12.15.2005 ET

(CSRwire) Paris, December 15, 2005 - Novethic today presents the findings of its survey ("Looking for Diversity Disclosures among CAC 40 Companies") on four types of discrimination in the workplace--based on gender, age, disability and ethnic origin. Despite more attention paid to the issue of workplace diversity in recent years, particularly the ethnic discrimination, most CAC 40 companies are only just beginning to report on such matters. Half of these companies provide information that is partial at best, and even nonexistent in some cases. Only six companies surpass 60% of the grid developed by Novethic using French and international benchmarks (standards, laws, agreements and guidelines).

France's largest market capitalizations do not communicate much on diversity

The quality of reporting by CAC 40 companies on four aspects of diversity (gender, age, disability and ethnic origin) remains low overall (41% of the expected information is provided). In fact, the overall score is adversely impacted by the lack of data on ethnic origin.
Only six of the 40 companies surveyed disclose a substantial level of information (more than 60%): Total, Peugeot, Crédit Agricole, Renault, Accor and France Telecom. Four companies in the CAC 40 index can even be described as indifferent, with virtually nonexistent reporting on the subject (less than 20%). Indeed, even some of the HR data generally considered to be easy to gather (that extracted directly from internal HR reports) does not get published in reports issued by Publicis, Essilor, Thomson and LVMH.

Finally, only five companies mention the existence of an in-house unit dedicated to the issue of diversity.

Disability and gender equality are mentioned, age and ethnic issues generally are not . . .

The question of the ethnic origin of employees is the real "poor relative" in annual reports and web sites (only 27% on average). The legal obstacle to compiling racial data does not explain this paucity, since legislation does not prohibit reporting on systems in place to fight discrimination on the basis of ethnicity or national origin. Only 18 companies surveyed mention the existence of policies intended to promote visible minorities, of which 11 provide fairly detailed. However, only four say they have developed specific hiring policies.

The issue of older workers is hardly mentioned (32% on average). When it is, the data tends to be statistical information taken from the internal HR report. While half of the companies surveyed mention this type of information (age pyramids, average age, etc.), only a handful indicate that they have set up age-related procedures or (13% disclosure). Only two companies explain in detail how they are dealing with the issue of older people in the workplace through dedicated programs.

Reporting on disabled workers is more frequent and codified by French law (49% disclosure). But half of those companies surveyed do not mention the percentage of disabled workers they employ.

The role of women seems to have become a serious disclosure issue (47%), with underlying contrasts: while the desire to deal with this issue is clear on the part of some companies, others are content to merely provide internally compiled HR data. While 65 percent of all reports or web sites offer information on the percentage of women managers, only 15 percent (six companies) provide details on the wage gap between male and female employees.

Diversity guidelines signatories do better

Nearly half of the companies that make up the CAC 40 (18 in all) have signed the Charte de la Diversité, which was published in 2004 and has since been signed by 250 French businesses. Article 6 of these guidelines states that "annual reports must include a chapter that describes the company's commitment to non-discrimination and diversity: initiatives rolled out, corporate practice and results." Companies that have signed the guidelines do better than those that have not. Among the CAC 40's top ten in this regard, seven have signed the guidelines. In addition, the signatories are more proactive when it comes to discrimination based on national origin: 38 percent disclosure (versus 15% for non-signatories).

To access the media kit, click on the link below:

http://www.novethic.fr/novethic/upload/com/dossier_presse_diversite_20051115.pdf

About Novethic:

A subsidiary of Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations, Novethic is a leading center for resources, information and expertise pertaining to SRI and corporate social and environmental responsibility. Its web site (www.novethic.fr) is a comprehensive resource for responsible economic actors.

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