Colas Rail is committed to fighting against ordinary sexism at work by signing the #StOpE initiative

Colas Rail is committed to fighting against ordinary sexism at work by signing the #StOpE initiative

At Colas Rail, we care about our employees and their wellbeing is our priority. Therefore, on January 25, Colas Rail joined the #StOpE initiative, initiated by Colas, becoming the first railway group to join this movement dedicated to fighting against ordinary sexism in the workplace.

#StOpE: an inclusive initiative

Founded in 2018, the #StOpE initiative, led by the French Association of Diversity Managers, brings together 144 partners, mobilised to fight against “ordinary” sexism. The participants aim to permanently reduce the “so-called” ordinary sexism by deploying actions around 8 commitments:

1. Display and apply the zero-tolerance principle
2. Inform to raise awareness of sexist behaviour (actions, words, attitudes) and their impacts
3. Targeted training on obligations and good practices in the fight against ordinary sexism
4. Cascade educational tools to employees to deal with sexist behaviour in the workplace
5. Support all employees to help & prevent, identify sexist behaviour and react to ordinary sexism
6. Prevent situations of sexism and provide personalised support to victims, witnesses and decision-makers in reporting and dealing with sexist acts
7. Punish reprehensible behaviour and communicate on associated penalties
8. Measure and implement monitoring indicators to adapt the policy to fight ordinary sexism.

Promoting Diversity and Inclusion at Colas Rail

“At Colas Rail we are committed to creating an inclusive work environment where:

To achieve this, we are committed to promoting an ethical code of conduct and have zero tolerance for discrimination based on any type of diversity or identity.” – Hervé Le Joliff, CEO of Colas Rail

Colas Rail’s ambition is driven by a vast action plan:

• Examine our recruitment process Build an inclusive culture within all teams
• Train in inclusive leadership and establish an exemplary model of conduct
• Brief employees on prejudices,stereotypes and unconscious bias
• Develop a diversity network to promote diversity and highlight our diversity referents and ambassadors throughout the company

Colas, a long-time committed key player

Signing the #StOpE initiative is a new commitment for the Group.
In 2019, the Group launched a poster campaign using “shock” examples of unacceptable behaviour in the professional workplace to raise employee awareness about “ordinary” sexism. Then, in 2020, Colas became a partner of the SineQuaNon Run, a running competition against sexism in which nearly 300 employees in 15 countries took part. Finally, last year on the International Women’s Rights Day, Frédéric Gardès, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Colas Group, sent a strong message to all the teams in France and abroad, as a reminder of our commitment to not to tolerate harassment.

What about you? Do you really know what ordinary sexism means and what impact it has on victims?

Check out this video for more information

#ordinarysexism #inclusiveworkenvironment #equalopportunities