This Charter is intended to be a reference for all companies that are committed to equal opportunities. Its purpose is to guarantee Artificial Intelligence (AI) that is designed, deployed and operated in a responsible and inclusive way. This initiative, which is the first step towards the creation of a GEEIS-AI* label over the coming months, also benefits from the support of Delphine O, Ambassador and Secretary General of the UN Women’s Global Forum, and Nicole Ameline, Vice-Chair of the UN CEDAW Committee.
“Artificial Intelligence is taking on an increasingly important role in our society, which will need time to recover after the current health crisis. We need to be vigilant in order to ensure that automatic decisions based on the processing of algorithms do not discriminate against women due, for example, to the quality of the data used or the design of the code, a field still dominated by men. We must therefore encourage companies to ensure neutral AI development with initiatives such as the International Charter for inclusive AI”, stated Cédric O, French Secretary of State for the Digital Sector, attached to the Minister of Economy and Finance and the Minister of Public Action and Accounts.
This International Charter, based on seven commitments, will create a framework of trust concerning the design and use of AI systems.
Read the Charter
The first signatories of the Charter are Orange, Camfil, Danone, EDF, L’Oréal, Metro, Sodexo and there are many more to come…
This Charter is now available to be signed by any companies and organisations that wish to do so, via an online platform.
Mari-Noëlle Jégo-Laveissière, Deputy Chief Executive of Orange in France and head of the Technology and Global Innovation Division, said:
“AI at the service of people is a formidable tool for simplifying operations and reducing the digital divide. But we must remain vigilant so that it does not create new inequalities, particularly between men and women. This is what underpins Orange’s commitment to Arborus. We are proud to be the first signatory of the International Charter for inclusive AI and we hope that many other companies will join us in this venture.”
“Arborus, whose mission is to drive equality in the workplace, sees the purpose of this International Charter as promoting inclusive Artificial Intelligence; it’s a new tool to support companies faced with the challenge of ensuring equitable AI development , enabling them to comply with their inclusion policies”, explained Cristina Lunghi, Founder and Managing Director of Arborus.
An innovative project within the framework of international recommendations on women’s rights and equality.
To this end, the Charter is supported by Delphine O, Ambassador and Secretary General of the UN Women’s Global Forum:
“I am aware of the emergence of technology-driven discrimination related to the reproduction of gender stereotypes that can be caused by artificial intelligence, so I am determined that the Generation Equality Forum should tackle these issues by making innovation one of the 6 action coalition themes that will be launched in Paris by the French President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron, Mexico and UN Women.”
Nicole Ameline, Vice-Chair of the UN CEDAW Committee, is also delighted by this initiative:
“For the CEDAW, a UN treaty body, access to employment and the economic empowerment of women in the most innovative fields such as artificial intelligence are among the key factors in the construction of a fair, inclusive and sustainable world. The resolute commitment of pioneering companies in terms of gender equality, that have the GEEIS label and that are now signatories of the International Charter for inclusive AI, provides a positive example of the changes expected with Beijing25.”
About Arborus
Founded in 1995 by Cristina Lunghi, the Arborus association, which celebrates its 25th birthday this year, works for gender equality and inclusion in the workplace on an international scale. In 2010, Arborus created an endowment fund to steer the implementation of the first label for international gender equality in the workplace: the *Gender Equality European & International Standard (GEEIS).
Now present in 37 countries, GEEIS has become the benchmark label not only for CAC 40 companies (Carrefour, Danone, EDF, Keolis, Legrand, L’Oréal, Orange, Safran, Sodexo), but also for non-French companies (Metro, Inditex) and SMEs (CAMFIL).
In 2019, Arborus launched the GEEIS-SDG Awards at the United Nations to reward the actions taken by companies that make equality the basis for their sustainable development activities.
Find out more by reading our press package