Under the hashtag #ThursdaysWithDiversity, we met for 3 consecutive Thursdays, virtually, with the participation of 3 guest speakers and panel discussions.

The first session, held on Thursday, October 28, focused on science and innovation as levers of competitiveness and business sustainability. It addressed issues such as the relationship between diversity, innovation and science; why diversity is a lever for innovation; and what strategies are being implemented to promote women in the field of science. Speakers included Carme Artigas, Secretary of State for Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence; María Eugenia Girón, President of Fundación Diversidad; Sergio Rodríguez, CEO of Pfizer Spain; Nuria Oliver, Academic-Director of Women and Engineering; and Salvador Aragón, Director of Innovation at IE University. 

The second session, held on Thursday, November 4, discussed diversity as a lever for digital transformation and business sustainability. Specifically, aspects such as why the impact of diversity is important in terms of innovation and digital transformation; how we can use diversity management as an opportunity to develop business strategies with a positive impact and at the same time profitable; and how to turn diversity into a lever to increase business innovation and sustainability. For this purpose, we counted with the participation of Celia de Anca, Vice Dean of IE University; Gemma Galdon-Clavell, Founder of Eticas Counsulting; Teresa María Alarcos, Independent Director of several companies and President of the W Startup Community; and Jorge Cagigas, Founding Partner of Epicteles and Trustee of Fundación para la Diversidad.

Finally, the third session, which took place on November 11, focused on technology and innovation as a lever for business competitiveness and sustainability. Questions were addressed, such as the challenges and opportunities that arise when betting on diverse workforces in the technology sectors, how diversity impacts in terms of technology and innovation, and how we put diversity at the service of technology and innovation. Felipe Romera, General Manager of the Parque Tecnológico de Andalucía (Málaga Tech Park); Silvia Leal, International Expert in Technology and Future Trends; Iñigo Merino, Solutions and Innovation Engineer, Leader of the HR Innovation Hub and Head of Early Talent at SAP; and Carlota Mateos, Cofounder at RUSTICAE and PlentEat and trustee of Fundación Diversidad, participated as speakers in the session.

In connection with these sessions, on July 8, 2021, Fundación para la Diversidad presented the second Innodiversidad Index, a study that measures how companies jointly manage diversity and innovation to increase their competitiveness and efficiency in times of crisis. From the study we can see data such as: 8 out of 10 companies have paid special attention to gender diversity management during the pandemic; senior talent is the one that has advanced the most in interest by companies by more than 6 points (the evolution stands at 65% in the 2019 report to 71.4% in this second report of 2021); and the company multiplies its innovation in business model as a response to the new crisis environment. Therefore, through the presentation of best practices and examples, the cycle of webinars responds to the need to continue to deepen this topic.