Vattenfall shares best practices on Diversity & Inclusion in Paris

Vattenfall recently signed with the think-&-do-tank "Act for Equality" created by the renowned French lifestyle magazine Marie Claire five years ago. As part of this partnership Florence Simonet, Managing Director of Vattenfall wind subsidiary in France, and Anne-Clotilde Fery, Procurement Manager at Vattenfall, participated as speakers in an event hosted by French Minister for Ecology Transition, Christophe Béchu, on how to foster women's access to careers in the energy and ecology transition.  

During the first part of the event, Florence Simonet was invited to the stage to speak during a one-to-one session with the moderator and journalist Emilie Kovacs, Editor in Chief of TheGood, a magazine specialized in CSR topics. She was able to present Vattenfall’s engagement and best practices on D&I, in particular our commitment and ambitions as part of the “Equal by 30” international initiative. She has also been able to share her own career path, underlining the role of women sororities and her pride to be one of the women who contributed to making the French offshore wind industry as it is today, thanks to her involvement in the first projects 20 years ago.  

Lastly, she  underlined how important it is for women to be given the same chances as men for accessing and growing in careers in the energy transition. She gave the example that the latest data available indicate that only 21 per cent of positions in the marine renewable energies sector in France (of which 93 per cent are in the offshore wind industry) are  held by women. 

Role models

The second part of the event was dedicated to role models. In this session, Anne-Clotilde Fery shared her career path and spoke about  her experience working in the energy industry as a woman. She also shared how working in an international company such as Vattenfall, with high corporate social responsibility standards and a culture of flexible working,  is important when it comes to ensuring the right work-life balance, especially for women with children.   

Lastly, as partners to the think-&-do-tank, Vattenfall had the honour to spend time with the French Minister, after his closing remarks. It was the occasion for Vattenfall to reconnect with the Minister after meeting him  one year before on International Women’s Day, 8 March 2023, to reiterate the need for the state to maintain the momentum and accelerate the speed on offshore wind projects, as the industry is ready to create more than 20, 000 jobs by 2035, of which half could be occupied by women.  

The event was attended by over 60 representatives from the public and  private sectors as well as young students.  

Vattenfall is now engaged in a journey with the Marie Claire think-&-do-tank partners to define a set of recommendations and best practices across industrial sectors to ensure equal chances for men and women to be part of the transition to fossil freedom. These recommendations will be handed over to the French minister responsible for ensuring the achievement of  gender equality later this year. 

Caption: French Minister for Ecology Transition, Christophe Béchu, hosted the event on diversity and inclusion in Paris.

Picture on the top: Florence Simonet (right), Managing Director of Vattenfall’s wind subsidiary in France talked about Vattenfall’s engagement in D&I issues.