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Marie-Odile
VINCENT
French citizen
Headquarters and Shared Services. Quality
Manager.
Master’s degree in Art History, specialising
in Information and Documentation.
Spent about ten years doing desk research
and monitoring external information for
the Group, before moving into a Quality
Management job a few months ago.
When I graduated, I worked mostly for cultural
institutes researching and analysing still
and animated images, which was what I had
trained to do. I worked for Centre Beaubourg,
Institut National de l’Audiovisuel
and the like.
Opening doors.
When I started out, I really wanted to open
doors. Might I point out that I am in a
wheelchair, and that you need a lot of oomph
to establish yourself, convince others that
you can do it, and deal with obstacles.
But I’ve got a strong personality.
It was never easy, but I think you have
to know how to channel what makes you different
into something positive. I spent about seven
years roaming from one fixed-term job to
the next. But as a result I picked up some
rich and varied experience.
I think I was wise to move away from the
circles I was originally working in and
to start looking for a job in a big group
(that was the only way I could get a permanent
job at the time).
I joined Elf through a Job Centre that specialised
in integrating disabled people. They hired
me as an Information Engineer in Exploration
& Production. After the merger, I wound
up doing the same thing at the Holding.
My job was to compile information from outside
the Group, edit it, and analyse it to support
decision-making processes. I worked on technology,
competition and social issues.
Career management.
A few years later, I felt I knew everything
there was to know about my job, and let
my supervisors and Career Management know
that in the course of a “career interview”.
That was when they offered me the Quality
Manager job I’m in now.
I am in charge of setting up a quality-management
system, streamlining about 30 different
functions around shared working methods
and tools. This quality initiative leading
up to ISO-9001 certification is a tool that
helps management steer change and development.
Disabilities and
the company.
I’m delighted with my career, and
I’m optimistic about measures to integrate
disabled people into companies in general
and into Total in particular. But I am also
aware that there is room for improvement
when it comes to career opportunities and
to career management in the full sense of
the term.
In my previous job, I watched the diversity
policies being set up in the Group. Now
we have to step beyond the legally-imposed
quota and focus on making automatic (and
fair) moves towards integration. It’s
the attitude that has to change now.
It’s a privilege to work in a big
group like Total, because you have the resources
to work, to express yourself, and to grow
regardless of the things that make you different.
And, if our big international companies
don’t lead the way, who will ?
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