MAKING ROOM FOR WOMEN IN TECH: OVHCLOUD LEADS THE WAY

MAKING ROOM FOR WOMEN IN TECH: OVHCLOUD LEADS THE WAY

In industries like tech and manufacturing, where men are more represented, OVHcloud stands out for its ongoing initiatives to promote gender equality and inclusion. These efforts encompass partnerships with associations and educational institutions to raise women's awareness about careers in tech, as well as internal measures to continue increasing female representation within its teams.

Pioneer in the European cloud market, OVHcloud operates in sectors historically dominated by men. In France, for instance, women make up only 29% of the workforce in tech, and a mere 16% of technical roles, such as developers, programmers, or engineers, are held by women, according to the French High Council for Gender Equality.

For OVHcloud, addressing this imbalance is a top priority. Committed to gender equality, the company has consistently increased its proportion of female employees since 2019. Reflecting these efforts, OVHcloud scored 83/100 in the 2024 Professional Equality Index.

THE IMPORTANCE OF FEMALE ROLE MODELS

These partnerships also focus on helping teachers to better represent the fields of tech, science, and industry. By early 2025, OVHcloud plans to launch in France a new program with GRETA (regional adult education networks) to support middle and high school educators. This initiative features portraits of female role models who share their journeys (including career change), their current roles, and the diverse career paths associated.

One such role model is Fanny Bouton, Quantum Lead at OVHcloud. Also a journalist and consultant, Fanny is a prominent figure in demystifying quantum computing in France. She joined OVHcloud in 2020, leading a quantum project that positioned the company as a national leader in the field. Frequently speaking on women’s place in tech, she was a guest at NATO’s 2023 summit on women’s contributions to technology. “There’s no doubt we are far too few in tech” Fanny Bouton states. “That’s why I’m thrilled to share how incredible and fulfilling this field can be. While change can be slow and challenging, we are making progress together, with our differences and complementarities.”

SUPPORTING WOMEN’S EMPLOYMENT

Beyond supporting young girls interested in tech, OVHcloud actively supports women from underrepresented communities by partnering with local organizations like Les DesCodeuses in France, which provides coding training for women from urban and rural areas. OVHcloud also collaborates with Force Femmes, which helps women over 45 re-enter the workforce or start businesses.

The company supports broader inclusion initiatives, partnering with schools and projects like Rocket School, Plombiers du Numérique, and Z-Code to help people distant from the labor market gain skills and access employment. While not exclusively aimed at women, many participants in these programs are female.

BUILDING AN INCLUSIVE WORKPLACE CULTURE

Efforts to increase women’s representation in tech extend to fostering gender equality and inclusion within OVHcloud itself. The company partners with 50inTech, a platform connecting over 35,000 women in tech across Europe, using its Gender Score to assess workplace inclusivity. Since three years, this score, based on company policies and employee feedback, has risen at OVHcloud, climbing from 63 to 70 in 2024. Notably, the proportion of women on the board doubled in one year, reaching 44%.

Internally, OVHcloud has implemented a diversity, equity, and inclusion policy, shared with all employees who are trained about discrimination, sexism, harassment, and unconscious biases. Since January 2024, OVHcloud also joined the French #StOpE campaign, an initiative led by the French Association of Diversity Managers (AFMD) to fight sexism in the workplace.

“The male-dominated tech industry can be a tough environment for women” explains Gwendoline Rotrou, Core Infrastructure Manager, appreciative that OVHcloud takes this issue seriously. “We’ve implemented systems to support employees and protect them from any inappropriate comments or incidents. If a problem happens, a website allows staff to report issues anonymously to the Human Resources, ensuring swift action. Thankfully, at OVHcloud, we prioritize dialogue and conflict resolution.”

“WE NEED MORE DIVERSITY”

For OVHcloud, these initiatives reflect a zero-tolerance approach to discrimination and a commitment to fostering diversity; a key strength for a multicultural company operating on four continents. “We need to aim for greater openness and more diversity in origin, culture, and gender”, observes Eléa Petton, Machine Learning Engineer. In 2023, women accounted for 22% of OVHcloud’s workforce and 23% of management roles. With collective efforts from the company and its partners, OVHcloud hopes to inspire more women to join the tech world and continue advancing gender equality.