SciencesPo and Renault are holding a Diversity Conference at SciencesPo Paris on May 29 , following which the two organizations will sign an agreement. This international event will be attended by world-famous academics researching diversity issues and by senior managers of major companies with experience of real-world workplace issues. The conference will be opened by SciencesPo Director Richard Descoings, and the closing address will be given by Renaults President and CEO Carlos Ghosn, the two initiators of the project. Four major themes will be discussed in the light of the latest research on diversity and grass-roots experience in companies:
# Racial diversity and cultural barriers
# Diversity and economic performance
# Equality and difference examples with age and gender
# Diversity in the era of globalization.
Christine Jolls of Yale University and Christopher McCrudden from Oxford University, who made a major contribution to formalizing the concept of diversity, will debate the issue together for the first time in France. Senior managers from General Electric, Adecco, Barclays, Vinci, Renault and Nissan will give their points of view on the subject and discuss measures taken in their companies.
After the conference Renault and Fondation Nationale des Sciences Politiques will sign an agreement under which Renault will support SciencesPos diversity outreach activities by making high-level recruitments from social groups whose talents are often undervalued. Renault will donate ?50,000 per year to this project for three years, and will be represented on the jury of the Conventions Education Prioritaire (CEP), a separate SciencesPo admissions system for young people from disadvantaged areas. A number of senior Renault managers will also take part in conferences to share their own experiences of diversity.
A press conference will be held after the conference from 6PM to 6:30PM. These events build on Renault's and SciencesPos long-standing actions to promote diversity.
Renault and Diversity
Renault has a long-term commitment to non-discrimination and equal opportunities. In 2004 it signed the Groups Declaration of Employees' Fundamental Rights as well as a Diversity Charter. It has also taken numerous measures in favor of the recruitment, career development and equal treatment of all members of society, and in particular young people, women, people with disabilities and seniors. In 2008 Renault appointed a Diversity Leader in the Human Resources Department to head cross-sector projects at global level. Projects for 2008 include a management awareness program and an in-house Diversity Day in May, during which some onehundred employees from around the world will put forward practical suggestions for promoting diversity in the company. Renault wants the entire group to benefit from the cultural wealth and diversity of experience to be found in all its business locations: diversity is not just an additional driver of employee motivation; it also gives the company a competitive advantage for understanding and serving customers.
SciencesPo and diversity
For the past eight years, Sciences Po has been implementing a diversity policy through two equal-opportunities programs. The CEP SciencesPo admissions system encourages deserving students from disadvantaged schools. The purpose is to break the selfcensorship that blocks the way to many such high-school students and to reinforce social diversity among SciencesPo students. Sciences Po is also carrying for two years out experimental work at grass-roots level in disadvantaged areas. The aim is to instill a sense of achievement and change attitudes through educational projects, theme-based workshops, personalized coaching, and career seminars. Furthermore, SciencesPo recently launched a series of disability awareness activities to improve the autonomy of disabled persons.
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