CIUDAD REAL.- Achieve equal treatment and opportunities between women and men; eliminate employment discriminationso that all employees have the same opportunities to grow and improve, as well as promoting conditions that prevent sexual harassment and harassment based on sex, are the fundamental objectives of the equality plans.
An instrument that companies that have more than fifty workers are legally obliged to have, although those that are not in this case can also voluntarily choose to have it, as recalled by the General Directorate of Self-Employed, Labor and Social Economy, belonging to the Ministry of Economy, Business and Employment of Castilla-La Mancha.
This is the case of The Crystal Ball, a company of recreational-educational activitiesin whose work philosophy equality had always been present at the level of labor relations, but also putting it into practice transversally in all the activities they carried out.
“It is our way of working, of distributing tasks, it was implicit in our daily life,” he explains to this newspaper. Rosa Maria Morenoone of the founding partners of this Castilian-La Mancha company based in Alcázar de San Juan (Ciudad Real), which develops projects throughout the region and also has experience abroad.
An entity that has around twenty people on staff, so was not required by law to have an equality plan, but voluntarily proposed to have one and in this way “make public that way of working,” explains Moreno, “show how we relate from that point of view.”
Thus, it was in 2021 when the idea arose and in 2022 they began the work to prepare the audit. “A long process, which was not easy,” Moreno acknowledges, throughout which it was necessary to “become aware of the company’s human resources, of the equal or non-existent relationships in it, at all levels.”
A task for which this small company had to ask for external help, which “represented an economic expense.” An effort that they decided to undertake, not knowing then the aid they could benefit from and then not meeting the profile to resort to the existing aid from the Women’s Institute of Castilla-La Mancha for the preparation of equality plans. “When it starts everything is very limited,” explains Moreno, although later “they open up.”
REGIONAL GOVERNMENT SUPPORT FOR EQUALITY PLANS
Equality plans that are the maximum exponent of the development of equality policies in companies, an instrument that allows equality to be integrated into labor relations and in all areas of management of organizations, thus moving towards effective equality between women and men. men.
So far there are 468 companies who have registered their equality plans in the Registry of Equality Plans of the Ministry of Economy, Business and Employment, of which 139 are voluntary and 329 mandatory.
On this path towards equality, the commitment of the Government of Castilla-La Mancha is firm. Proof of this is the cross-cutting drive it has been giving to the development of equality policies and helping to respond to the new responsibilities that companies have in this matter. An impulse that this year has meant more than 190,000 euros for the implementation of equality plans.
Since 2016, the amount allocated by the regional Executive for the creation and development of more than 180 equality plans exceeds one million euros.
Plans like the one implemented in La Bola de Cristal, whose development was launched with that analysis of the situation. An audit that for La Bola de Cristal was “a grounding and awareness about what is happening in the company,” explains Rosa María Moreno, aware that hers is not in itself an “egalitarian” company, putting in that she “the number of women has always been 90 percent and the number of men 10.”
An unequal distribution that also had a majority of women at the management level. “At first we were two partners and one partner,” explains Moreno, who points out that this circumstance led them to receive several recognitions in terms of equality, “due to the number of founding businesswomen partners,” he specifies. Specifically, the company has received the Equality Distinction awarded by the Women’s Center and the Alcázar de San Juan City Council.
Although at the level of corporate participation the situation has balanced in recent years, as one of the founding partners left the company after the pandemic, and more men have joined the workforce, women continue to be the majority.
THE ADVANTAGES OF THE EQUALITY PLAN
In the process of developing the equality plan “we have become aware of a series of issues that we had not taken into account”says Moreno, who recognizes the advantages that having taken this step are already seeing in his company.
Although many issues were already part of their work philosophy and of relating to each other, with the equality plan “all training, protocols on harassment and gender violence, “They are more transparent for all components of the company.” “It is a benefit for everyone, an advantage.”
In terms of conciliation, it has not been necessary to apply major changes, “we have always been very flexible with fatherhood and motherhoodit was already being done; now we have it in writing,” he points out. The same has happened, for example, with the protocols for pregnant women“We were already doing even more than what the plan establishes,” acknowledges Moreno, who points out that other issues that have arisen “with daily practice” have also been added.
Aspects like the incorporation of inclusive language It is something that is constantly being reinforced, “in team meetings it is highlighted,” he explains, aware that, although many things “were already done”, this year of validity of his equality plan is also being “a period of adaptation “.
Along with this, the fact of having an equality plan, not by obligation but voluntarily, is also being a point in your favor with your potential clientsmany of which already choose companies that have these plans. “City councils value it when it comes to tenders, minor contracts; also associations that are sensitive to this matter for their activities,” says Moreno, who also recognizes that since his is not a common case, it is also helping, “people are becoming interested in our work.
In this way, La Bola de Cristal is about to complete the first year of its equality plan, a document that “must be complied with and evaluated,” says Rosa María Moreno. In these first twelve months, following an established protocol, which will lead to a review at the end of the year, although the most significant one will occur after four years of validity, which will then be the time to evaluate and assess the continuity of the equality plan and the measures with which to improve it.
#Voluntary #awareness #benefit #success #Bola #Cristal #providing #equality #plan
