The President of Fundacion Diversidad Mrs. Maria Eugenia Giron was in charge of opening the awards ceremony. She stressed the importance of continuing to work towards implementing a business model that can address the new social conditions in which cultural and generational diversity is an essential element and which our future depends on.

The awards were divided into three categories: SME, Great Enterprise and International Enterprise. We had a total of 74 companies that presented their candidature to the third edition of the awards.

The awards were handed out by the Deputy Director General of the Institute for Women and Equal Opportunities from the Spanish Ministry of Equality Mrs. Rosa Maria Candela, the members of the Board along with Mr. Manuel Alejandre the Director of Human Resources for Procter & Gamble which in turn was the company that sponsored the awards. 

The three companies that were the victors during this third edition were; Aguas de Albacete in the SME category, Room Mate Hotels under the great enterprise category and Vodafone was awarded with the international category for best diversity management practices. The awards were given under a holistic approach meaning that their diversity practices had to include at least three diversity dimensions in their D&I initiatives. The three entities have stood out for their innovative practices and their permanent commitment to the management of diversity among their teams.

In addition, during the Awards ceremony we carried out a signing act which was lead by Mr. Juergen Foecking the Deputy Director of the Representation of the European Commission in Spain. Mr. Foecking highlighted the importance the Diversity Charter possess in our society as the bridge between the government and the private sector.  There was a total of seven new signatories: AIG Europe, Cerner Iberia, Dentons Europe Lawyers, IKEA, Trabajando en Positivo, Umivale and Wizink Bank. In turn, Cabal Consulting, Santander Group, JTI Iberia and Orange Spain, renewed their commitment with the principles of the Diversity Charter.

Furthermore, Mar Aguilera both the Director for the Diversity Foundation and the Alares Foundation was in charge of giving out the seal and certificate for Socially Responsible Enterprise (ESR). This seal is awarded by the Alares Foundation in collaboration with the Diversity Foundation to those organizations that carry out specific actions towards the betterment of their employees’ lives. In this occasion the seal was awarded to the Thyssen Museum and Santander Group.

Mr. Jesus Vega a lead lecturer and motivational speaker was the key speaker during the ceremony. He highlighted among our attendees how although we are on track to providing a more equalitarian society, much work is still pending.  He urged the 150 attendees who were present at the ceremony to individually work in their companies to reach such equality in an effective and real manner.

Finally, Doña. Rosa Maria Candela was in charge of closing the event highlighting that talent and diversity always go hand in hand.