Companies that promote diversity and inclusion obtain significant benefits in terms of productivity and innovation, so their management requires a committed and proactive approach from management. This was the main conclusion of a new edition of Diálogos La Vanguardia organized in collaboration with Sanofi in which Raquel Tapia, general director of Sanofi Spain, participated; Francisco Mesonero Fernández de Córdoba, general director of the Adecco Foundation and head of sustainability for the Adecco Group in Spain; Ilsen Rodríguez, head of Human Resources at Amazon in Spain; Núria Sabaté, head of the pharmaceutical industry at Accenture in Spain, and Amaia Elizalde, director of Tent Spain
“We must embrace diversity and inclusion, because it makes us stronger and better; “There is no need to be afraid,” defended Tapia, who highlighted that for Sanofi it is a “tool” that the company, as a pharmaceutical company, uses to achieve its great objective of “transforming the practice of medicine.” “Companies are more competitive and sustainable over time if the talent they incorporate is rich and they must do so regardless of the label,” added Mesonero, who emphasized the great challenge of senior talent.
Diversity ranges from origin to sexual orientation, through religion or dysfunction, among others. The challenge is to achieve a comfortable environment for anyone and for them to perceive that it is a priority for the company. “It is respect for the individual,” said Sabaté, who recalled that this is precisely a fundamental value for Accenture. Business leaders are the ones who have the maximum responsibility. “They have to believe it and act accordingly,” said Tapia, to warn that diversity requires courage. “Leaders who believe in it will have more options to achieve success,” he emphasized, in line with the opinion expressed by Mesonero, who added that when “a CEO embraces diversity he falls in love with it, because it brings a lot of value to the company.”
The firms present in the debate explained that they have indicators to evaluate diversity management, but they warned that they must go beyond the simple act of “checking the box,” because it is the way to make it permeate the entire organization. You have to ask and be attentive, because that is when people realize that it is not a mere procedure, but something important, Tapia recalled. Sabaté explained that Accenture’s commitment to diversity is “total and absolute”, to the point that failure to comply with diversity ratios has an impact on the variable remuneration of the executive team. “And zero tolerance measures must be established,” he added.
In this sense, they all highlighted that large companies have support groups, volunteers, mentoring and specific leadership programs to facilitate environments in which people find their own tools to promote within the company. Also with the objective of involving the entire workforce, Rodríguez put on the table the need to activate “listening channels with employees.”
“Diversity covers 360 degrees, that listening process can totally change your perspective,” he declared. Tapia explained Tapia explained that, in the case of Sanofi, diversity goes beyond the workforce and even reaches clinical trials, since certain pathologies do not affect men and women equally. This is the case of multiple sclerosis, a disease that has twice the incidence in women. “We must make it easier for minority groups to join the rehearsals; We have to see what we can do as a company to help make it happen,” she stated.
Amaia Elizalde explained the work of Tent España to support companies in their labor inclusion initiatives for refugees. Tent Spain is a coalition of large companies from across the country that are mobilizing to help them access the labor market. The coalition was launched in November last year and 40 large companies have already joined, including Sanofi, Accenture, Adecco and Amazon. She defended that the incorporation of refugees into the labor market is not only positive for them and society as a whole, but also for companies. “They represent important talent, but also resilience, motivation and desire to improve,” defended Elizalde, who encouraged more companies to join Tent Spain.
