We begin 2023 with a firm commitment to diversity and inclusion; with our will to fight inequality and to leave no one out of the picture, as key levers of our identity and of a transformation that makes us stronger and more competitive by allowing us to attract and retain the best talent in the company.
I am excited to tell you that, for yet another year, we are part of the Bloomberg Gender Equality Index, consolidating our position for the sixth consecutive year and increasing three points compared to the last edition to reach a score of 86.45% out of 100.
In addition, in this edition, Bloomberg Gender-Equality has highly valued Telefónica’s transparency when answering the index’s questions, highlighting from among the five markers it analyses, our progress in parity; the efforts made to reduce the pay gap; the promotion of institutional policies that boost the incorporation and retention of female talent in digital environments, as well as our inclusive culture.
Some of the milestones we have achieved on gender in 2022
All these milestones are undoubtedly the result of the significant progress we have made throughout 2022 in terms of gender, some of which I would like to share with you:
- Approval, by Telefónica’s Board of Directors, of the first edition of the Global Equality Policy, which acts as a framework for the development of the different equality plans of each of the companies that form part of the company.
- Signing, by our Chairman, of the Women’s Empowerment Principles, giving a global dimension to an alliance which until now had been in force in Brazil, Mexico, Venezuela, Uruguay, Argentina, Colombia and Ecuador.
- Increase in the percentage of women in management positions by 0.8 points, which now stands at 31.2% in the company. An increase that brings us closer to meeting the target of 33% by 2024.
- Definition of actions to accelerate the professional careers of our female employees, develop the pool of pre-executive talent and attract female talent to promote equality at all hierarchical levels and reduce the gender pay gap. An example of this is the Empowering Women initiative which, aimed at all women in the company, emphasises female leadership and the keys and barriers faced by women who want to lead, bringing together almost 250 women in 2022.
- Promoting the presence and visibility of women and young people in STEM careers and in the field of entrepreneurship, both inside and outside the company, through more than 100 programmes and initiatives. Some examples are Mujeres4Tech, #SheTransformsIT, Girls Love Tech or the STEAM Alliance for Female Talent, promoted by the Spanish Ministry of Education and Vocational Training.
- Promotion, together with ClosinGap, of the report “The opportunity cost of the gender gap in digital professions”, with the aim of generating the necessary knowledge and debate in society to adopt measures to correct existing inequalities.
- Joining the network of companies Yo No Renuncio por la conciliación, focusing in this case on promoting work-life balance and co-responsibility between men and women.
As I said at the beginning, all these milestones are, once again, a clear reflection of our commitment to continue advancing steadily in diversity and inclusion to combat inequality at all levels and leave no one behind.
