a climate of trust. It is important that all employees can feel themselves and safe in their professional environment without fear of discrimination from their colleagues or managers. Otherwise, they will make themselves invisible and there is the risk that their mental health will suffer."

Thibaut Verdet, who monitors the subject of the inclusion of LGBT+ people in the CSR Department and is also responsible for improving processes and quality tools at Safran Aircraft Engines.

On this subject, Stéphane Dubois gave more details: “We are currently working on the issue of the inclusion of LGBT+ people and are discussing it with the social partners. This is a strong and important subject for our employees, it is important for us to talk about it openly."

 

RENEWAL OF THE DIVERSUTY CHARTER

During this discussion, Elisabeth Moreno reacted and talked with each of the employees, reminding them that “diversity and inclusion are the foundations of a better-performing and more attractive company. We live in a changing world. It is necessary to anticipate it, face up to the concerns, restore meaning. The human being is the main issue of the 21st century.” The Minister also praised the work done at Safran, before thanking the Group "for the humility and above all for the ambition and determination you show. It is collectively that we will achieve equality!"

"Ten years after signing a first version, I have the pleasure of once again signing this Diversity Charter in which, and this is new, we are committed to regularly evaluating progress internally and externally. The signing of this Charter, which exists in both French and English and will apply to all of our sites in France and abroad, shows our desire to make things evolve and materializes our new ambitions." underlined Olivier Andriès.

 

* LGBT + people: lesbian, gay, bi, trans and all other people who do not recognize themselves as heterosexual or cisgender

 

** LGBTphobia: feeling or manifestation of rejection, contempt or hatred towards people perceived to be LGBT and anything that is supposed to relate to them.

 

 

 

 

DIVERSITY CHARTER

Created in 2004 by the association “Les Entreprises pour la Cité”, the Diversity Charter is a commitment text proposed for signature by any employer who wishes, through a proactive approach, to act in favor of diversity and thus to go beyond the legal and jurisdictional framework for the fight against discrimination. On November 8, 2010, Jean-Paul Herteman, then CEO of Safran, signed the first version of the Charter. In September 2018, a new text was adopted, incorporating a broader vision of diversity and its players. Today, nearly 5000 companies are signatories.

By signing this Charter, Safran undertakes to:

- Raise awareness and train leaders and managers involved in recruitment, training and career management, then gradually all employees, in the issues of non-discrimination and diversity.

- Promote the application of the principle of non-discrimination in all its forms in all management and decision-making actions of the company or organization, and in particular in all stages of human resources management.

- Promote the representation of the diversity of society in all its differences and wealth, the cultural, ethnic and social components, within the workforce and at all levels of responsibility.

- Communicate on its commitment to all employees as well as to its customers, partners and suppliers, in order to encourage respect and deployment of these principles.

- Make the development and implementation of the diversity policy a subject of social dialogue worldwide

- Regularly evaluate progress and communicate both internally and externally on the practical results resulting from the implementation of its commitments.

Learn more

 

KEY FIGURES

15% of female senior executives within the Group in 2021. Objective: 22% in 2025

350 young people hired in France in 2020

5000 work-study students recruited in 2020