Audrey-Laure Bertigny

I took advantage of an organisational transformation to reflect and pursue further training, completing the INSEAD GEMBA while reconnecting with consulting... and had a baby! Now a mother to a six-month-old, I’ve just returned from maternity leave and am currently working for AMPW, a strategy and HR consulting firm in Paris.

What role do senior leaders play in fostering an inclusive environment that empowers women? 

Senior leaders play a crucial role in empowering women. Their actions send a strong message to all employees, either encouraging or discouraging initiatives from lower levels of the organisation.

Unfortunately, I have seen too many CEOs dismiss high-impact projects aimed at promoting women under weak pretexts, or even open misogyny disguised as harmless jokes.

Top executives must drive the creation of an inclusive environment by leading by example: appointing women to strategic roles based on merit and showing daily respect. They should also implement fair HR policies in recruitment, promotions, compensation, leave, and work-life balance—benefiting both men and women. More targeted initiatives, such as mentorship programmes and tailored training, and promotion of women's success stories can also be highly effective. 

Additionally, fostering a cultural shift within the organisation is key. This requires identifying and addressing unconscious biases, which, although time-consuming, will ensure lasting change.

The benefits of an inclusive workplace for women are well-documented:

1. Higher financial performance: Companies prioritising Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging see +19% revenue growth and +25% higher profitability.
2. Stronger talent attraction and retention, especially among younger generations.
3. Enhanced innovation.
4. Higher employee satisfaction for both women and men.

Senior leaders would be wise to act swiftly in driving these changes! 

 How have you used your influence to support other women in achieving more in their careers? 

Early on, as a consultant, I contributed to designing training programmes for women, ensuring they addressed real needs. I also challenged counterproductive initiatives like nap rooms or emergency childcare, which may have good intentions but often come with an implicit expectation to remain available at the expense of personal life.

As I gained experience, I engaged in formal and informal mentorship programmes. It was important to show success doesn’t require sacrificing personal life. Mentorship also taught me to understand others' unique contexts, strengths, and aspirations.

It was important for me to show that success does not require sacrificing one’s personal life or trying to fit a pre-defined mould.

In my role as an HR consultant, I continue to work on gender equality issues, from calculating gender equality indexes to defining performance indicators that promote fairness. 

I also worked on building women's professional networks — and, just as importantly, helping dissolve them once their objectives were met. I firmly believe that advancing gender equality is a collective effort that must involve men as well in the long run.

Moving forward, I hope to keep driving these discussions, both within the companies I work with and more broadly, through the incredible INSEAD alumni network. 

What tangible steps can organisations take to create a culture of equality at the leadership level?

In change management, major transformations typically follow four key action areas: tools, processes & skills, organisation, and culture. Achieving gender equality in the workplace follows the same logic. 

First, tools such as measurable indicators help assess the current situation and set SMART objectives. These may include tracking the number of women in leadership, pay gaps, training participation, recruitment rates, and working hours. 

Second, internal processes  including HR policies on pay and promotion but also industry-specific practices should be reviewed. Are they unintentionally discriminatory? Do they reward presence over efficiency, disadvantaging women due to unequal household responsibilities?

Third, organisational structures can be adjusted. This means appointing women to key roles, implementing cross-entity mentoring or multi-entity training programmes, and creating career pathways between traditionally gendered roles (e.g., HR vs. IT). Structural changes like flatter hierarchies can also foster collaboration, often benefiting women.

Finally, culture evolves naturally through external hires and mindset shifts among employees and leaders. 

However, fostering a feedback culture ensures that employee concerns—especially from women—are heard and addressed through concrete, timely actions. Highlighting inspiring role models within leadership further encourages internal promotions and attracts female talent externally.

What advice would you give to those looking to champion women’s leadership in their organisations?

The definition of "women's leadership" is often unclear and based on stereotypes. 

I believe it's crucial to distinguish three key factors that can hinder women's careers, which should be addressed differently.

• Gender-related factors: Maternity leave, fertility treatments, and miscarriages. Clear, protective HR policies are essential, especially in countries without legal protection.
• Sexism and discrimination: Biases—both conscious and unconscious—continue to affect women. These issues can be tackled through sanctions and campaigns to reduce biases, especially at top management levels.
• Social constructs: Due to societal influences, women often display collaboration, empathy, and perfectionism, and they tend to choose careers focused on helping others rather than high-responsibility roles. Changing these expectations requires deep societal transformation, but organisations can act by engaging with women individually and offering tailored support (training, mentoring, coaching).

Organisations can however act by engaging with women identified as talented, as each has a unique profile.

Shaping the company's image internally and externally—such as incorporating equality into values or supporting initiatives like Never Without Her—can help attract women to leadership positions. As Sheryl Sandberg, former COO of Facebook, said: "In the future, there will be no female leaders. There will just be leaders."

More information about the programme Audrey attended: 

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