Bouygues stands up for equality and gender balance

The Bouygues group believes that gender balance is a strong driver of performance and a key force for change and is therefore actively committed to promoting it through its subsidiaries. The Group is pursuing a proactive policy to boost gender equality and encourage diversity in all its businesses and at all levels in a sector that has been historically male-dominated.

WOMEN SPEAK UP


“Women speak up” is a series of videos highlighting the careers of women working in all types of professions within Bouygues group subsidiaries. Through their inspiring stories, these short films showcase the key role played by our female employees, at all levels and in all sectors, including those traditionally perceived as for men. From worksite supervision to welding, engineering and even television production, the aim of Women Speak Up is to show the experience and diversity of the women who work for Bouygues across the globe.


EQUALITY IN OUR SUBSIDIARIES

COLAS

Colas is actively committed to equal opportunities, diversity and inclusion through the Colas Foundation and its in-house network “WE Colas”. The foundation promotes the social and occupational integration of young people whereas WE Colas works to create an inclusive and balanced working environment. Together, they are taking firm action to promote gender balance and fight inequality. Through these initiatives, Colas is working to:

  • Help young women achieve professional fulfilment by supporting Rêv’Elles, a non-profit that gives them the tools to develop their potential and broaden their career prospects;
  • Raise awareness of gender stereotypes and bias through in-house events, conferences and the involvement of employees in mentoring;
  • · Encourage gender balance and equality through sport by renewing its partnership with the Sine Qua Non Run, a running race that campaigns against gender-based violence and to reclaim publics space for women.

BOUYGUES CONSTRUCTION

Bouygues Construction, which operates in a sector where women are traditionally under-represented, is very committed to gender equality in the workplace which is one of the priorities in its inclusion policy. Ambitious worldwide indicators have been set to increase the representation of women, and progress has been significant and constant for several years. This ambition is underpinned by the following actions:

  • Fighting sexism and raising awareness of bias and stereotypes through “Together Different” in-person and on-line training courses. The “Speak Up” whistleblowing unit is also available to listen to victims or witnesses of sexist behaviour;
  • Supporting women employees’ career development so that they can plan for the long term, through mentoring and co-development programmes;
  • Promoting female role models, especially through the Welink in-house network created in 2013;
  • Taking action with young people by raising awareness of technical studies and careers among girls and boys from secondary school onwards. Partnerships with non-profits such as Elles Bougent in France and the Girls Believe Academy in the UK.

BOUYGUES IMMOBILIER

Bouygues Immobilier considers respect for its people as one its core values, so that each and every one of them can develop and express their talents to the full, regardless of gender. The aim of the À part égales collective is to promote equality between women and men in the workplace and to set up tangible awareness-raising initiatives to reduce gender inequalities, by:

  • Organising regular awareness-raising events to fight sexism;
  • Making a firm commitment to parity by signing up to external initiatives, such as the “Charter of Commitment to Parity” initiated by Cercle des Femmes de l’Immobilier, which promotes lasting equality in the workplace.

EQUANS

Equans’ strength lies in the diversity, skills and engagement of its people. It firmly believes that the future of industrial professions depends on better integration of women. By promoting gender diversity within its teams, Equans aims to address today’s changing world more effectively, help to deconstruct gender stereotypes and encourage women to take up new careers:

  • The Gender+ plan engages senior management to make firm commitments to increase women’s access to careers and boost their career advancement. The aim is to reach a 20% share of female managers by 2026;
  • Seven in-house communities are committed to greater gender balance and equality;
  • Members of the Equans Executive Committee have made personal commitments to leadership development through a mixed-gender mentoring programme;
  • In the UK, Equans has created the “Women in Leadership” programme, a qualification-based course delivered by higher education establishments;
  • In France, the Electra programme aims to qualify women as building electricians. Coming from a variety of professional backgrounds, the women who complete this programme can either join Equans on completion or can continue their studies on a work/study basis.

BOUYGUES TELECOM

Bouygues Telecom places diversity and inclusion at the heart of its corporate purpose, which is: “to bring people closer together”. In the firm belief that gender diversity fosters economic and social development, Bouygues Telecom encourages this complementarity of talents in order to stimulate creativity, innovation and performance. For over 15 years, Bouygues Telecom has pursued a policy of promoting diversity, with a particular focus on gender equality. Since 2023, Bouygues Telecom has had a score of 98/100 in the Gender Equality Index. It organised a number of initiatives to mark gender balance week and International Women’s Rights Day this year:

  • A video message from Benoît Torloting, CEO of Bouygues Telecom;
  • A conference entitled “Artificial intelligence, a reflection of our sexist society”;
  • Three roundtable discussions on stereotypes and the role of women;
  • A diversity workshop to raise awareness of gender balance;
  • A networking café and a “flash” coaching session with the Bouygt’elles in-house women’s network.

TF1 GROUP

The TF1 group places social responsibility at the heart of its activities in the belief that companies must be the drivers of change. The TF1 group has put itself at the forefront of the fight for equality and diversity and is therefore fully committed to:

  • Promoting parity within its senior management teams, with an Executive Committee that is now fully gender-balanced; 56% of its members were women, and 48% of the Global Management Committee were also women in 2024;
  • Ramping-up the recruitment of women into tech professions, with an ambitious action plan launched in 2023 which resulted in 35% of new hires in the tech professions in 2024 being women, and a campaign to raise awareness of these professions among young people through the girls@tech event for secondary school girls in 2025;
  • Representing diversity on air, by showcasing female heroines in popular series such as HIP – High Intellectual Potential, Cat’s Eyes, Miss Holmes and Master Crimes, and by broadcasting major women’s sporting competitions;
  • Supporting women experts through the “Expertes à la Une” initiative, launched in 2020, which has featured over 50 inspiring women.