Professional Gender Equality and Diversity

In order to prevent all forms of discrimination, whether on the basis of age, gender, disability, origins, etc., at every stage of an employee’s working life, from hiring to end of career at Arkema, we have put in place an agreement on Professional Gender Equality and Diversity.

An agreement on Professional Gender Equality and Diversity

The latest agreement, signed in November 2021 by all trade union organizations, also aims to strengthen our Diversity policy, with Inclusion now added as one of Arkema’s five core values.

The key commitments cover the following areas:

Recruitment

In this area, Arkema is committed to preventing all discrimination in the recruitment process by raising awareness among stakeholders, and to expanding its sourcing methods in order to pursue the diversity of recruited profiles.

A study into obstacles and drivers regarding female recruitment in manufacturing and maintenance professions will also be carried out.

A new recruitment target has been set at 50% of women in executive hires and 30% in non-executive hires.

Compensation

We are committed to gender equality in terms of recruitment and promotion.

Qualitative analyses and corrective actions will also be implemented whenever gender pay gaps are identified.

Training and Career Development

Over and above equality of access to training, we support parents and employee caregivers engaged in remote training from home through financial assistance.

Career Management

In this area, Arkema affirms equal treatment regarding promotion and access to vacancies. Specific support programs, such as mentoring, are also offered.

Part-time Working

Arkema is committed to conducting an awareness campaign on common beliefs regarding part-time working.

Parenting

In 2020, we set up parenting e-learning available to all employees via the intranet. Its purpose is to understand the changes brought on by parenthood, both professionally and personally. A parenting guide will also be rolled out together with training on the provision of support to employees returning from maternity, parental, or educational leave.

Authorization for paid leave to care for a sick child is being extended to children under the age of 14.

Stakeholder Training

Managers will be given Diversity training as part of the induction courses that all managers attend when they take up their posts.

The Professional Gender Equality and Diversity Commissions will also be given the same training. HR departments will continue to be made aware of discrimination prevention and of diversity.

Arkema France Action Plan

The Arkema France Action Plan setting out the progress objectives in terms of the Professional Gender Equality Index is as follows:

Pay gap: Arkema will pursue a pay policy aiming for equal pay for equivalent positions and responsibilities between women and men.
Promotion gap: Arkema will implement the principle of equal access to vacancies within the Company and gender equality for career development.
Top 10 salaries: Arkema is pursuing a target of 30% of women in top management by 2030. In order to support this objective, a large number of initiatives are being carried out as part of the women@arkema program (mentoring, training, communication, ambassadors network).

Legal obligations regarding senior executives

Arkema France confirms that it aims to be in line with the obligations of the French law that sets targets of 30% and 40% by 2026 and 2029 respectively for women in senior executive posts as defined under the collective agreement.

For the 2023 baseline year, the percentage of women among all senior executives is 20%, and the percentage of men among all senior executives is 80%.

Arkema France does not have governing bodies as defined under Article L. 23-12-1 of the French Commercial Code, including non-salaried persons.