BBVA unveils a pledge of principles against discrimination and harassment in the workplace

At the fourth annual Diversity Days, the bank launched a pledge to champion and support the universal values of human dignity, freedom, respect and equality. This new milestone marks the end of a year that has seen numerous initiatives in favor of diversity, including the target of 35% of management positions being held by women, implementing a protocol to fight harassment against LGTBI people, and launching a program to prevent ageism.

Accordingly, the bank has signed a pledge of principles against discrimination and harassment in the workplace to protect its employees against discriminatory behavior and any unfavorable treatment on grounds of nationality, race, ethnic origin, religion, gender, sexual orientation, sexual identity or gender expression, marital status, age, economic status, disability or family responsibility.

The charter dedicates specific sections to emphasizing support for the LGBTIQ+ community to make themselves visible and identify themselves, to promoting a corporate culture that embraces differences, to creating an inclusive and safe work environment, and to committing to prevent, detect, rectify and sanction any form of discriminatory conduct.

This statement marks the end of a year in which BBVA has taken key steps to make inclusion a reality in the workplace. As early as 2022, the bank introduced Diversity guidelines as a cornerstone of its people strategy. That same year, the bank set the goal of reaching 35% female representation in management positions by 2024.

In the field of LGBTIQ+, the company has put in place a pioneering protocol in the workplace to facilitate, streamline and normalize gender transitions within the organization. In 2023, BBVA introduced a protocol against harassment against LGBTI people, together with a set of measures to achieve equality for people who form part of this community. The aim is to achieve real and effective equality, to safeguard the rights of LGBTI people in the bank and to establish a procedure for reporting cases of harassment motivated by sexual orientation, sexual identity or gender expression.

Finally, earlier this year, BBVA started a working group to promote generational diversity, with the ultimate goal of challenging stereotypes, biases and exclusionary attitudes that may exist with respect to age.

The financial institution is celebrating its fourth year of holding Diversity Days, an internal event dedicated to offering staff the opportunity to broaden their knowledge on diversity and inclusion issues, while learning more about the projects promoted by the bank in this field around the world. Over the course of the event, the bank’s employees across the world were able to attend conferences addressing inclusive leadership, care for diverse customers, gender equality, generational diversity, LGBTI+, diversity of abilities and cultural diversity.