Was 2021 the Year of Diversity & Inclusion?

Whether traditional family firms or sprawling multinationals, our clients want to speak about diversity and inclusion (D&I). It’s been one of the hottest topics of 2021, both in France and around Europe.

Let’s talk about one central talking point: gender diversity. Many companies are struggling to hit their gender targets. But it’s not from a lack of desire. Organizations often target specific roles for gender balancing — plant managers running facilities somewhere in France, for example — but then struggle to find candidates.

 Reasons to be concerned about gender diversity

 On the face of it, that’s a recruitment challenge. But it’s one deeply rooted in the educational status quo. In French high schools, far fewer girls than boys study engineering, physics and other STEM subjects. In some fields, it’s 80% boys against 20% girls.

 Inevitably, this imbalance spills over into post-secondary education. Only 28% of students in French engineering schools are women. Furthermore, a high proportion of those undergraduates are in fields like food and chemistry. In the “heavier” engineering sectors, the percentage of women with the skills and experience to enter supervisory positions drops to below 20%.

 Reasons to be optimistic about gender diversity

 Everyone should be concerned about these statistics. But there are two reasons why I’m optimistic we can drive progress towards gender diversity.

 First, you take a giant leap towards solving a problem simply by prioritizing it. D&I hasn’t always been near the top of the agenda for European companies. It is now. Where there’s a will, there’s a way.

 Second, organizations now have the tools to tackle gender diversity — and if they don’t, they can partner with companies like Page Outsourcing that certainly do. Our clients can’t afford to sit back and wait for more girls to take up STEM subjects at school. They need to find the female talent that’s out there right now.

 From our point of view, that involves strategies such as:

 ●    Fast-tracking the CVs of skilled and qualified female candidates

●    Making diversity a core and recurring section of weekly client reports

●    Sourcing female candidates who lack some of the required skills but have the potential to quickly ramp up their capabilities on the job

 Our goal never wavers: we aim to achieve a 50:50 gender ratio, regardless of the industry or type of role.

 Why EVP matters

 Ambitions, intentions and even policies to improve D&I in your organization aren’t sufficient if candidates don’t know who you are and what you stand for. Messaging isn’t the icing on the cake of your talent acquisition strategy. It’s one of the essential ingredients.

 To this end, Page Outsourcing works closely with clients to improve their employee value proposition (EVP). We help companies tell their stories in compelling, inclusive ways to attract a more diverse pool of candidates.

 What are the key metrics for EVP improvements? One is the number of applications per mission, looking at the “before and after” for a specific role. How many candidates were we attracting before we began our EVP campaign? How many after?

 Another useful indicator is direct applications not linked to specific opportunities. This is a particularly good metric for gauging the success of awareness-raising campaigns for clients entering new markets. If the number of “spontaneous” applications spikes following a campaign, your marketing strategy is probably on the right track.

 The road ahead

 Companies in France and Europe continue to struggle to find the talent they need to expand their operations. Forward-thinking organizations should seize the opportunity to ramp up their D&I initiatives and explore new ways to strengthen their EVP. It could make all the difference in 2022.

 What are some other ways to supercharge your D&I initiatives? Let me know in the comments. And if you’d like to talk about how Page Outsourcing can help you tap new talent pools, connect with me here or send me an email at GuillaumePican@pagegroup.eu.