Communications agency Havas Group, has decided to take a step forward in light of International Women’s Day and announce the launch of Femmes Forward, a program intended to help female employees of the company get the training they need in order to accelerate their ascension to executive roles.

Recognising women’s worth, Havas Group has designed a unique program that combines leadership awareness, development leveraging, skills-based training and mindfulness exercises. Within the program, women have the chance to take part in presentations and conversations and come in contact with important people within the company or industry.

As Yannick Bolloré, CEO of Havas Group says, "Women make up almost 60% of Havas Group’s employee population. I want Havas to become the destination where women can grow their careers. Femmes Forward is just one of our initiatives to make Havas a diverse and inclusive workplace and I am really excited about the positive impact it is going to bring to our female talent pool.”

London and New York were the first places where the program came into fruition in the first two months of the year, with a total of 40 employees in managing positions taking part from various parts of the business. What Havas Group is attempting to do is particularly important as this program introduces to the business world something that in higher education, specifically in universities like Standford and Harvard, has become the norm. To ensure that more women will aspire to higher positions, guidance and support should be given in order to improve their confidence and make achieving a role on the board seem like a tangible, realistic goal.

This is only the beginning, as Havas Group has declared the continuation of this program in the following months since according to Patti Clarke, chief talent officer of Havas Group, “Although we have increased the number of women on our executive and operating committees, we noticed that at the senior manager/director level, women weren’t being promoted at the same pace as men. We committed to changing that trend. Femmes Forward is designed to involve, engage and empower women within our organisation and accelerate the progression of their careers.” 

Havas Group additionally, in the context of this initiative, went so far as to donate in the name of Femmes Forward to the Global Fund for Women, an organisation fighting for women’s rights and for women’s equality.  

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