Our diversity is a source of pride

European companies face three great challenges in this second decade of the 21st century: digital transformation, environmental sustainability and an ageing population. An environment of constant change, known as VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous) is coupled with a view that emerged after the pandemic where we must accept that we do not know everything and we need to acquire different skills to understand an environment known as BANI (brittle, anxious, non-linear, and incomprehensible).

Diversity and inclusion are essential values for fostering the necessary innovation that will help us navigate this reality, but will also allow us to create a resilient workplace, prepared to overcome the future challenges that arise for us as a community.

Throughout the year, companies like Cellnex perform activities that foster an inclusive and equitable environment to provide a sense of belonging and inclusion that is vital for success in this uncertain world. Cellnex performed a number of specific activities in May to mark diversity month, organised by the European Commission: holding talks to help detect bias; publishing articles on neurodiversity; in Denmark and Sweden, it organised a cultural week with local activities to highlight the country’s cultural diversity; in the United Kingdom, it sent out a diversity questionnaire to celebrate differences and help amplify each voice, among many other activities; in France, a team of actors have performed several scenes under the title “Théâtre de la Diversity” focusing on special abilities inclusion, looking for the interaction of the spectators… “All these actions help to increasingly visualise a greater commitment by the company’s staff to create a diverse, but also safe, environment as we move towards a more inclusive workplace,” said Imen Toumi, Global Lead for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion at Cellnex.

In line with all these activities to promote diversity and the feeling of inclusion, Cellnex prepared a number of actions in June to coincide with Pride Day. In this case, two #IAmRemarkable project workshops were organised by two workers from the company who are certified facilitators of this proposal. This is a global initiative developed by Google, which aims to empower people from under-represented groups to celebrate their achievements and overcome barriers to self-promotion.

“I am very happy with the way this was received at Cellnex,” said Cati Vacas, Cellnex Spain staff member and certified #IAmRemarkable facilitator. She added “in the workshop dedicated to Pride Day we had the chance to reflect on our biases and limiting beliefs, share personal and work experiences about self-promotion, and work on how to incorporate these aspects going forward.” One of the participants, Laura Martín, underlined that it was “a session that invites us to stop and think – an intimate session, conducted in an outstanding way, in which a psychologically safe space is created and in which it is easy to be yourself. It is important for companies to create this kind of spaces and I am proud to work in one that promotes them.”

The success of Diversity Month and Pride Month is a testament to the collective effort being made, although there is still much work to be done inside organisations and society. According to the LGBTIQ Equality at a crossroads study conducted by the European Agency for Fundamental Rights, 18% of the LGBTIQ community in Europe has felt discriminated against in the work environment, and a significant percentage (31%) would rarely reveal their sexual orientation. “To reduce these figures, Cellnex works through ongoing awareness-raising to forge a future in which there is greater equity, diversity and inclusion,” says Toumi. And she adds, “for example, within the Connecting Circles programme, the first one created was dedicated to emotional-sexual diversity, creating a safe environment where you can speak freely, share knowledge or ask for advice.”

Because we all have something to be proud of!