Schneider Electric, the global leader in the digital transformation of energy management and automation, has been recognized as a Best Practice Leader in European Women on Boards Gender Diversity Index (GDI) Report ─ in the top 20 of large European companies and the top 5 in France. Also Schneider Electric has been named the leading company in its sector.
The 2021 report studied 668 European companies, most of which are publicly quoted and listed in STOXX Europe 600. The resulting GDI is an aggregate indicator that reflects the share of women in all leadership positions, on boards, in executive functions and in board committees. The value of 1 represents a situation of gender equality in leadership positions.
In 2021, the average GDI of the full sample of companies was 0.59 points, with just 84 companies reaching a GDI of 0.8 or more. Schneider Electric scored 0.92 points, improving on its 2020 GDI by 0.14 points.
The European Women on Boards GDI Report shows that change in corporate leadership is slow and that further action is required to achieve acceptable levels of representation of women in decision-making. Schneider Electric is committed to fostering diversity, equity and inclusion among its workforce and its 2025 sustainability goals include targets to boost the representation of women from new hires to senior leaders. Last year, its Executive Committee, which is responsible for the day-to-day management of the company, passed a gender-diversity milestone: 44% of its members are now female.
The European Women on Boards GDI Report aims to promote gender equality in corporate leadership and is supported by the European Union’s Rights, Equality and Citizenship Program and produced with Kantar Public, a leading data, insights and consulting company.
For details of other recent awards related to gender diversity in corporate leadership, including those from WeQual and the Financial Times, click here.