In order to meet its target of at least 25% of women in management positions by 2023, GEODIS is introducing a “parity” indicator that will be reflected in the bonus paid top managers.

“Today women are represented on all GEODIS regional management committees worldwide. We now want to go further, and so top managers who work to promote women will be rewarded as part of their annual bonuses,” said Marie-Christine Lombard, chief executive officer of GEODIS.

The new ‘Environment, Social & Governance’ (ESG) indicator, which came into effect on January 1, will account for 25% of a top manager’s annual bonus, of which one third will be dedicated to parity.

“We are pleased with the steady increase in the number of women in management positions at GEODIS, as demonstrated by the recent appointments of Shannon Leffler as executive vice president human resources for the Americas region and Antje Lochmann as the new managing director for contract logistics and freight forwarding in Germany. This reinforces our commitment to continue investing in leadership by women through programmes such as the GEEIS label1 for professional equality and diversity, which we are implementing within all the Group’s businesses,” added Mario Ceccon, group human resources director.

At the annual global GEODIS Women’s Network event in 2020, the Group pledged to increase the number of women in top management positions from 13% in 2017 to 25% by 2023.

The figure had risen to 18% by December 2020, and now stands at 20% in key positions within GEODIS.

In order to achieve this goal, Mario Ceccon, who also chairs the Women’s Network, presented the main priorities for the year 2022 to GEODIS employees who met on the occasion of the GEODIS Women’s Network Summit:

• Implementation of the bonus for parity
• Continuation of individualised support systems (training, coaching, mentoring, etc.)
• Leadership training courses
• Support for managers in identifying “potential” and building career paths
• Development of a culture of openness focusing on non-discrimination, with in particular the implementation of a worldwide training programme on “stereotypes and prejudices”

The initiatives implemented (or that continued) in 2021 include:

• A requirement for parity in the lists of candidates for recruitment and promotion
• The introduction of a minimum maternity leave, with salary paid in full for eight weeks, for all women in the Group, no matter what country they work in
• Establishment of paid paternity leave of at least two days, regardless of the country to which the employee belongs
• Mentoring programmes, primarily in the United States and Asia Pacific
•  A pilot programme for women leaders in the Northern, Central and Eastern Europe region
• An increase in the number of male “ambassadors” within the Women GEODIS Network
• Measuring changes, primarily through the GEEIS programme (4 countries awarded the label in 2021: France, Germany, Italy, Ireland).