Technip and EDGE Certified Foundation announced on January 22 that Technip in Brazil, in France and in Italy, including flexible pipe manufacturing plants in Brazil and France and Group’s headquarters, have been certified to the EDGE (Economic Dividends for Gender Equality) global standard for gender equality in the workplace.

EDGE is the leading global assessment methodology and business certification standard for gender equality applicable across all industries and countries. This independent certification, awarded by a third party auditor, underlines Technip’s commitment to Gender Diversity as one of the strategic priorities and showcases Technip’s dedication to encouraging and valuing diversity as a key business success driver. As stated by Thierry Pilenko, Technip Chairman & CEO: “Gender diversity is absolutely strategic for the Group. We have to give the same opportunities to our women and our men. It is part of our inclusive work culture at Technip which helps us make better decisions and build creative balanced project teams. This means more growth and a strong differentiator in the long term to take Technip even further”.

For the past few months, Technip in Brazil, France and Italy have gone through a comprehensive analysis of the company’s policies, practices and data in terms of gender equality as well as a survey among all their employees. “We are delighted to be the first company in Brazil, France and Italy, but also the first in our industry to be EDGE certified. Being able to attract and retain diverse, skilled and talented people is key to Technip’s success. We strive to foster a work environment where all employees – men and women – are valued and encouraged to reach their full potential” said Katrine Sharp, Vice President Group Gender Diversity.

Technip has made significant progress in gender diversity over the past years, especially with the creation of a governance structure with a Gender Diversity steering committee and an advisory committee, the organization of its first global Gender Diversity forum and the work with EDGE in Brazil, France and Italy. It is planned to include further Group’s countries in the EDGE assessment and certification process throughout 2015.

“The EDGE Certification process uses an evidence-based approach to identify not only the availability of a company’s policies and practices to foster gender equal workplaces, but also how they are used by its employees and what is their impact on building a gender-balanced talent pipeline from the operational level all the way up to the Board level,” said Aniela Unguresan, co-founder of EDGE Certified Foundation. “At the same time, it allows companies to adopt a robust workforce analytics approach on which to base their gender diversity strategies and priorities, in line with their overall talent strategy. Technip is a true example of authentic commitment. It is clear engagement from leaders in the company who walk the talk and understand the link to business success and sustainable business change.”

About EDGE Certification

EDGE is the leading global assessment methodology and business certification standard for gender equality. The EDGE assessment methodology was developed by the EDGE Certified Foundation and launched at the World Economic Forum in 2011. EDGE Certification has been designed to help companies not only create an optimal workplace for women and men, but also benefit from it. EDGE stands for Economic Dividends for Gender Equality and is distinguished by its rigor and focus on business impact. The methodology uses a business, rather than theoretical approach that incorporates benchmarking, metrics and accountability into the process. It assesses policies, practices and numbers across five different areas of analysis: equal pay for equivalent work, recruitment and promotion, leadership development training and mentoring, flexible working and company culture. EDGE Certification has received the endorsement of business, government and academic leaders from around the world. To learn more about it, visit edge-cert.org and @EDGE_CERT