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Eight companies received the label, five for the first time and three for the second time. Photo: Romain Gamba 

Covid-19 did not stop the “Actions positives” ceremony from taking place at the Rotondes on Wednesday 9 December. This year, a total of eight companies were recognized for their actions to promote equality between men and women at work. "Equality between women and men is essential. It creates a link, ensures a fair system in which all can flourish and develop. It values the skills of the individual and drives us collectively to overcome stereotypes," the minister for equality between men and women, Taina Bofferding (LSAP), said while congratulating the winning companies.

From study to action plan

The programme begins with an in-depth study of the wellbeing of a company’s employees, funded by the ministry. The aim is to take a look at the status quo with regard to equal treatment, decision-making and the reconciliation of work and private life. Management, employees and the staff delegation share their experiences with an external company. The latter reviews this data and establishes a screening, from which the company will establish its action plan. At the end, the "Actions positives" label validates the actions performed. The eight companies that received the label this year are therefore those that have successfully implemented their plan. The ministry does not give any information on those companies that did not finalise one. Before the 2020 ceremony, 80 companies had participated in the program, employing 51,000 employees.

And this year, the winners are…

-Law firm Arendt & Medernach (850 employees) 

Its action plan involved the creation of an internal DNA (Diversity and Inclusion Network at Arendt), composed of a hundred volunteers that were given carte blanche to suggest innovative ideas as well as a committee to implement them. Since 2018, the firm also organises its Arendt speech contest, where a dozen teams compete on stage talking about a theme related to diversity and inclusion.

- Nursery management group Aura Group (95 employees)

For whom “gender equality begins at an early age”. The company offers job development and training opportunities to all employees, regardless of their level of education, also encouraging men to take parental leave.

- Audit firm EY Luxembourg (1,600 employees)

It has worked on building an inclusive culture. “Promoting integration, flexibility, mobility, training and development for all in order to foster equal opportunities is one of the actions for which our professionals are thankful, also giving us the opportunity to count more and more women, at every hierarchical level," the firm says.

 -Telecom operator Orange Luxembourg (150 employees)

The programme has enabled it to set up telework, develop flexible working hours and improve access to training.

-Company Polygone specialised in offering various services (230 employees)

It has put forward parental leave, telework and flexible working hours, ensures perfect fairness for managers and now wants to attract more female talent in production positions.  

Three others were recertified:

-Caceis bank (4,500 employees)

-Service company Compass Luxembourg (1,750 employees)

-Hair salon group Ferber (170 employees)

All these companies employ between 100 and 4,500 employees. For the next edition, for which it is possible to register by contacting the ministry--five or six have already done so--smaller ones are covered. The ministry stated: "We try to reach those that employ between 50 and 500 employees. By going more towards crafts and commerce. We have discussed this with the federations, including the chamber of trades.”

This article was originally published in French on Paperjam.lu and translated and edited for Delano.