The Business Strategy Behind Capgemini’s 15-Year Gender Equality Results

Capgemini established quantified objectives to drive accountability and track progress across all levels of the organization. Monitoring women’s representation since 2010, the Group set first milestones by 2025, targeting 40% women across the total workforce and 30% women among executive leaders. As these goals have been met, the company extended their ambition to 2030: maintaining 40% overall representation, including business and core tech roles, and reaching 35% of women in executive positions. 

Progress is monitored with increasing granularity across grades, functions and geographies, with a consolidated view of recruitment, promotions and retention in the Group’s 23 largest countries. Beyond CSR and HR communities, these results are regularly escalated to governance bodies: quarterly to the Group Executive Board, at least every semester to the Group Inclusive Board and annually to the Board of Directors.

Beyond a voluntary Equal Promotion policy, ensuring women are fairly represented in promotions, pay equity was identified as a foundational pillar of gender parity. Capgemini integrated the principle of “Equal work – for Equal pay” into its Group Inclusion Policy. Annual internal reviews and external audits are conducted to identify and correct unjustified pay gaps, taking into account objective criteria such as skills, performance, seniority and location.

Internal Polices and processes were redesigned around four priorities:

• Improving gender-balanced sourcing and inclusive recruitment standards by redesigning recruitment processes end to end, including gender-neutral job descriptions, broader and more diverse candidate pipelines, blind screening practices, gender-balanced interview panels, bias awareness training for panelists and collective decision-making based on skills and potential.
• Increasing women’s presence in core technological and commercial roles by promoting on demand training and professional certifications through internal communication channels, HR outreach and employee networks, while using role models and peer exchange to build awareness, confidence and participation in sales and technical learning paths.
• Accelerating access to senior leadership through talent development, mentoring and sponsorship programs.
• Strengthening engagement and retention through flexible working arrangements, parental schemes and peer-to-peer support.

Capgemini adopted a life-cycle approach to inclusion, supporting women from early education through to the later stages of their careers. Early-stage Ace of STEM initiatives such as Elles Bougent in France, or Coding for Girls in India aim to improve the perception of STEM careers among girls. Hackathons and partnerships, including with FIRST and Girls in Science programs (Denmark), further encourage early engagement. 

Key career transition periods receive targeted support. Parental leave departures and returns are anticipated, flexible working options are offered and family-support measures such as childcare partnerships and breastfeeding facilities are available in some countries. These policies are genderneutral and inclusive of all family structures. Career re-entry after long breaks is supported through the Captivate program, which combines training, mentoring and structured reintegration pathways. At the same time, health and well-being initiatives are being developed to support employees at different life stages, including women’s health topics such as endometriosis and menopause, alongside issues affecting men and broader discussions relevant to all genders.

Capgemini has worked actively to foster a cultural shift toward inclusion, engaging men as allies in the parity journey. Initiatives such as the Women@Capgemini network are co-led by men and women, and Inclusion Circles discussions, led by senior leaders on real life scenarios, address unconscious bias, and how as a team to contribute every day to a workplace inclusive for all. Performance analysis systems are used to ensure fair identification of talent, reducing the impact of bias and imposter syndrome without creating undue advantage.

As gender equality is interdependent with the representation and place of women in society, Capgemini promotes women’s inclusion in sport, through their Women in Rugby Leadership program and the sponsoring of top female competitions such as Le Tour de France Femmes or La Vuelta Femenina. Capgemini is also committed to fighting against sexism and domestic abuse, through education modules and external partnerships.

Gender parity in tech requires a systemic, long-term approach, mobilizing the entire ecosystem.

Ambitious objectives, measurable KPIs and strong governance are essential to drive accountability at each level of the organization. A single global headline number allows underperforming units to hide. Capgemini tracks by grade, function and geography, making accountability specific and unavoidable.

Retention is as important as recruitment. Many gender programs over-invest in hiring and under-invest in retaining women through career transitions. The biggest losses happen at family leave, mid-career and post-50, all of which require targeted, proactive intervention.

Cultural change accelerates when men are actively engaged as allies and when inclusion strategies embrace all employees. Programmes that position inclusion as a “women’s issue” limit their own reach. Capgemini’s model and male allyship approach multiplied the cultural impact of every initiative.

Cultural change accelerates when men are actively engaged as allies and when inclusion strategies embrace all employees. Programmes that position inclusion as a “women’s issue” limit their own reach. Capgemini’s model and male allyship approach multiplied the cultural impact of every initiative.