Gender equality

The numerous advances in the field of neuroscience allow us to understand in greater depth how the human brain and its different mechanisms work. “Energy designs our thoughts. Energy can be programmed, and therefore so can thoughts,” said Ana Ibáñez, an expert in applied neuroscience and a high performance brain coach, during a talk as part of the BBVA Tech Women program.

Employees of the financial institution commit to supporting the growth and development of BBVA's female professionals. In celebration of International Women's Day, the bank organizes workshops, talks, and various training sessions.

The financial institution had 34.7 percent women in leadership positions in 2023, with promotions of women surpassing those of men in all countries where the bank has a presence. BBVA has announced a new target for the next two years, aiming to reach 36.8 percent female managers.

Although the most recent Gender Equality Report presented at the World Economic Forum recorded that Colombia has closed the gender equality gap by 75.1 percent, it is still a challenge to reach the figures of countries such as Iceland, which ranks first with 91.2 percent.

The bank extends leave to its employees to care for sick family members, to accompany a partner in prenatal check-ups, to take young children in their first week of school, pregnancy protection measures to care for children or adoption and foster care processes. These are some of the improvements incorporated in BBVA's new Equality Plan, which also includes protocols against harassment in the workplace and non-discrimination of the LGTBI community.

Garanti BBVA, in cooperation with KAGİDER, organized the country’s Women Entrepreneurs Competition for the 16th time this year. The winners of each category of the competition were announced at the June 1st awards ceremony.

After announcing that the bank will have 35 percent women in management positions in 2024, BBVA has launched the high performance program ‘I am female talent’, which is geared toward the bank’s female employees with the greatest potential for growth. The bank has also presented a new remuneration policy for executive directors, which includes a diversity indicator as part of the variable incentives.

The 2023 Bloomberg Gender Equality Index measures companies’ commitment and transparency in the presentation and monitoring of gender data. BBVA is listed on this benchmark index for the sixth year in a row with a score that is above the average for all companies; above the average for companies in the finance sector; and above the average for Spanish companies.

The bank celebrates the third edition of Diversity Days, an internal event to promote diversity, inclusion and equality in the workforce through activities, conferences and events throughout the week. As part of Diversity Days, the bank informed its workforce about its Diversity Guidelines, a general guide for action that makes respect for differences, and thus for diversity, a fundamental pillar of the company’s strategy.

Women in Banking (WIB) was created with the purpose of leading and promoting conscious change regarding the value of women in decisive positions in the Spanish banking sector. The initiative was launched thanks to the backing of the Spanish Banking Association (AEB in Spanish), and seven other banks promoting it : BBVA, BNY Mellon, Citi, Deutsche Bank, ING, Sabadell and Santander.

The financial institution is launching the second edition of the BBVA CIB Female Graduate Training Program, an initiative to incorporate 20 fresh female graduates in the BBVA Corporate & Investment Banking area. This initiative offers the opportunity to unlock the potential of the selected women with immersive training for a year that includes placements in different teams and countries before joining the workforce. This program is aligned with the bank's diversity strategy and shows the bank's commitment to promoting female profiles in areas where they are less present.

The road to equality requires us to redefine gender roles to free them from stereotypes and prejudices inherited from past social norms. In this new paradigm, the company plays a key role if it wants to attract and retain the best profiles. In the search for this approach in favor of ungendered talent, BBVA is committed to programs and actions that reflect different family models, new paternities, the promotion of women and the visibility of role models to amplify the message of diversity.

BBVA’s Turkish unit recently became the only company in the country to be included in Bloomberg’s Gender Equality Index for the 6th consecutive year. The bank was recognized for its social and economic empowerment of women, its promotion of women’s participation in decision-making mechanisms and its efforts to achieve gender equality in professional and personal life. As a result, the bank’s score rose from 78.56 last year to 88.56 this year.

For the fifth year in a row, the Bloomberg Gender Equality Index (2022 Gender Equality Index) has included BBVA in its annual report that analyzes companies’ commitment to this issue. The firm lists the bank due to the diversity and inclusion that helped it improve its rating by five points from the last edition. Garanti BBVA, the Group’s subsidiary in Turkey, is also part of the index.

A lack of role models, stereotypes and difficulties accessing funding make it hard for women to launch businesses. Committing to work-life balance, redefining the face of entrepreneurs and new business and digital models are some key aspects that could help make entrepreneurial opportunities more egalitarian.

Sandra Ceballos is a single mother who besides tending to the needs of her four children, also takes care of the environment through her recycling business. Jessica Quipainao, also the primary breadwinner in her household, preserves her Mapuche heritage by making jewelry. Johana Jurado sells garments to leave a legacy for her daughter, and therefore strives to keep this small business afloat. They are just three of the 1.5 million women entrepreneurs across five Latin American countries that are thriving with help from the BBVA Microfinance Foundation (BBVAMF). Thanks to this work and its development finance initiatives, the Foundation is the top contributor to gender equality, according to the latest report by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

Five employees share their stories, opinions on gender diversity, and tell us about the women who inspire them.

Although male stereotypes dominate science and technology, the reality is that these areas are becoming increasingly diverse and more women are gradually landing technical jobs. Today, February 11, on the occasion of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, four professionals from BBVA's Engineering and Organization unit share their views on how to tear down barriers and get young girls more interested in tech jobs.

BBVA was included in the Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index for the fourth consecutive year. The financial institution, which has placed diversity as a business objective, improved its rating by five percentage points compared to previous editions thanks to its policies of promoting equal opportunities in professional growth and an inclusive corporate culture, according to the international agency. Garanti BBVA, the Group´s Turkish subsidiary, is also included in the index.

In order for women like Yamile Salazar or Ceneris Espitia – two BBVA Microfinance Foundation (BBVAMF) entrepreneurs - to advance in Latin America they require three basic conditions: financial independence, self-esteem and a sense of belonging, or social integration, among other things.

Both organizations have announced a global collaboration agreement to promote equality among girls and young people with a focus on female role-models. "We are convinced that we can curb the impact of gender stereotypes in a simple and effective way, by teaching girls about successful women that can help them become aware of all the opportunities within their reach", said BBVA global head of Talent and Culture Carlos Casas.

Carlos Torres Vila participated in an event sponsored by the BBVA Microfinance Foundation, entitled 'Unstoppable women: Challenges to and achievements of reinvention in times of crisis'. The event, chaired by Queen Letizia of Spain, shone the spotlight on the work of Latin American women entrepreneurs and technology’s key role in propping up their resilience against the economic impact of the pandemic. Development experts from organizations such as SEGIB (Ibero-American General Secretariat), the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), UN Women and representatives of technology companies such as Google also took part in the event.

BBVA's unit in Turkey, national leader in innovative loan structuring, has agreed a ‘gender loan’ with four tourism businesses within the Limak Grubu consortium. The loan's interest rates are indexed to criteria evaluating equal opportunities across the group's entire workforce.

The BBVA Foundation has awarded Susan Fiske and Shelley Taylor the Frontiers of Knowledge Award in the category of Social Sciences for her pioneering insights, which have elucidated the role of cognitive shortcuts in shaping social interactions. The American social psychologists, two of the most influential working today, have been instrumental for understanding how these shortcuts in mental processing intervene in the formation of value judgments about other people or social situations.

2020 is a crucial year for women and girls, everywhere. We celebrate the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women and adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. It also marks the five-year milestone of the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals. This year’s 64th Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) was deemed to be the big commemoration and opportunity to reaffirm these mandates. There are still significant and pervasive gender gaps in the economic and political participation of women all over the world. Progress is sluggish and if we are serious about achieving the 2030 Agenda we must step up the pace.

As long as bots continue to harbor gender bias, they will continue contributing to the perpetuation of gender inequality. This is why BBVA Next Technologies, BBVA’s advanced software company, is working to reduce this kind of bias, leveraging technology to bridge the gender gap.

During the week leading to International Women's Day, BBVA held a series of events to celebrate the organization's advances in gender diversity. An event co-organized with the Inspiring Girls Foundation, in which a group of prominent women have shared their testimonials to inspire BBVA’s female workforce.

Diversity is a fundamental cornerstone of BBVA’s approach to people management and training. The holistic method the bank has adopted to address this topic encompasses the values of equal opportunity and inclusion. One of the initiatives to promote these values is to provide employees with the tools to help them remove barriers that hinder female talent and work-life balance. 'High Potential Women' is an example of one of the initiatives significantly contributing to this task.

In commemoration of International Women’s Day, BBVA’s Turkish franchise has launched a new initiative called ‘Women are the future.’ Garanti BBVA has reserved its digital channels, social networks and screens at branches for the winners of the contest, Turkey's Women Entrepreneurs Competition.