Developing the potential of men and women  [ Return towards  Sustainable Development  ]

Convinced that diversity is the source of creativity and dynamism, Air Liquide encourages it in all its forms: nationalities, male/female parity, skills, career paths…

As for moving toward the equal sharing of responsibilities between men and women, for example, the efforts Air Liquide has introduced over the last several years are beginning to bear fruit: women represent 19% of engineers and executives worldwide and 30% of new recruits in these categories.

The diversity of cultures is a reality too: the Group’s 200 senior managers come from 20 different countries and 85% of them have international experience. Exchanges have also been organized between subsidiaries to facilitate access to international opportunities for a certain number of employees.

Air Liquide places great importance on its employees’ professional and personal development. An annual performance review meeting allows each employee and his/her manager to evaluate his/her situation using a method standardized worldwide and based on common criteria. Over the past four years, the percentage of employees taking part in these performance reviews has increased from 60% to 71%.

For Air Liquide, diversity and equality of opportunity also means better integration of people with handicaps within its teams.

The agreement the company reached in November 2006 with social partners in France reflects this spirit. In particular, it seeks to favor the employment of people with handicaps, with the goal of integrating 25 such employees on permanent contracts by the end of 2009.

Other actions are planned, in particular to receive people with handicaps on internships or on-the-job training courses (20 people), maintaining employment, increased cooperation with aid-throughwork centers and awareness-raising operations. This approach is coordinated at a national level by the Handicap Air Liquide program.

Chapter sustainable development

Indicators and objectives Sustainable Development