Alexandre Speicher: 3 Questions for an Ambassador

What motivated you to get involved with the Parity Network?

First, I had many discussions with a colleague who inspires me greatly—she’s a member of the Parity Network and helped raise my awareness of these issues. Following those conversations, I spoke with Alexia Anglade, a corporate gender equality trainer, whose perspective captivated me and made me realize that, even as a man, I also had a role to play. Finally, I spoke with Cécile Courtaud, the founder of the network, who advised me to join it so I could become more involved in the cause.

How do you put your commitment to gender equality into practice at La Poste Group?

I’m not sure I’m a major advocate for gender equality just yet. Nevertheless, my commitment is reflected in the way I work: I believe I don’t differentiate between women and men, nor between different age groups or backgrounds. I just want to work with talented people who express themselves freely and are passionate about what they do.

In the team I led until last month, women held most of the positions, particularly management roles. To be specific, my team had nearly 70 people, 9 of whom were my direct reports: 7 of them were women. I’d say these statistics reflect my own views!

I think, however, that I was naive about these issues for a while, assuming that gender parity was a given for everyone. But today, I realize that there are still many gender-related challenges in the workplace, and that seems surprising. To give you an example, a few months ago, when one of my employees wanted to tell me she was pregnant, I initially thought she was about to resign, given how stressed she seemed! That’s when I realized the problem: if she was worried about my reaction even though she knew how positively I view parenthood—since I’m a dad myself and very open-minded on the subject—then things must be very difficult for (expectant) mothers in other departments! That really troubled me.

What message would you like to share? Or is there an idea, a quote, or a source of inspiration you’d like to share with the network?

In my professional circle, I’m surrounded by talented and brilliant women. Yet I notice that some of them tend to hold themselves back in ways I don’t necessarily see in men. They sometimes tell me, “That’s not for me,” or “I won’t be able to do it,” even though they have all the qualities needed for the job, the assignment, and so on. I think that’s such a shame for them and for the company. So I want to tell them: Be bold—break free from these barriers! But I think, as I mentioned above, that everyone—especially management—needs to be aware of these barriers that sometimes surface, so we can work together to remove them.