Renault signs a new agreement on professional and gender equality

Confirming existing practices

The new agreement formalizes a number of practices that have been in use at the company for several years. For example, Renault applies the most favourable salary during and/or on return from parental leave, calculated on the average salary of the last three years or the annual budget in place. The agreement also firmly instils measures set out in the previous agreement, on child-minding services and 100% pay during parental leave, for example.

Gender equality and hiring more women

Consistent with the company’s policy on feminization, the agreement sets two objectives on the recruitment of women on open-ended contracts, with a target of 30% for technical and engineering staff and 50% for commercial staff. Renault is also committing to proposing at least one woman among every three applicants for senior executive positions or positions of responsibility. Lastly, the agreement provides for the introduction on an experimental basis of a mentoring program aimed at supporting the development of women at Renault.
“ We have added a gender equality component – backed by quantified indicators and objectives – to the agreement to formalize our commitments, step up our initiatives and measure their impact ,” says Jean Agulhon, Renault HR Director in France.

Social innovations consistent with new family models

The agreement extends the availability of all family-related leave (birth, adoption, death) to all civil-union or common-law couples and qualifies them for a “marriage” loan of €1,372. In another new feature, the agreement also lengthens compassionate leave, for example from three months to one year for employees taking care of a loved one with a serious illness. To foster access to training, Renault has committed to take care of €70 of the cost of child-minding (for under 12s) during training hours for single-parent families and also to provide training access to employees on long-term leave to help them continue to develop their employability.

The involvement of managers and HR staff

The company is calling on the efforts of managers and HR staff in the rollout of the agreement (gender equality in collective bodies, especially career committees; planning meetings at times that intrude less on employees’ personal and family lives; reduced business travel through the use of collaborative resources; respecting the ban on offensive or sexist comments).

Renault’s long-standing commitment to fair treatment in the workplace

Renault reasserted its commitment to fair treatment for both sexes in the workplace by joining the United Nations Global Compact in 2001 and signing the Declaration of Fundamental Employee Rights in 2004. It confirmed these commitments on February 17, 2004 with an agreement on professional gender equality and professional/private life balance, and signed the Diversity Charter in the same year. And, in tune with social trends, the company signed the Parenthood Charter in 2010.

“ With the agreement, Renault’s Human Resources Department aims to fight against lingering stereotypes about success based on a purely masculine model and break the glass ceiling to help skilled women pursue ambitious careers ,” says Jean Agulhon.