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Life and Culture

Life and Culture

BBVA’s Diversity and Inclusion program has developed a pilot project to help female employees advance in their careers. Through a dynamic known as “speed networking”, a group of female employees was able to expand their network of contacts at the bank and interact with a variety of different people with extensive experience and responsibility at the bank. This activity is part of BBVA’s plan to bridge the gender gap and break any possible glass ceilings that could get in the way of its female employees’ careers.

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Alex Beard has spent a decade dedicated to educational research. He is a member of Teach for All, a worldwide network of independent educational organizations that seek to ensure that all children are given the opportunity to fulfil their potential. He has traveled the world studying the most innovative, ground-breaking educational methods. Of everything he has learned on his travels, he stresses that we should “take creativity more seriously” and that we are at the threshold of an “educational revolution”.

The climate summit in Madrid kicks off with a reception for world leaders who, over the course of the next few days, will discuss the environmental challenges confronting the planet. BBVA sponsors the inaugural lunch with a sustainable menu designed by the brothers of El Celler de Can Roca. The chefs from Spain's northeastern city of Girona have created a culinary overture to invite reflection on some of the most relevant topics to be addressed at the summit.

The groups of BBVA and JP Morgan employees created to foster diversity at the workplace held a joint session to work on some of the issues that concern staff the most in their professional development. Topics such as work-life balance, networking, leadership, and personal brands were discussed at the different working groups. Led by various mentors, employees from both companies discussed best practices, areas for improvement and team management trends.

The Roca brothers of El Celler de Can Roca fame have created the dishes that will be served to prime ministers, heads of state, government officials, and the United Nations’ Secretary-General at the opening lunch of the next Climate Summit. The summit gets underway next Monday, December 2, in Madrid. The meal, sponsored by BBVA with a menu prepared by the Roca brothers, is based on local Spanish products and a cuisine that is amenable to small-scale farmers. "Cuisine is a transformative tool that can raise awareness and advocate for sustainability," Joan Roca stated.

'Work better. Enjoy Life.' This is the slogan BBVA used to present employees in Spain the new measures for productivity and work-life balance with which the bank aims to foster change in the way work is done. The initiatives are set to promote a more flexible and balanced work environment, that guarantee equal opportunities and the professional development of all employees based on goals and not presenteeism.

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We live in a “tyranny of positivity” say U.S. psychologist Susan David: “Society demands that the ill remain optimistic, that women don’t show outrage, and that men don’t cry,” she says. According to her research, most people judge themselves for feeling “negative” emotions like anger, disappointment or sadness. But “repressing or denying these emotions makes them stronger and lead us to deadlock,” she maintains.