In Brazil, Renault confirms its commitment to women

The second Women’s Forum Brasil will be held on 17 and 18 June at the Hyatt Hotel in São Paulo. There will be around 40 speakers, who will talk about the growing role of Brazilian women in the country’s economy. The forum will be opened by the Brazilian environment minister, Izabella Teixeira, and attended by well-known people, like graffiti artist Anarkia Boladona, whose street art is dedicated to women’s rights, will attend. A total of 500 participants are expected.

Carlos Ghosn, Chairman and CEO of Renault, will speak at 12.45 pm on June 18 at a question and answer session on growth, the BRIC economies and sustainable development. A delegation of 29 men and women from the group, including Olivier Murguet, Chairman of Renault do Brasil, will also take part in the discussions.

Women@renault: an extremely practical action plan for the advancement of women

As part of its CSR policy, Renault has undertaken many actions to promote women in Brazil and across the group, supported by the women@renault program.

The program has a human resources component to attract and retain talented women: hiring, career advancement, leadership, professional development and the work/life balance. The number of women in Renault do Brasil increases every year. In 2012, Renault do Brasil employed 647 women, which was 10% of the workforce. It is noteworthy that 22% of these women are white collars and 10% are managers.

The women@renault program also has a social networking component. Over a 2.0 platform, the 3,500 members of the network chat informally, take part in debates, test drive and benefit from training, particularly in women’s leadership. The network already has 300 members in Brazil.

The renault do brasil institute: precious support for women from the borda viva community

Beyond the active policy for employees, Renault do Brasil runs many actions for Brazilian women through its local foundation. These include support for the Borda Viva Association. To contribute to the financial independence and skills development of the members of the Borda Viva community, who live next to the Curitiba plant, the Renault do Brasil institute has set up a sewing workshop, a bakery, a school canteen and two nurseries. Renault do Brasil and Sol Tecnica, one of its tier-one suppliers, have outsourced to the sewing workshop the production of anti-hail nets to protect the fleet of new vehicles. Apprentices were hired to cut the fabric, taking them out at least temporarily from a daily life where violence and trafficking are rife. Cooking and educational workshops are also organized to help the women integrate into society. And 200 meals are served every day to children under 6 from the community’s most disadvantaged families, to provide the best possible conditions for them to learn in. Almost 7,000 people a year benefit from the projects run jointly by the Renault do Brasil institute and the Borda Viva Association.

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About Renault in Brazil

Renault do Brasil is an industrial and commercial subsidiary, 80.29% owned by COFAL (a financial holding company owned by Renault), 19.56% by Renault SAS and 0.15% by the State of Paraná.

A priority market alongside Russia and India, Brazil has been the Renault group’s second-biggest market since 2011. Renault is pursuing a strategy of ambitious growth in Brazil based on three focuses: increase production capacity, expand the network, and renew and extend the product range.

Number-five automotive brand in Brazil (after Fiat, Volkswagen, General Motors and Ford), Renault achieved market share of 6.6% at end-2012 (241,594 units), up from 5.7% in 2011 (194,300 units), which is volume growth of 24.3% between 2011 and 2012, four times higher than the market.