The 2nd Equal Opportunities Roadmap came into force three years ago

Magtel has 6% more female workers. Over the last four years, female staff members have increased from 16% of all employees in 2016 to 22.2% today. This development reverses the trend in the industries the company operates in, historically prone to employing men: energy, telecommunications, civil works, or railways.

Three years to the day, Magtel adopted its 2nd Equal Opportunities for Men and Women Roadmap. This is a pledge to reach actual gender equality among staff and to raise awareness in this regard. The roadmap gave rise to measures that fostered women’s access to, presence in, and promotion within, the company. Company staff has currently 124 women. The workforce has grown by more than 100 employees over the last two years; both genders did so in equal measure. The roadmap also resulted in the creation of the Equality Agent; the implementation of an operational protocol against workplace harassment; the drafting of a manual on work-life balance; and awareness-raising on internal promotion of female staff members.

Another initiative under this project was the annual use and application of the self-diagnostics tool on gender pay gap, provided by the Spanish ministry of Presidency, Parliamentary Relations and Equality. Magtel’s Human Resources department has been applying it since 2018 to ensure workers of both genders get paid equally for the same job. This tool fostered change in the organisation’s ethos with a view to reaching gender parity.

Beatriz López, head of Human Resources, said the in-house promotion effort over that year had a beneficial influence on the outcomes. Positive as though that may be, work should continue towards reducing any instance of inequality.

In addition, Magtel has applied for the Equality at the Company Mark (“DIE” in Spanish) for three years now (application pending resolution); this is a mark conducive to business excellence on equality.  DIE honours businesses and other organisations that are top performers on their workplace gender equality policies and plans.

At any rate, the company showed determination to follow different strategies towards making working hours more flexible that in no way punish women’s careers paths in the wake of maternity.

Industry vocations  

Another goal Magtel focuses on is fostering telecommunications-related vocations among women and encouraging women eligibility for technical jobs. With this in mind, the company set up a course on installing fibre to the home (FTTH), targeted mainly at women. These jobs have been traditionally held by men, and the company is determined to balance this out.

Another policy window was raising awareness of equal opportunities for men and women and highlighting the role women play both in society and the company. The company promoted or participated in a number of events, such as the rally on International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, the reception of Inspiring Girls movement in Cordoba, or the support shown for Django Girls’ first meeting in Seville. Django Girls is a non-profit bent on reducing the gender gap in the tech and development industries by holding free workshops. Similarly, Magtel managers attended institutional meetings, lectures, or talks on women in the corporate or entrepreneurial world.

On the media front, Magtel maintains a specific section on its website featuring news, articles and documentation on equality, and sponsors social media campaigns that turn the spotlight on women leaders in science and technology.

Likewise, the company created an “Equality space” on the intranet. Available to all staff members, this area collects documentation, news, articles, and applicable regulations on equality. Over the last two years an emphasis has been placed on in-house training, recruitment and selection, and continuous professional development (CPD); on using inclusive language and imagery in internal documentation; and on conducting awareness campaigns. These measures ensured that all new staff members received specific training on gender equality and that procedures were set to, among other things, draw up documentation and job offers. In this regard, Magtel adopted new strategies for making working hours more flexible that helped employees strike a work-life balance, which led to higher motivation on the job.

The 2nd Equal Opportunities for Men and Women Roadmap, approved by Magtel’s Board of Directors in 2017 and effective until 2022, draws on efforts to this end from the first roadmap in 2015. This document is based on seven pillars covering issues such as policy on pay, work-life balance, equal access to jobs, equality in work relations, CPD, or internal promotions. The measures put forward in it are discussed and followed up on by the HR department, the Standing Committee on Equality, and the Equality Agent, which regularly agree on upgrades to the roadmap.