Promoting diversity and an inclusive culture
Thales operates in an ever-changing international and multicultural environment. The Group's policy on diversity and inclusion is based on the understanding that diversity is an essential source of innovation, creativity and therefore of sustainable performance.
The Group is committed to providing a safe, healthy, and inclusive work environment in which every employee matters. We support diversity in all its forms, with our primary goal being to maintain an inclusive culture throughout the Group.
Thales is resolutely committed to fighting all forms of discrimination and applies a zero tolerance principle in this regard. A digital alert platform, accessible 24/7, is available to Group employees and stakeholders worldwide, allowing them to report any instances of harassment or discrimination.
Gender balance
Thales is committed to:
- Accelerating the recruitment of women at every level of the organisation
- Promoting women to higher levels of responsibility
- Increasing the representation of women on management committees
As part of its long-standing commitment to promoting gender equality in the workplace, Thales signed a European agreement in 2009 that sets out commitments in all areas of gender equality: recruitment, career development, equal pay and work-life balance.
Women remain underrepresented in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), both at school and in the workforce, including at Thales.
Through our action plan, we pursue our efforts to increase the proportion of women in our workforce and management positions.
Performance related to gender balance
Women Inspiring Women#
In 2023, Thales strengthened its communication around female role models by launching a new communication campaign called “#WomenInspiringWomen#”. These profiles, circulated within the Group and on social networks, aim to help current and future generations to identify themselves and find their place in the field of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics).
International mentoring programme for women
To promote gender diversity and gender equality in its leadership group, and support employees' professional development, Thales launched an international mentoring programme for women several years ago, with the participation of the Group's senior management.
Ensuring equal treatment
In 2023, for the sixth year in a row, Thales has published a Gender Equality Index for its French companies with more than 50 employees. Built around five indicators, and calculated out of a total of 100 points, the index measures key gender equality data for each legal entity.
Thales also publishes the representation gaps between women and men among leadership positions in French companies with at least 1,000 employees.
To make further progress in the fight against gender discrimination and the glass ceiling in all countries where the Group operates, a global Thales Gender Equality Index was created in 2021.
The Thales Gender Equality Index is a tool for measuring the Group’s progress on gender equality. It enables the effectiveness of Group policies to be assessed, while giving greater visibility to areas that need improvement, and supporting units in identifying those aspects which require the greatest improvement. It acts as a powerful driver for concrete actions designed to ensure greater gender equality.
Fighting sexism: the #StOpE initiative
In 2019, Thales joined the #StOpE (stop everyday sexism at work) initiative alongside 56 other companies. In 2021, the outcomes of this commitment to fighting against everyday sexism were as follows:
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Training of individuals to act as leads on issues of sexual harassment and sexist conduct (nearly 100 representatives of management and the Social and Economic Committees, and more than 40 people directly involved in these issues via their roles in HR, Legal , etc.).
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Rollout of actions to raise awareness in the Group’s Global Business Units.
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Participation in the development of an online training course in partnership with other companies taking part in the #StOpE initiative, and distribution of the module to all Group employees.
In the event of any confirmed breach or violation of the non-discrimination and/or the harassment policy, corrective measures or disciplinary actions are implemented where appropriate.
Since 2019, Thales has been a signatory of the LGBT+ Commitment Charter of L'Autre Cercle (a signature renewed in 2023). The Group is committed to combating all forms of discrimination related to sexual orientation and gender identity.
Thales participated in the LGBT+ Inclusion Barometer conducted by L'Autre Cercle and IFOP in 2019, 2022, and 2024.
The Group also published a booklet and launched an e-learning module aimed at raising awareness and promoting the inclusion of LGBT+ individuals.
In Australia, Thales has joined the Pride In Diversity organisation, which provides access to training and awareness-raising resources to help create an inclusive and caring work environment.
Employees have also created LGBT+ inclusion networks in France, the UK and Australia.
Inclusion of employees with disabilities
Thales has been committed for over 30 years to the employment and integration of people with disabilities. The Group has the twofold ambition of recruiting all kinds of talent, and supporting its disabled employees.
Thales therefore strives:
- To train people in order to help them integrate into the company;
- To keep disabled employees at work, and develop their skills;
- Develop partnerships with the adapted and protected employment sector (STAP in French)
In France, Thales has had a dedicated structure for over 30 years to address the employment of people with disabilities, called 'Mission Insertion,' with a network of disability referents at each site, and for each employment area.
Accessibility
Thales is committed to making its Group website (www.thalesgroup.com) increasingly accessible, to enable people with different disabilities to navigate around the site and interact with content and applications.
Thales has audited its website in accordance with the French Reference requirements for improving accessibility (Référentiel Général d’Amélioration de l’Accessibilité - RGAA), version 4.0.
Employment rate of people with disabilities in France in 2022.
Intergenerational diversity
Thales attracts many young graduates, and is ranked highly every year among their preferred places to work.
At the same time, the Group strives to maintain a wide representation of ages among its employees, believing in the benefits of combining the complementary experiences and perspectives of different generations.
Thales has long pursued a dynamic policy of integrating young people onto the workforce. The Group maintains its commitment to this integration through a high level of work-study recruitment and internships.
In France, Thales signed 1,708 work-study contracts and 1,459 internship contracts in 2021. Globally, nearly 4,349 young people have been offered an internship or a work-study contract.
In 2023, Thales ranks second on the Universum podium of the most attractive employers for engineering students in France.
In the UK, Thales continues to partner with the Prince’s Trust charity through the ‘Get Into’ programme, which aims to help young people aged 16 to 30 who are out of school or work to gain skills and experience so that they can enter or return to the workforce.
In France, Thales works with the Article 1 association, giving its employees the opportunity to mentor troubled young people. Created by the merger of two major equal-opportunity associations (Frateli and Passeport Avenir), Article 1 is working to create a society where careers, academic success and professional opportunities are not dependent on an individual’s social, economic or cultural background.
In Brazil, Thales has opened its doors to underprivileged youth by providing vocational training through the Formare charitable training programme. The partnership between Thales and Fundação Iochpe relies on volunteer employees who teach administrative and technical classes at the São Bernardo do Campo site to young people from the São Paulo metropolitan area.
Cultural diversity
With operations in 68 countries, Thales is inherently multicultural. This diversity is a source of strength, and contributes to the Group's performance by enabling it to understand the ecosystems in which it operates. Its teams often work on projects spanning multiple countries, bringing different perspectives together to generate new ideas.
Cognitive diversity
Thales strives to embrace diversity in all its forms, including less visible forms such as cognitive diversity, which encompasses neurological differences, some of which are not widely known (autism, Asperger's Syndrome, giftedness, 'dys' conditions, etc.). We believe that everyone should feel safe and respected regardless of their differences, so that they can make the best possible contribution to collective success.
In the UK and France, employees have created networks to raise awareness of the issue among employees and the wider public, and support those affected by cognitive differences.
Key documents
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PDF - 7.7 Mo Universal Registration Document 2021 (URD)
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PDF - 2.3 Mo LGBT+ booklet