CaixaBank Asset Management (AM), the CaixaBank Group's fund manager, has been recognised as the Asset Manager with the “Best gender representation” in the world in the category of banks with 50 to 100 managers at the Citywire Gender Diversity Awards It is the second year in a row that CaixaBank AM has received this award in its category.
The Citywire Gender Diversity Awards, which are celebrating their third edition this year, showcase those international fund managers that are committed to gender diversity through best practices in this field and assess how they incorporate this factor into their investment decisions. CaixaBank AM is the only Spanish fund manager to receive an award in all three editions of these international awards.
For Juan Bernal, Managing Director of CaixaBank AM, “this recognition highlights our commitment to promoting equal opportunities, encouraging and showcasing a meritocracy, and to strengthening the role of women in the asset management sector, as well as in society at large. To achieve this, as part of Wengage, the CaixaBank Group's diversity programme, we advocate for processes that promote equality, including gender, functional or generational."
The awards jury, consisting of six representatives from the magazine and from the global asset management industry, selected the winners based on the data collected by Citywire as part of its annual report Alpha Female 2022, and on the surveys sent out to the shortlisted firms in each category.
According to the database used by the magazine to compile its report, CaixaBank AM is the firm with the highest percentage of female fund managers in the global category of asset managers with 50 to 100 managers, with 39 percent of the total, well above the other fund managers in the category, with 33 percent and 30 percent representation respectively.
In addition, the awards jury considered how the CaixaBank Group bolsters its diversity initiatives through the Wengage programme, which is committed to promoting diversity and equal opportunities. CaixaBank AM is particularly active in mentoring women, with the participation of women executives in the 'Global Mentoring Walks', which CaixaBank organises in Spain together with the international NGO, Vital Voices.
Wengage, CaixaBank's commitment to diversity
Diversity, meritocracy, equal opportunities and talent recognition are some of the pillars of CaixaBank's corporate culture. Under these premises, it works with a commitment to be a pacesetter for its employees, promoting inclusion and participation and driving projects that promote equality, both within the company and across the whole of society. In fact, 41.6 percent of managerial positions at CaixaBank are held by women, and 40 percent of its Board of Directors are women, one of the highest proportion in the sector.
CaixaBank’s Wengage diversity programme is a Group-wide project developed by people from across the company. Based on meritocracy and on promoting equal opportunity, it works to encourage and implement every aspect of diversity: gender, functional, generational, LGBTI and cultural. Wengage includes internal measures to promote flexibility and work-life balance, to showcase diversity and to strengthen the role of women with training programmes and mentoring for women by women.
Wengage also engages in initiatives externally for customers and the wider society that seek to promote diversity and equal opportunity in four areas of action: leadership and enterprise, innovation and education, sport and rural areas.
In addition, CaixaBank has an Equality Plan to promote the principles of equal opportunity and the diversity of work teams, enhance the presence of women in managerial positions, and reinforce measures to balance personal and professional life. The plan has managerial development programmes enhancing gender diversity and oversees recruitment and training processes, while also fostering remote and flexible working .
CaixaBank is a member of the United Nations ‘Target Gender Equality’ and ‘Women’s Empowerment Principles’ international programmes; the 'More women, better companies' voluntary agreement of the Ministry of Health, Social Services And Equality in Spain; and the Diversity Charter, promoting equal opportunities and anti-discriminatory measures.
Furthermore, since 2018, CaixaBank has adhered to the EJE&CON Code of Good Practices for Talent Management and the Improvement of Company Competitiveness, committing itself to fostering the presence of women in managerial positions. It is also part of the ‘Girls chasing science' STEAM Alliance, an initiative spearheaded by the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training to promote STEAM careers in girls and young women.
As a result of its steadfast commitment, CaixaBank is among the world's top five companies in Bloomberg's 2022 Gender Equality Index.
