Letter from the Chairman, International Women's Day
International Women's Day has been celebrated every 8th of March since the late 20th century. It is now a global event and has developed into a space for reflection about the progress achieved by women and the aspects that still need improvement: It has become a time to recognise acts of courage and determination by women who have played an extraordinary role in the history of their countries and communities.
International Women's Day also offers us the opportunity to increase support for women's rights and participation in the political and economic arenas of our society.
FCC Group has been intensely active in advancing equality for many years. We have signed nine Equality Plans in various Group areas and companies, we have implemented many campaigns to promote equality and to fight gender-based violence, and we have drafted a protocol for avoiding abuse of authority and sexual harassment in the workplace.
To reinforce these actions, we have an Equality and Diversity Management team in Spain, whose members are committed to extending these policies and the resulting programmes and actions to their respective business areas, ensuring that these initiatives are implemented throughout the group.
As part of our Corporate Social Responsibility policy, we support international projects in developing countries and programmes which involve women, such as "Stop Obstetric Fistula", an initiative of the Women for Africa Foundation in Monrovia (Liberia), where FCC completed an architectural project and is planning to build a hospital for mothers with childbirth-derived difficulties.
On a day like today, I would like to address our female employees. Women make up 21.62% of our team; they account for 53% of all administrative jobs and 13.2% of executive posts. I would like to thank you for your hard work and dedication. It's not always easy to achieve work-life balance, and I encourage you to remain committed to FCC—you are an absolutely vital part of the Group. I have seen the same dedication, spirit and enthusiasm in my mother, Esther Koplowitz, who is an example for the women of FCC.
The United Nations' theme for International Women's Day this year is "Equality for Women is Progress for All". As recent studies have confirmed, where equality advances, so too does society, the economy, and enterprise. Therefore, we are all responsible—both men and women—for promoting equality and for eradicating anything that stands in its way.
FCC will continue to favour the access, training and development of the women in our Group because we are convinced that doing so will have a positive impact on everyone.
Esther Alcocer Koplowitz
Chairman of FCC