Alcatel-Lucent’s StrongHer Initiative Wins 2014 GEM-TECH Global Achiever Award
ITU and UN Women have named Alcatel-Lucent’s (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU) StrongHer initiative one of the six winners of the 2014 Gender Equality Mainstreaming – Technology (GEM-TECH) Award, recognizing outstanding achievements and commitment to gender empowerment. Presentation of the award will take place at the GEM-TECH Gala Dinner and award ceremony in Busan, South Korea today. The winners of this inaugural award were selected from over 360 nominations received.
StrongHer is a grassroots movement launched in January 2011 by six female employees working in Alcatel-Lucent in France. The goal is to help female employees unleash their potential and amplify their contribution to business. The Alcatel-Lucent employee network for gender diversity aims to take action to increase female representation at all levels and job functions in the company.
The gender empowerment program offers networking opportunities, personal development, gender awareness, a think tank on leadership and management, exposure to diverse role models for both women and men, and business contacts with other companies in the industry – in particular, Alcatel-Lucent’s customers and partners.
Key Facts:
- StrongHer’s goal is to unleash the potential of female employees and amplify their contributions to business. The movement develops online and real-life events & content in three areas:
- SmartHer: Fosters co-development & professional skills and spreads business & gender awareness on social norms and behaviors that are “expected” from women and men with the aim of helping both women and men feel engaged in their life & career choices.
- LeadHer: Support for women to ‘step up and dare to ask’, to be visible and vocal on their career aspirations and achievements, and give them opportunities to meet and become role models.
- BroadHer: Offer networking opportunities to expand the vision of women in business including the possibilities inside and outside of Alcatel-Lucent.
- 2014 is the year of Engagement. In its fourth year, StrongHer takes Alcatel-Lucent one step further in gender diversity engagement:
- Engagement via renewed and expanded executive sponsorship, through business events and the launch of “KIWe” (Knowledge, Information & Wisdom for employees), an innovative approach to mentoring
- Exposure via active participation of StrongHer members in major global events and initiatives (StrongHer Awards, Women@innovation at Bell Lab’s Future X days, and Global Summit for Women).
- In the first half of 2014, 4 StrongHer global online events were organized as well as 22 local events in 7 countries on all continents.
Quotes:
Ms. Virginie Gervais-Bazin, StrongHer Co-founder and Board Member, External Relations, Alcatel-Lucent France, said: “Alcatel-Lucent, as many ICT companies, is challenged to make the role of women more prominent. For many different reasons, girls are not encouraged to pursue a scientific and engineering education, or even to express their ambitions about it. At Alcatel-Lucent, we have embarked on a number of actions and initiatives to work on this challenge. StrongHer is recognized for its global achievements enabling female talents to thrive in a still very male dominated environment. As a firm believer in gender equality, we are convinced that our efforts further increase the awareness of women’s representation at all levels and job functions in the company.”
Alcatel-Lucent adheres to the principles of inclusivity worldwide, with an initial focus on gender diversity at the global level. As a global company with a workforce spread over 3 continents, Alcatel-Lucent is dedicated to building and deploying the digital networks and tools for use by men and women alike.
About Gender Equality Mainstreaming – Technology (GEM-TECH) Award 2014
GEM-TECH is an annual special achievement award for outstanding performers and role models in Gender Equality and mainstreaming in the ICT industry.
ABOUT ALCATEL-LUCENT (EURONEXT PARIS AND NYSE: ALU)
We are at the forefront of global communications, providing products and innovations in IP and cloud networking, as well as ultra-broadband fixed and wireless access to service providers and their customers, and to enterprises and institutions throughout the world. Underpinning us in driving the industrial transformation from voice telephony to high-speed digital delivery of data, video and information is Bell Labs, an integral part of the Group and one of the world’s foremost technology research institutes, responsible for countless breakthroughs that have shaped the networking and communications industry. Our innovations have resulted in our Group being recognized by Thomson Reuters as a Top 100 Global Innovator, as well as being named by MIT Technology Review as amongst 2012’s Top 50 “World’s Most Innovative Companies”. We have also been recognized for innovation in sustainability, being named Industry Group Leader in the Technology Hardware & Equipment sector in the 2014 Dow Jones Sustainability Indices review, for making global communications more sustainable, affordable and accessible, all in pursuit of the Group’s mission to realize the potential of a connected world.
With revenues of Euro 14.4 billion in 2013, Alcatel-Lucent is listed on the Paris and New York stock exchanges (Euronext and NYSE: ALU). The company is incorporated in France and headquartered in Paris.
For more information, visit Alcatel-Lucent on: http://www.alcatel-lucent.com, read the latest posts on the Alcatel-Lucent blog http://www.alcatel-lucent.com/blog and follow the Company on Twitter: http://twitter.com/Alcatel_Lucent.
