Once again this year, Telefónica celebrates the International Day of Persons with Disabilities by subscribing to our commitment to a more inclusive world. For this reason, we promote accessibility as a universal concept, as well as the removal of barriers in physical and digital environments for ethical, talent and business reasons. And in this sense, we rely on the transformative potential of new technologies to improve people’s lives and incorporate accessibility in all our products, services, facilities and channels, always in line with our purpose of ‘making our world more human by connecting people’s lives’.
During this very special year, our Centenary, we have continued to take firm steps to achieve the goal we set for 2022 of doubling the number of people with disabilities in our workforce by the end of this year. To this end, we are working with various entities that help us to identify talent, focusing on the digital profiles required for our transformation. In addition, we have strengthened the attraction of professionals with different abilities, as well as improving accessibility and inclusion in the selection processes of these people. We also ensure that we provide the necessary tools for effective integration in their workplaces, and thus the correct performance of their functions.
Below, we summarise some of the most relevant milestones that demonstrate our commitment to a more inclusive world in all the countries in which we operate and that have enabled us to increase the number of employees with disabilities globally by 73.5% compared to 2022, reaching 2,572 people by the end of 2023:
- As we have indicated, there has been a substantial increase in new hires. Specifically, in Brazil, more than 900 people with disabilities have been hired.
- In Spain alone, by 2023, we will train more than 1,300 people who work directly or indirectly with the people with disabilities incorporated into our workforce, promoting the inclusion of this group.
- In addition, as part of Brazil’s local Explore+ programme, 100% of the cost of undergraduate and short-term postgraduate training was subsidised. In Spain, the Include Programme, developed with the GoodJob Foundation, has enabled us to incorporate 124 people trained in cybersecurity, cloud, automation and robotisation.
- Through our Foundation, we assisted almost 70,000 people with disabilities. In addition, with the aim of boosting the digital employability of people with intellectual disabilities, Fundación Telefónica and Fundación Prodis prepared the study Digital model for labour inclusion, with the keys to facing the challenges of the digital society on equal terms.
- We promote within the company a mutual support organisation in Spain, ATAM, which is currently adapting its assistance model to cutting-edge technologies such as IoT, Cloud Computing, Artificial Intelligence or Big Data to optimise care for its beneficiaries in situations of disability.
- We continuously and globally analyse possible barriers to accessibility in our products, services and channels, relying on experts in the field, such as the ONCE Group or the DKV Integralia Foundation in Spain.
- We promote Universal Design and accessibility from the initial phase of the development of our products and services, as well as their distribution and marketing.
Thank you all for helping us to build a more inclusive and egalitarian world that values talent without any consideration.
