Women's Rights Day 2022
GLS France, a committed player in the fight against stereotypes about the place of women in the transport and logistics sector
March 8, 2022 | Toulouse, France
The share of women in industry, construction, and logistics is still very low and is generally associated with many clichés. According to INSEE, of the 87 occupational groups listed, only 18 are considered to be mixed, that is with a ratio of 60% to 40% between the two sexes. The situation is particularly glaring in the industrial sector, where women are still in the minority. Nevertheless, some players stand out and implement HR policies based on total equality. This is the case at GLS France, a parcel delivery company, which promotes female role models within its corporate culture.
At GLS France, appointing women to management positions is not anecdotal. GLS has 449 women among its 1,555 employees in 140 different professions. This helps to break down stereotypes that are well established in this initially male sector.
“At GLS France, we don't make any difference, a woman is just as capable as a man of managing or driving a delivery truck. We have an HR policy that promotes talent through potential and development paths. For example, over the last six months, 40% of the profiles recruited have been women,” says Marine Drocourt, Human Resources Director at GLS France. “15% of GLS branch managers are now women. The aim is to continue this development, especially as women's management style is very popular within GLS.”
Some examples of the HR policy implemented at GLS France:
- For the same job, the same pay. Is the motto of the company, which is convinced that the feminisation of jobs also involves pay.
- Potential managers' pathway. Each year, 100 to 150 employees are audited for 20 management positions. GLS is then involved with these aspiring managers in their training and development.
- “Well-being” training for employees on addictology. Since its implementation in 2019, 301 GLS employees have been trained on addictology related to night work and on improving their lifestyle (diet, sleep, etc.).
- Prevention days on the different sites. The next ones will focus on stress management with workshops on sophrology.
GLS's commitment to women will be strengthened in 2022. Partnerships with associations that work to reintegrate women into society are currently being signed. GLS will thus welcome women in difficulty to enable their professional reintegration.
Examples of women's portraits at GLS France
Tatiana Petit, Head of the Compiègne and Amiens branches
Astrid Grelinaud, Operational Manager of Bordeaux and Damazan
Tatiana Petit, joined GLS more than a year ago and manages a dozen employees, most of them men.
According to Tatiana, “The management style of women is like an iron fist in a velvet glove.” But she is adamant about not pitting women against men in her management style.
Astrid Grelinaud joined GLS in 2015 and manages a mixed team of 7 people.
For her, as for Olympe de Gouge, “Women have the right to climb the scaffold; they must have the right to climb the platform.” She completely recognises herself in this quote. At GLS, she started at the bottom of the ladder and worked her way up successfully.
“Management must be flexible yet firm, and above all fair and exemplary.”
About GLS
GLS Group is one of the largest self-reliant parcel services providers in Europe, with a strong local presence in almost all countries across the continent. It also operates through wholly-owned subsidiaries in Canada and on the USA’s West Coast within one GLS network. This allows GLS to seamlessly connect its customers and communities with millions of parcels and stories every day. GLS is proactive regarding network management, connecting its markets flexibly and agilely to respond to their fast-changing and dynamic nature. The company takes pride in providing its customers across about 40 countries with high-quality service that best suits their needs. The GLS network consists of over 120 hubs and more than 1,600 depots, supported by approximately 35,000 final-mile delivery vehicles, 4,700 long-distance trucks and more than 42,000 Parcel shops. This offers network resilience, superior flexibility, and extended reach. In 2022/23, GLS generated record revenues of 5.4 billion euros and delivered 862 million parcels across the markets. For more information, visit
https://gls-group.com/
GLS France Media Contact
communication@gls-france.com