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so in committed and sensitive en- vironments with guarantees for the future. Diversity is a strategic business value. What should a company consider in order to embrace and integrate this value into its business structure? The most important thing is that there is a real commitment and wi- llingness at the highest level of the company, which is projected at all levels of the organisation. After this first step, it is necessary to approach diversity strategies from a triple perspective: legal, moral and economic. Currently, as consumers, employees and other stakeholders tend to priori- tise them, rewarding them in their decisions. In other words, it is clear that the social, environmen- tal and economic agendas cannot be pursued separately: they must be merged into a single sustaina- ble and inclusive growth path. Are Spanish companies really diverse? How far have we pro - gressed in comparison with nei- ghbouring countries? In recent years, our business fabric has made great strides in the con- solidation of its diversity, equity and inclusion strategies, incorporating these policies into its agendas, set- ting up teams and people in charge of the matter, and even designating budget allocations for this purpose. It is clear that there is a real interest in making progress in this area, but there is still a long way to go. There are other countries such as the US and the UK that are at the forefront, which have extensively explored the concepts of diversity, fully inte- grating them into their operations and generating KPIs to measure their impact. It is precisely these models that should inspire us and, in fact, this is what we are doing through the #CEOPorLaDiversidad alliance, which we have promoted from the Adecco Foundation and the CEOE Foundation, with the aim of acce- lerating these strategies in Spain and improving business competiti- veness, as well as its contribution to the great social challenges. There is a lot of talk about diversi - ty in all its aspects: gender, age, culture, race, sexual identity, etc. Isn’t this diversity a real driver of enrichment for the company and for the people who work in it? At the Adecco Foundation we always talk about #DiversityWi- thoutLabels, because we un- derstand that labelling diversity is mutilating its very concept. Di- versity should encompass all the people with whom the company relates and not just a few. Often, when we talk about gen- der, functional or generational diversity, we are really referring to the interest of companies in undertaking inclusion initiatives that eradicate the discrimination to which women, people with disabilities or older professionals are still exposed. However, diversity is a much broader concept that includes the values that each person harbours: cultural background, empathy, social skills, initiative, creativity, results orientation, cooperation... Each person has their own qua- lities and values, and these are what in practice lead the organisa- tion to more prosperous horizons. What is the role of business in diversity? We have to be very clear that a so- ciety cannot be truly diverse and inclusive if the agents that genera- te employment are not diverse and inclusive. Companies play a funda- mental role and fortunately more and more of them are showing their commitment. It is only a matter of time before those that are not yet convinced jump on the diversity bandwagon, as it is the only way for an organisation to be truly sustaina- ble and competitive. In other words, a company that does not care about its environment and people will not have the support of consumers or any other stakeholder group, and is doomed to disappear. How is gender equality unders- tood through the lens of diversity? At the Adecco Group and the Foun- dation, we defend the #TalentWi- thoutLabels model, which holds that all people are equal but each there are some regulations that are acting as accelerators of this type of policy, such as the Non-Fi- nancial Information and Diversity Act, or the Equality Act. However, far beyond the legal framework, diversity, equity and inclusion policies generate the necessary stability to be able to carry out business activity in a sustainable manner, by actively contributing to tackling major social challenges such as inequality, poverty or de- cent work. All this has an undenia- ble economic impact: it is well es- tablished that diverse, egalitarian and inclusive companies are also more competitive and profitable, D I V E R S I T Y D I V E R S I T Y 36

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