Orange is partnering the new Diversity Club at the Women’s Forum, which will be taking place in Deauville from October 15 to 17;

Orange will present exclusive research on women engineers in France, Mutationelles 09. For five years now, Orange has been the Women’s Forum’s “founding partner”, with the following theme for this year’s event: “Think again, think ahead!” Delphine Ernotte, Orange’s commercial director in France, will be taking part in the roundtable on Saturday October 17: “From new technologies to new societies?”

Orange participating in the creation of the Diversity Club
This year, Orange is proud to be involved in creating the Diversity Club, which will bring together the businesses that are most committed to promoting Diversity. This Club aims to showcase market best practices and identify their key success factors in order to distribute them as widely as possible for the benefit of all society. “This new Diversity Club is making it possible to capitalize on women's perceptions, ideas and drive to promote gender parity and diversity in general within businesses. The talented individuals assembled for the Women’s Forum make up a very privileged audience for embarking on this initiative”, confirms Laurent Depond, head of diversity for Orange.

Mutationnelles 2009: x-ray of women engineers in France
The groundbreaking research carried out for Orange provides detailed information on women engineers and scientists in France in 2009, as well as the underlying trends that are taking shape for this population in terms of training, employment, compensation and career choice, even company choice:

2008 saw a slight drop in the percentage of women engineers graduating in France for the first time, falling to 17.4%;
However, the research shows that training as an engineer strengthens the employability of young graduates and they are able to get their first jobs quicker than their male classmates;
They more frequently choose sectors that are in line with their interests for sustainable development and R&D, increasingly moving away from ICT despite the career opportunities offered by this sector (only 13% of the engineers specialized in this area are women);
Lastly, the gap between women and men in terms of the type of responsibilities held within the business can still be seen, and is even widening: less management, budgetary responsibilities, contribution to taking strategic decisions or international responsibilities for women, who are positioned in most cases on projects, innovation or functional responsibilities;
Are these choices of activities linked to a stronger focus on the work-home life balance and working environment than the appeal of responsibilities? The comparison between men and women in Mutationalles 09 provides explanations for this. This study more than ever highlights the reasons behind Orange’s commitment to encouraging young girls and women to focus on scientific and technical sectors, informing them about the professions that are open to them – and in particular as engineers.
Orange’s participation in the Women’s Forum represents an opportunity to witness the strategy rolled out within the Group to promote gender parity, combat the glass ceiling, self-censorship and stereotypes that prevent many women from accessing positions with responsibilities.