CaixaBank features on the Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index for its commitment to diversity and transparency

For the second year in a row, CaixaBank has been included in the 2020 Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index, a selection that includes the companies from all over the world that are most committed to gender equality, through their policies, and transparency in disseminating their gender-related programmes and data.

The GEI is the benchmark index in this field, and measures gender equality through five pillars: female leadership and talent pipeline, equal pay and gender pay parity, inclusive culture, sexual harassment policies and pro-women brand. This year, Bloomberg has selected 325 companies from 42 countries and regions, after analysing 6,000 businesses from 84 countries and regions. They come from 11 sectors of activity, and represent a market capitalisation of 12 trillion dollars. The index also demonstrates a notable increase from the 230 businesses featured last year, given that markets such as Russia, the Philippines, New Zealand, Norway and Poland have been included for the first time. Spain is the fourth most-represented country on the index, after the United States, Canada and Great Britain.

Diversity, meritocracy, equal opportunities and talent recognition are some of the pillars of CaixaBank’s corporate culture. Under these premises, it works with a commitment to be a pacesetter for its employees, promoting inclusion and participation and bolstering projects that promote equality, both within the company and across the whole of society. In fact, CaixaBank has a percentage of 41.2% women in managerial positions and with a public commitment to reach 43% in 2021, and its Board of Directors is formed of 37.5% women, one of the highest percentages in the sector.

Specifically, some of the most valued aspects of the index are measures for employees, with career development plans and a well-defined strategy of inclusion and diversity, as well as the company’s commitment to the community.

The reporting offered by businesses of the Bloomberg GEI provides a portrait of the main steps that are taking place to bridge the gender gap. For example, 71% of business have a strategy for recruiting women, 33% have programmes for women to return to work after time off, and 44% of promotions last year were received by women.

To achieve more inclusive professional scenarios, 49% of businesses offer allowances for childcare, 36% offer allowances for looking after the elderly, and 88% offer flexible working hours. With respect to the community, 48% of companies have designed diversity programmes for suppliers, which include businesses led by women, 59% have launched products aimed at women that help to achieve gender equality, and 64% donate to non-profit organisations whose main mission is to support gender equality at the workplace.

Wengage, CaixaBank’s commitment to equality

CaixaBank’s Wengage diversity programme is a cross-disciplinary project developed by people from all areas of CaixaBank, based on meritocracy and the promotion of equal opportunities, which works to foster and visualise gender, functional and generational diversity. Wengage includes internal measures to promote flexibility and work-life balance, training and female mentoring plans, through which managers of the company help other professionals to develop their careers.

Externally, CaixaBank’s commitment to diversity includes promoting debate and public conversation around diversity (eWoman workshops and CaixaBank Talks); organising different awards and acknowledgements for business leadership (Businesswoman Award) and academic excellence (Wonnow Stem Awards); or lines of action related to sport (sponsorship of the women’s basketball team).

CaixaBank adheres to the Women’s Empowerment Principles, of the United Nations; the Voluntary Agreement with the Ministry of Health, Social Services and Equality, ’More women, better businesses’, seeking better representativeness of women in management positions; and the Diversity Charter, to promote equal opportunities and anti-discriminatory measures.

Thanks to this commitment, CaixaBank has just been recognised by the Fundación Másfamilia with the EFR Certificate (Family-Responsible Company), and it has received various awards, such as the 25th Anniversary Award of the FEDEPE (Spanish Federation of Female Managers, Executives, Professionals and Entrepreneurs). It also features on the EWoB Gender Diversity Index.