Michel Landel, CEO, Sodexo - Building Gender Balanced Business

“If we want things to move, you have to impose some kind of target or goal. The world is driven by men, if we don’t push them to yield power, it will take generations.”

Q: Sodexo has been active on rebalancing its gender mix for a number of years. What business benefits do you attribute to these efforts?

Michel Landel (ML): We’ve created a real momentum, especially with those of our clients who are very interested in the gender balance issue themselves. In addition, we are realizing the benefits in terms of our own development. We are better positioned to react faster, solve problems more effectively, and pursue exceptional opportunities for the future. Also, we can see the positive impact of our approach on bids that increasingly include criteria on gender issues. As we improve in this area, our bids are better received. We’re even starting to be seen as a benchmark. It’s a significant competitive advantage for us. We win contracts thanks to our efforts. Client companies look at us more favourably, and there are networks of people being created among companies that share these efforts.

Q: What challenges have you faced in implementing gender initiatives?

ML: It’s complicated because it is centred around individuals. Some people ask me what is the ROI of diversity? It is not an easy question to answer, and often has something philosophical about it. This economic crisis will certainly show which companies actually believe enough in the issue to stay on track with their efforts.

Q: Do you think it is easier in some cultures than in others?

ML: I think the US is ahead on these topics because it is a country of immigrants. And it is a subject that companies have been thinking about for a long time. In many ways their success is due to policies such as affirmative action that hold organizations accountable under the law. If you don’t force things through, it is hard.

Q: Are you in favour of quotas?

ML: Yes. If we want things to move, you have to impose some kind of target or goal. The world is driven by men, if we don’t push them to yield power, it will take generations. They feel that they have something to lose in the evolution of women. This is not applicable internally to companies, but is certainly relevant in the political sphere.

Q: What targets have you set at Sodexo?

ML: Our biggest challenge is to move women into operational management roles. We are working hard on this particular topic, and are keeping a strict review of what kind of experience our new recruits receive. Of our 250 top executives, 18% are women and our objective is to increase this to 22% by 2012. The targets are not (yet) linked to incentive compensation, but we may introduce that soon.

Q: Are managers afraid of the gender debate?

ML: It’s a problem of education. Until you educate managers about gender, they just don’t see it. I am still surprised by the reactions of even very young men, who can be surprisingly traditional. I even find that some women are even more opposed to the subject than some of the men. They had to fight so hard to get where they are that they don’t want it linked to their sex. Change can be challenging for everyone and that is why building a culture of education, understanding and awareness is critical.

“I am very optimistic. I think women are increasingly in positions of power. They are more and more determined. They are more accepted, more visible in important roles, and they are such high performers both politically and economically.”

Q: What has been Sodexo’s journey on gender?

ML: If I hadn’t been determined on this subject, it would have gone nowhere. My colleagues smiled at the beginning, thinking I was importing political correctness from the US. But we have worked at educating and demonstrating that we live in a world with two genders. And I have not let it go. We started with the Executive Committee, where we carried out both training and personal objectives on gender. Then all the managers that report to the members of the Executive Committee were trained as well. But still today, if I let the pressure off 30 seconds, it’s over.

Q: What is the key turning point in these approaches?

ML: You need to develop managers’ awareness – awareness is the fundamental key to improvement. They need to realise that rebalancing gender requires doing some work on themselves. There is a certain degree of willingness to put oneself into question that is required. For some people, that is harder or takes a bit more time than for others.

Q: What is your longer-term view on the evolution of this gender debate?

ML: I am very optimistic. I think women are increasingly in positions of power. They are more and more determined. They are more accepted, more visible in important roles, and they are such high performers both politically and economically. In one or two generations, I think the women role models we have today will create an entirely new situation.

I’m personally convinced that if there were more women in power there would be less war in the world. Women like power, but they like to share it. They like to be more collaborative. If there were more women in the leadership of investment banks, I’m convinced we would not be where we are today. I think the economic logic will win over on the gender issue faster than the political argument of representation. It’s inevitable – and it’s happening. Now it’s just a question of critical mass.

Click here for the WOMEN-omics interview with Angelines Basagoiti, General Manager, Sodexo Spain, Vouchers & Card Services – the first woman General Manager in the Vouchers & Card Services division.