The current data is overwhelming: barely half of working age women are represented in the labour force globally, compared to 76 per cent of men. And it is both urgent and necessary to bridge the gap.

It is an undeniable fact that women are over-represented in poorly paid jobs, requiring barely any qualifications and with little or no social protection. They are also under-represented in senior management positions, as well as in the fields of science and technology. This is the context of the call from the UN to the international community.

Here at FCC we have made significant progress in this area, encouraging and boosting, in increasingly greater numbers, the presence of women in our organisation. We have achieved this across different areas including technical and engineering roles, project managers, senior managers and board directors, and we are also recruiting women, year upon year, to work in our group. To be precise, 1,637 women joined the group in 2016.

The effort made by all of these women, the firm commitment of the management and the collaboration of many colleagues has meant that we can improve our quality and diversity ratios in the company every year. Nonetheless, it is evident that there is still a lot to be done.

In this time of great change, the technological shift we are witnessing must include the end of occupational segregation. This is because, among other reasons, recent studies have confirmed that lower female participation has a negative impact on the performance of companies.

Therefore, on this International Women's Day, we would like to congratulate all of the women in FCC Group for their commitment, determination, great work and their valuable contribution to the growth of the company.

From our deeply held belief that economies that benefit women benefit society as a whole, we will continue with our commitment to this area.

Kind regards and Happy International Women's Day.

        Esther Alcocer Koplowitz                                           Carlos M. Jarque Uribe

Chairwoman of FCC Group                                             CEO of FCC Group