{"id":12881,"date":"2023-03-13T16:13:16","date_gmt":"2023-03-13T15:13:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.adeo.com\/?p=12881"},"modified":"2023-03-13T20:50:38","modified_gmt":"2023-03-13T20:50:38","slug":"encounter-with-clemence-charlet-director-of-leroy-merlin-in-orleans-committed-to-the-professional-parity-of-women-men","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.adeo.com\/en\/news\/encounter-with-clemence-charlet-director-of-leroy-merlin-in-orleans-committed-to-the-professional-parity-of-women-men\/","title":{"rendered":"ENCOUNTER WITH CL\u00c9MENCE CHARLET, DIRECTOR OF LEROY MERLIN IN ORL\u00c9ANS, COMMITTED TO THE PROFESSIONAL PARITY OF WOMEN\/MEN"},"content":{"rendered":"

Between a career and maternity, why choose?<\/span><\/h2>\n

When we ask whether being a woman was a drawback in her career at Leroy Merlin, Cl\u00e9mence Charlet is very clear: no, she never felt curbed. On the contrary, she has always been confident, particularly with her hierarchy, especially on the issue of reconciling her professional and family life.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cIn 2010, I was working at head office in the Financial Division. I had to announce to my manager that I was pregnant, and I admit, I was anxious. All the more so because I had only been at Leroy Merlin for a year… yet, there was no problem, right from the start he welcomed it as great news! And it was the same going forward with my career, because today I have 3 children. Every time, I had male managers who always reacted really well\u201d<\/em>, she explains.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

As a director she asserts that she never had to choose between her career and her life as a woman. In fact, there was never an issue: when she was offered the position of leading the store in Orl\u00e9ans last year, she was living in Reims with her family and first wanted to discuss it with her husband. \u201cI felt assured that I could refuse the position, given the change that it would impose on our lives, and that it would not be detrimental to me in any way going forward\u201d<\/em> says Cl\u00e9mence Charlet.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The only pressure that she felt was, on the contrary, positive, a sort of encouragement, a realisation that she could dare to launch into a new job and take on new challenges. So after several years at head office, it was suggested that she discover the store network. She explains: \u201cIn 2016, I was offered the position of Head of the Logistics Department… I didn\u2019t know how to back into a parking space and I couldn\u2019t see myself in this often quite masculine environment. I was reassured and supported and everything went really well!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Support & corporate culture programmes<\/span><\/h2>\n

This support of leaders, and in particular of women, is very practically embodied at Leroy Merlin France via a certain number of programmes. Cl\u00e9mence, for instance, refers to the \u201cJump\u201d scheme, aimed at future male and female store directors for the brand, which she was able to follow after her last pregnancy in 2019, without this being an issue.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Intended more specifically for female leaders, the \u00ab Chance<\/a><\/strong> \u00bb, programme, offered by ADEO, enables these women to discover their potential through coaching and professional follow-up. \u201cI also had the \u2018chance\u2019 to follow this appropriately named programme, and as such, to benefit from a period of self-reflection to identify my development levers and motivation, and to determine where I wanted to go in professional terms\u201d explains Cl\u00e9mence Charlet.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

She continues: \u201cWe know that, all too often, women have a tendency towards self-censorship in their careers, and that unlike men, they don\u2019t allow themselves to apply for a job unless they already possess at least 80% of the required skills… I have felt this myself, I often asked myself if I was truly capable… and I\u2019m so glad that I was encouraged and that the company actively tackles this issue by creating conditions to change the situation\u201d.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Equality between women and men is thus a topic that has long existed in ADEO companies, and Leroy Merlin France in particular. The Store Director cites a classic example of the life of a mum: a constraint related to a sick child, to nursery or school times.
\n\u201cNo one will ever judge you or make you feel as though it\u2019s a problem. In fact, it\u2019s something that new recruits remark upon and perceive very positively. And it\u2019s not just aimed at women, it\u2019s also the case for dads\u201d<\/em> clarifies the Director, who insists upon the non-discrimination of gender as far as parental responsibility is concerned.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Setting an example on a daily basis to encourage vocations<\/span><\/h2>\n

In her daily routine as store leader, Cl\u00e9mence Charlet also pays particular attention to these questions and doesn\u2019t hesitate to encourage her employees to take time for their family and their personal life.
\n\u201cI believe that we need to support each individual, woman or man, according to these moments in life: whether it involves a young infant, an elder member of the family, or other personal constraints, it\u2019s normal that work life be adjusted. It\u2019s important to me to discuss these things, that issues be laid out so that everyone can find a balance\u201d<\/em> she affirms.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Actually, the stores in the network are open from Monday through to Sunday, with leaders on the bridge from 6 am to 8 pm. \u201cIt’s all too easy to get caught up in things and never ease up, especially in positions of responsibility. So I\u2019m careful to set an example, to allow myself time to disconnect too, and to trust my colleagues to manage things\u201d<\/em> explains Cl\u00e9mence Charlet.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The leader adds that it is important to her, since her previous position as store director in Reims, to integrate more women in the Executive Committees. She is indeed delighted that her last hire there was a mother of 4 children. \u201cMy colleagues often tell me that they are glad to have a woman, a mother of 3 children, in my position. It proves to them that it\u2019s possible, that we can progress without making sacrifices, and it gives them more confidence in their own career development\u201d<\/em> she says.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Cl\u00e9mence is therefore convinced that she belongs to an open-minded company, where the question of professional parity is now essentially a matter of support and of reassuring women, particularly through dedicated programmes, in order for them to dare and to allow themselves to take on greater responsibilities. \u201cToday, women are still under-represented in managerial functions… but, when I see all that is happening around me, I am confident of the fact that it\u2019s changing\u201d<\/em> ays the Director enthusiastically.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n


\nCl\u00e9mence Charlet\u2019s career in 5 dates<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  • September 2010 : Cl\u00e9mence Charlet joins the Financial Division of Leroy Merlin France<\/li>\n
  • September 2013 : She moves from head office to the network, as Head of the Retail Sector<\/li>\n
  • December 2016 : She continues to develop and becomes Head of the Logistics Department<\/li>\n
  • March 2020 : She is appointed Store Director in Reims<\/li>\n
  • September 2022 : She moves to another region and takes on the same position in Orl\u00e9ans<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Between a career and maternity, why choose? When we ask whether being a woman was a drawback in her career at Leroy Merlin, Cl\u00e9mence Charlet is very clear: no, she never felt curbed. On the contrary, she has always been confident, particularly with her hierarchy, especially on the issue of reconciling her professional and family […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":12918,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[1021,1014,1024,1016,1023,831,1017,1018,1022,1020,1019],"class_list":["post-12881","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-career","tag-clemence-charlet","tag-culture-programmes","tag-diversity-inclusion","tag-equality","tag-inclusion","tag-parity","tag-professional-parity","tag-store-director","tag-testimony","tag-women-men"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.adeo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12881","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.adeo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.adeo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.adeo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.adeo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12881"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.adeo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12881\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.adeo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12918"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.adeo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12881"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.adeo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12881"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.adeo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12881"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}