C&A: Equality and diversity

Global Sustainability Report 2015

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Supporting our greatest asset

We’re committed to making sure our workplaces and policies allow our employees to contribute their very best, fulfilling their potential and addressing customer needs. Most of our employees worldwide are women, and they make significant contributions to our success. That's why we will continue to find ways to support them and engage them as ambassadors of the C&A Brand.

C&A Employee gender distribution

	% Female	% Male
C&A Europe	87.0%	13.0%
C&A Brazil	70.9%	29.1%
C&A Mexico	54.9%	45.1%
C&A China	71.1%	28.9%
Global	79.1%	20.9%

C&A employees by contract type

C&A employees by gender and contract type

	Female	Male
Fixed contract employees	11,225	2,400
Permanent contract employees	37,685	10,487
Permanent full-time employees	21,495	9,008
Permanent part-time employees	16,190	1,479
Total supervised workers (Brazil and Mexico)	6,037	3,771

C&A employees by contract type and location

* In China, fixed term contracts can evolve into permanent contracts for longer term employees

Supporting fairness and transparency

C&A is committed to equal opportunities for all employees, regardless of age, gender, ethnic origin, religion, ideology, sexual orientation, or disability. We support fairness and transparency in our way of working, with our employees and suppliers, and through our Fairness Channel—the tool we use to address any issues that arise. In addition, our stores clearly display the names of contact people for inquiries or concerns, giving employees ready access to this information should they want to reach out. Read more in Ethics.

Of course, we comply fully with anti-discrimination laws in the countries where we operate. All job roles, promotions, and rewards are awarded purely on the basis of merit, and encourage diversity across all our departments. Should any issue of potential discrimination be reported, the executive board takes appropriate measures to investigate and resolve it. The diversity goals we set in 2017 will also help us define common standards to uphold fair and equal treatment for employees in every country.

70%+

of employees in Europe have been provided with training

Learning and development

Building a more diverse workforce also requires strong learning and development opportunities at all levels of our business. Training helps our people gain the knowledge, skills, and experience they need to perform well in satisfying careers with C&A. We’re creating a series of learning and development goals to guide all our training—online, in the classroom, and in employees’ daily work. We also make it possible for staff in some departments to gain new skills by working in different teams.

Developing the next generation of sustainability leaders

C&A aims to become a leader in sustainability. In 2015, C&A Europe established a Learning and Development unit that will develop activities linked to company goals to better support the organization in achieving this aim. One example is the five-day New Hire Orientation training which provides all new employees with training on C&A's history, values, and strategic objectives as well as sustainability and the work of the C&A Foundation.

2015 training highlights

Thirty of our senior leaders attended a course at California’s Singularity University to learn how C&A can use exponential technology to support customers.
More than 70% of our employees in Europe, including those in stores, took part in at least one training.
New employees who joined C&A in Europe took part in newcomer training that included a section on sustainability.
In Brazil, our management trainee programme received 20,000 applications in 2015, and 22 people got the opportunity to start a traineeship; the number of applicants grew by 33% over 2014.

Providing flexible work options

Wherever possible, we give employees flexibility to suit their circumstances, whether they’re students who need to accommodate school schedules, working parents, or others who need flexibility to balance their work and personal life. Helping our employees manage their professional and personal commitments lifts morale and encourages positive contributions.

Case Study

Europe: Training supports our employees in serving our customers

In 2015, all our European employees received training on our Customer Value Proposition as we continued our focus on identifying and serving HER, our target customer. Building on the success of the Spread the Word learning map, an interactive way of transferring knowledge, the CVP training was cascaded to all store employees. To support the training, a tool kit was developed and is now used in stores to further focus on HER family and friends.