A conversation around equity with our leaders
We spoke with Mazars leaders from around the world to understand what equity means to them and learn how they #EmbraceEquity in the workplace on International Women's Day and beyond.
#EmbraceEquity on International Women’s Day 2023
Who we areDiversity and inclusionInternational Women's Day
#EmbraceEquity on International Women’s Day 2023
Improving equity remains a key topic on Forvis Mazars’ agenda, and on International Women’s Day, upcoming on 8 March, we are proud to join the global movement to celebrate women’s achievements, raise awareness about discrimination and take action to further drive gender equality and inclusion, on this day and beyond.
At Forvis Mazars, we embrace equity.
We know value for our communities, business and clients is created by embracing different perspectives, empowering our people and bringing to the table varied backgrounds, views and skills.
But equity is more than just a seat at the table; it’s about giving everyone the tools they need to be successful. And just as our people all come from unique walks of life, we acknowledge that these tools may look different from one person to another.
Therefore, we strive to put equity into practice by understanding the different dimensions of each individual and addressing the obstacles that may limit their access to opportunities and achieving their goals.
Levelling the playing field
Today, approximately 54% of degrees worldwide are granted to women [i], yet women make up only five percent [ii] of CEOs globally. This gap is not attributed to a lack of capability or drive, rather the added responsibilities that women often take on. According to the UN Women ‘World survey on the role of women in development: Report of the Secretary-General’, women perform three times more unpaid work than men. [iii]
In addition, women face a number of barriers attributed to persistent gender-based myths, as we analysed in our recent study, ‘Myths and barriers preventing the progression of women’.
This is why addressing equity is so important. Achieving equity means more than just providing equal benefits, opportunities and pay; equity means developing a deep understanding of the unique needs of every person and valuing their contribution and input without biases. What’s more, it’s about enabling them to reach their full potential. There is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ in equity. And this is true for all types of ‘diversity’– creating a more inclusive, equitable place for women will make the world more inclusive for all.
Our commitment
As a firm that is diverse by nature and inclusive by choice, we pledge to continue to embrace the plurality of attributes of our people, whose differences can be found in, among others, abilities and disabilities, age, culture, education, gender and gender identity and expression, language, religion, sexual orientation, socioeconomic and ethnic background, and working style.
Hervé Hélias, CEO, Forvis Mazars Group and Cécile Kossoff, Group Chief Brand, Marketing and Communications Officer and Global Diversity & Inclusion Leader
Driving the conversation with our leaders
We organised a series of interviews with leaders across our firm to learn how they understand equity and what actions they are taking to help drive gender parity.
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[i] Gender equality: how global universities are performing, part 1 - UNESCO Digital Library (2022)
Diversity, equity and inclusion
Find out more about our Group-wide approach to diversity, equity and inclusion.
Myths preventing the progression of women
The benefits of diversity no longer need to be proven. However, it is clear that gender inequalities persist, particularly in executive committees and among CEOs. This report, 'Myths and barriers preventing the progression of women: analysis and solutions', developed by Forvis Mazars in partnership with the Observatory for Gender Balance, is designed for leaders who wish to concretely advance equality...
Contacts
