Gender equality: Eau de Paris in action
How can we go further in terms of gender equality at Eau de Paris, the public water utility of the Blue Community / Blue City of Paris? How can we promote gender diversity in a very male-dominated profession? How can we avoid gender stereotypes? In response to these challenges, and in the run-up to 8 March, International Women’s Rights Day, Eau de Paris, which has long been committed to these issues, is launching a new action plan. Corinne Féliers, Director of Research and Development and Water Quality, and Gwenaël de Conti, Director of Human Resources, who are both in charge of this initiative, outline the main lines of the plan.
The world of water is perceived as very male-dominated. Do you share this view?
Gwenaël de Conti (G.C.): The fact is that most – if not all – of our jobs are done by men, particularly as distribution technicians, maintenance technicians or maintenance and protection workers. These jobs, which can have a physical dimension, have historically been male-dominated. We want to degender them – to show that they are open to women and that women can succeed in them. The ultimate goal is to achieve gender diversity throughout the company.
How can we accelerate this process?
Corinne Féliers (C.F.): We are looking at a number of ways to promote gender diversity from 2025 onwards: making technical professions more attractive to women, with female employees taking part in forums, speaking at schools and even sponsoring university courses. We could also look at recruitment practices: for example, reformulating our job advertisements to avoid self-censorship by female candidates, reviewing our own reading of CVs and ensuring a gender balance in applications.
There is a central theme in your action plan: changing attitudes. It’s all about changing attitudes, which can be difficult…
C. F. : That doesn’t make it any less important! And the best way to do that is to get people to ask themselves questions, and to give them frameworks and tools for reflection. This is what we are trying to do with the ‘Fresque du sexisme’: small group workshops with role-playing exercises to re-examine cultures and perceptions. We’re also creating spaces for open dialogue through various workshops and webinars, the first of which will be on women’s health on 6 March.
G. C. : The aim of this approach is to help each of us become aware of the sexist stereotypes that can persist in a work group and, more broadly, in our society, and to promote the behaviours we can adopt to overcome them in a professional context. We also want to encourage employee initiatives through an internal call for projects to enrich the programme. That’s another way of building support.
Your action plan takes a long-term view, looking ahead to 2032. What are your ambitions for the next few years?
G. C. : We already have a target for increasing the proportion of women in the workforce: to exceed the current rate of 32% and reach at least 35%. And to open up the professions, especially the more technical ones, by continuing to provide both women and men with a framework and a working environment where each can flourish with confidence and recognition.
C. F.: Through this approach, we also want to develop our mutual knowledge and solidarity so that we can work better together.
Diversity, inclusion, so that we can work better together. Does all this make the company more efficient?
C. F.: Absolutely. Diversity of viewpoints and sensibilities is always a source of richness and strengthens our ability to innovate and find solutions. By valuing different approaches and points of view, we can make decisions that are broader, more relevant and more effective.
G. C. : I would add the importance of fairness and recognition as vectors of commitment and therefore performance for employees. A sense of injustice, on the other hand, is a powerful demotivating factor.
Finally, what would you say to a woman who might be reluctant to enter a profession perceived as male?
G. C. : First of all, that whatever the profession, it needs women, because it’s a profession that thrives not only on a diversity of skills, but also on a diversity of visions and sensibilities. Secondly, that desire, passion and curiosity come first: gender shouldn’t be an obstacle.
C.F.: Quite simply: go for it, you’re legitimate! You can have doubts because you’re not completely convinced by the job, but never because you’re a woman.
