Telefónica has a long-term commitment to gender equality, a clear example of which is the commitment we have made to the United Nations Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs). The WEPs aim to encourage stakeholders and companies to promote gender equality and empower women in the workplace, marketplace and community.
“By adhering to the UN Women’s global Women’s Empowerment Principles, Telefónica is taking a further step forward and reinforcing its commitment to gender equality in the workplace, the marketplace and society.”
José María Álvarez-Pallete
The Women’s Empowerment Principles are a framework of seven principles that serve as a roadmap for fostering business practices that empower women, including equal pay, equal opportunities for career advancement, paid parental leave and zero tolerance for sexual harassment in the workplace.
“Companies that invest in women, support women’s leadership and decision making and commit to gender equality typically outperform their competitors. The Women’s Empowerment Principles offer a great platform for change.”
Amina Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations
The Seven Women’s Empowerment Principles:
- Principle 1: High-level corporate leadership.
- Principle 2: Treat all women and men fairly at work without discrimination.
- Principle 3: Employee health, well-being and safety.
- Principle 4: Education and training for career advancement.
- Principle 5: Enterprise development, supply chain and marketing practices.
- Principle 6: Community initiatives and advocacy.
- Principle 7: Measurement and reporting.
At Telefónica, we incorporate diversity management as a key element of our global strategy, and this is reflected in our Global Diversity and Inclusion Policy. In addition, a key milestone in achieving our goals in terms of gender diversity was the publication of the Group’s Equality Policy last October, which goes a step further and acts as a framework for the development of the various equality plans of each of the companies that form part of Telefónica. For our company, the incorporation and retention of female talent is a fundamental value.
This is demonstrated by the fact that, among other diversity targets, Telefónica is committed to having at least 33% of managerial positions held by women by 2024 and to eliminating the adjusted pay gap by the same year.
The company is currently working on several fronts to achieve equality. These include guaranteeing the absence of a pay gap for equal positions, facilitating an equilibrium with employees’ personal and family lives by fostering work-life balance and co-responsibility, promoting the presence of women in digital and STEM environments inside and outside the company and encouraging the presence of women at all levels of Telefónica’s organisation, with particular emphasis on management positions and the main governing bodies.
At Telefónica, we are aware that there is still a long way to go to achieve effective equality at all levels and in all areas of our company. Completely closing gender gaps involves structural changes in the company and cultural changes in its business environment, which require constant and ongoing work over time. Nevertheless, we are committed to achieving this and we can say that we are on the right track, thanks to the strategic nature that equality has taken on in our company.
