International Women’s Day: supported by the Covéa Foundation

“International Women’s Day aims to highlight the inequalities and challenges facing women all over the world. It provides the opportunity to celebrate the progress we have made, while also calling for action to counter the inequalities that remain,” states Aude Messin.

“The Covéa Foundation is a full supporter of women’s rights. As part of its focus on social and human inclusion, it has made women’s rights one of its three central prioties, taking action to promote gender equality and combat violence and discrimination in all forms.”

 

Cette journée vise à mettre en lumière les inégalités et les défis auxquels les femmes sont confrontées à travers le monde. Elle offre une occasion de célébrer les progrès accomplis, tout en appelant à l'action contre les inégalités qui persistent. La Fondation Covéa s'inscrit pleinement dans cette démarche. Dans le cadre de sa mission d'inclusion sociale et humaine, elle consacre les droits des femmes comme l'un de ses trois piliers fondamentaux à travers deux actions : la promotion de l'égalité entre les femmes et les hommes, et la lutte contre toute forme de violence ou de discrimination à l'égard des femmes.

Nous soutenons de nombreuses initiatives, notamment la Fondation des Femmes, un partenariat majeur qui permet d'agir sur un large éventail d'actions et sur tout le territoire français. Je peux aussi citer "Un abri qui sauve des vies", qui met en relation des femmes victimes de violence intraconjugale et souhaitant quitter leur domicile avec des particuliers prêts à les héberger en urgence et pour une période temporaire.

Nous souhaitons également être présents auprès des femmes dans leur vie professionnelle, car l'indépendance économique est une condition sine qua non d'égalité. Par exemple, nous apportons notre concours à "Capital Filles", qui s'adresse à des jeunes lycéennes issues des milieux défavorisés des zones rurales et qui sont accompagnées par une marraine dans leur orientation scolaire puis professionnelle. Pour finir, j'aimerais citer "Force Femmes", qui s'adresse aux femmes de plus de 45 ans sans emploi, à qui l'on propose un accompagnement personnalisé dans leur parcours de retour à l'emploi, voire vers la création d'entreprise.

Le groupe Covéa a démontré constamment et de longue date son engagement en faveur de l'égalité entre les femmes et les hommes. Réjouissons-nous de l'impact de nos actions, mais continuons à nous mobiliser. Pour finir, j'aimerais citer Gisèle Halimi, qui s'adresse aux femmes, donc 50 % de l'humanité, et qui nous dit : "Se battre est un devoir, tendre la main aux autres femmes une responsabilité, et convaincre les hommes de la justesse de la cause une nécessité."

 

The Covéa Foundation partners non-profits promoting women’s rights

Over the years, the Covéa Foundation has formed close ties with non-profit organisations involved in a range of projects supporting women’s rights. These targeted initiatives cover a number of areas, such as combating violence, isolation and financial independence. Its partner organisations include:

  • Fondation des Femmes, a leading foundation in France for women’s rights and combating violence against women.
  • Un abri qui sauve des vies, which puts women who have been victims of domestic violence and want to leave their home in contact with individuals offering temporary emergency accommodation.
  • Capital Filles, a non-profit that promotes equal opportunity by helping young women from deprived and rural areas choose the right training and career pathway. Its aim is to enable them to find out about future opportunities, particularly in the traditionally male-dominated fields of science, technology and industry.
  • Force Femmes is a charity that provides free support for unemployed women aged over 45 with getting back into work or setting up their own business.
  • The Covéa Foundation also recently started supporting Marraine et Vous, which works to combat isolation among vulnerable women who are pregnant or already mothers.

 

Engagement at the heart of our company policy

In addition to the work done by the Foundation, Covéa’s involvement is also reflected by its company policy. We champion women’s careers and their development within the company. Our gender balance agreement entails a series of measures to foster equality, such as increasing the hiring of women in permanent management roles, building up the number of women in certain job categories, and signing up to the Parenthood Charter to provide a better work-life balance.

54,6%

Percentage of women in managerial positions at Covéa at the end of 2022

In January, Covéa signed up to the #StOpE charter to stop everyday sexism in the workplace as part of its planned measures in 2024 to promote gender equality in the workplace. The #StOpE initiative – launched in 2018 by the Association Française des Managers de la Diversité (French association of diversity management professionals) – aims to stamp out sexism in the workplace by taking concrete measures and sharing best practices between members. By signing the charter, Covéa has ramped up its commitment to addressing this issue.

Women's rights: Covéa joins the #StOpE initiative to combat everyday sexism in the workplace (659)

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Finally, the Cov&elles women’s network plays a key role in developing women’s career paths in all jobs and at all levels. With over 900 members, the network is open to everyone – male or female – and spearheads a number of projects centred around three main themes: 

  • Encouraging the promotion of women within the Group;
  • Preventing and combating sexist and sexual behaviours;
  • Raising awareness about gender stereotypes.

 

Over the years, the Covéa Group has consistently demonstrated its commitment to promoting gender equality. We are delighted with the impact of the measures we have taken so far, but will continue to work hard for this cause,” concludes Aude Messin.