Our employees, at the heart of the Air Liquide’s long-term performance
Published on April 08, 2025
6 minutes
Over 66,500 talented people make up the driving force behind Air Liquide. Spread across 60 countries, they form a team that powers the Group’s growth and performance. Every day, they are committed to serving our customers and patients as they strive to deliver useful, value-creating solutions. This commitment has its roots in a corporate culture that emphasizes employee safety, respect, ethics and engagement, and that seeks to offer everyone an environment that is conducive to success and innovation.
"Behind every innovation and every solution stand women and men who are passionate about what they do. Day in, day out, they turn ideas into reality, driving Air Liquide forward with their energy and belief. Whether they are researchers, engineers, technicians, operators, sales people, or nurses, whether they operate on the front line or behind the scenes, they all share the same commitment to provide our customers and patients with effective and useful solutions. Through my interactions since joining the Group in September 2023, I have come to understand the power of the Air Liquide community. It inspires me and strengthens my belief that, together, with all our differences, we can take action for the future."
Amelia Irion
Vice President, Group Human Resources and member of the Air Liquide Executive Committee
BeActEngage, a framework to build a shared culture
In a constantly changing world of interlinked challenges and evolving work practices, it is imperative to offer our employees an environment that is safe, structured, and motivating. This sets a framework, promotes engagement, and stimulates innovation, while fostering an approach based around listening and discussion.
With this in mind, Air Liquide’s BeActEngage framework, created by and for employees, unites everyone around a shared culture. It is founded on three pillars:
- Be - Live our fundamental values: safety, ethics, and longterm performance, that have always been and will always be the Group's foundations
- Act - Act responsibly and nimbly to deliver concrete results
- Engage - Bring people together by inspiring and helping them develop their talents, encouraging everyone to express themselves and make an active contribution to individual and collective success.
My Voice, an annual survey that lets employees have their say
Central to Air Liquide’s long-term performance strategy, listening to and talking with personnel play a key role in improving employee experience and engagement. Each year, the My Voice survey gathers employee feedback to gain a better understanding of expectations and identify actions to carry out at every level of the company. Paying attention to the employee experience is essential to loyalty and fulfilment, but also supports continuous improvements for Air Liquide. My Voice therefore helps drive our collective performance while serving the goal of having engaged employees and satisfied customers.
Diversity: helping drive the Group’s performance
Air Liquide seeks to promote diversity throughout its workforce, reflecting its belief that this is a way to stimulate innovation, strengthen employee engagement, and boost the Group’s long-term performance. As part of its ADVANCE strategic plan announced in 2022, the Group reaffirmed its ambition to reach 35% women among engineers and managers by 2025. This ambition is being pursued through a broad approach and targeted action plans, tailored to local contexts. From inclusive recruitment to strong leadership commitment, and through training initiatives and proactive communication campaigns in schools and universities, Air Liquide is working on all aspects of its organization to achieve significant progress. All while ensuring that skills and qualifications remain at the heart of every recruitment decision. In 2024, the proportion of women among engineers and managers in the Group reached over 33%, representing a 1% increase year-on-year.
Creating a more inclusive work environment
Air Liquide is committed to creating a safe and inclusive work environment, in which every employee can benefit from fair working conditions. This commitment is even more important for female employees at operational sites, for whom the Group has established standards to support its entities in terms of safety, comfort and well-being, while respecting local regulations and cultural specificities. Concrete measures have been taken around the world, such as providing women with adapted personal protective equipment, creating dedicated areas for greater comfort and privacy, and implementing security measures for women working at night. In addition to promoting safety and well-being in the workplace, Air Liquide is committed to supporting its female employees at every stage of their careers and during key moments of their personal lives. The Group supports parents by offering a 14-week fully paid maternity leave, accompanied by support before, during and after the leave to ensure a smooth transition, without any impact on their career. By implementing these standards, Air Liquide aims to attract and retain talents by creating an environment where everyone can develop their full potential serenely.
Women’s PPE to support inclusion and performance
Given the challenges associated with diversity, providing women with personal protective equipment (PPE) designed for female bodies might seem like a minor point. Yet, it represents a very significant advance! Air Liquide has made this commitment to ensure the safety and comfort of women working on its sites.
Airgas, the Group’s U.S. subsidiary, turned this symbol of inclusivity into reality by launching PPE for women in the fall of 2024. The new range includes better-fitting gloves and welding jackets that are now available to the subsidiary’s female employees as well as to women welders outside the Group via the Airgas online store and sales outlets. Users have praised the benefits of the new PPE, citing improved safety, enhanced work performance, and more comfort, all of which instills greater self-confidence. In China, Air Liquide has also developed a PPE range for female employees that is available at all sites across the country. All Group entities are now rolling out this initiative, which represents a practical step towards a safer and more inclusive work environment.
“I am an engineer & I belong here at Air Liquide. My time in the company has been rewarding, with great opportunities for career growth. I encourage every woman at Air Liquide to go after what they want, no matter the obstacles. There’s so much strength, courage, and talent within us. Take chances and surprise yourself, as you’ll never know what you can achieve until you try. Embrace your strengths and confidently pursue your goals.
”
Mbali Mashinini
Senior Manager Mechanical, Air Liquide South Africa
Care coverage for all employees
With a presence in 60 countries, Air Liquide has to deal with very different care coverage situations for its employees. To offer all employees the same conditions, beyond local legislation, the Group pledged to provide a common basis of care coverage for all employees by 2025, including life insurance, health coverage and a minimum of 14 weeks paid maternity leave. In 2023, 78% of teams benefited from a common basis of care coverage, rising to 100% in 2024. In some regions, this offer has had a significant impact. In the United States, Germany, Latin America or Indonesia, for example, where welfare benefits vary widely, offering the same coverage to everyone, regardless of their role, makes Air Liquide a more attractive employer.
Our commitment extends beyond our walls
Through its Foundation, Air Liquide has supported for over 15 years projects in fundamental research respiratory diseases, solidarity and job integration, particularly in technical fields. Harnessing the Group’s strengths – particularly its expertise, teams, and local presence – the Foundation is tasked with taking on social challenges in which it has clear legitimacy and can have a socially beneficial impact. Individually, Group employees may volunteer to dedicate a portion of their working hours to various social or societal projects via the Citizen at Work program, set up in 2022. As of today, 87% of our employees have access to volunteering opportunities thanks to this initiative.
