Fighting inequality, alongside the Paris HEC Foundation

There are talents everywhere but sometimes they have to be brought to light. That’s why the Michelin Corporate Foundation has decided to back the rollout of the Stand Up program and the activities of the Equal Opportunities Mission initiated by the Paris HEC Foundation. The aim is to offer all students the same chance of success, wherever they come from and whatever their social background. 

Working towards inclusiveness and equal opportunity 

Self-censorship and lack of self-confidence are the main obstacles to success for some women and young people from less privileged backgrounds. For more than fifteen years, HEC Paris and the HEC Foundation have been implementing support and aid schemes to give wider accessibility to the education in excellence offered by the school. By means of these programs, they are working to combat situations of social and educational inequality faced by women and young people. 

To dare is already to succeed 

The Equal Opportunities Mission provides support to students in high school through tutored learning paths such as the Eloquentia@HEC speaking in public program and offers the PREP seminar to students in pre-university preparatory classes. The aim is to improve students’ chances of passing the exams for admission to a business school. The scheme is based on partnerships with high schools in priority educational areas and encourages students to believe in their potential and choose a course of study corresponding to their ambitions. 

The second scheme, HEC Stand Up, is a continuing program of social opening and educational innovation offered free to women entrepreneurs from all backgrounds. The aim is to reinforce their aspiration to create their own businesses by acquiring the necessary freedom and financial independence. HEC Paris provides different workshops to help them rethink their entrepreneurial attitude, map out the steps towards launching their projects and put their plans into action. 

The Michelin Corporate Foundation has signed a three-year patronage agreement with the Paris HEC Foundation. In this scheme, support will be given simultaneously to high school pupils and university students in the Ile-de-France region and in the Clermont-Ferrand area of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. At the same time, the Michelin Corporate Foundation has undertaken to sponsor 70 female entrepreneurs each year.