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.”

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.

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.

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.