Promoting gender equality is part of Santander’s DNA. Through several programmes, the entity works to promote women’s leadership, gender equality and equal pay at the global level. Thanks to its ongoing work in this field, Santander has the highest score in the financial sector and the second highest score among all companies analyzed by the 2022 Bloomberg Global Gender Index. This recognition is a seal of excellence for companies around the world. A scientist with a clear commitment to the equality and advancement of women in the labor market. This year, 418 companies from 11 different sectors of activity and from 45 countries are part of this indicator.
This indicator sets an important benchmark for companies to assess their internal practices. Being a part of Banco Santander says Anna Botín, President of Banco Santander, which demonstrates our commitment to supporting gender equality and creating an inclusive environment for all of our employees.
Five Pillars of Equality
Bloomberg measures gender equality across five pillars: female leadership and talent pipeline, equal pay for gender, inclusive culture, anti-sexual harassment policies, and pro-female branding. A score is assigned from zero to 100 for each category. In the case of Santander, the bank achieved a score of 90.26%.
The entity has a clear strategy, included within its 2025 Responsible Banking Commitments. Internally, its equity programs seek to eliminate any salary gap among employees, increase the presence of women to at least 30% in management positions and raise women’s representation on the board of directors from directors to 40% (target already achieved).
social empowerment programs
Outside of the bank, Santander has developed various initiatives to empower women financially. Among them, the Prospera microfinance program stands out in Brazil, where most of the beneficiaries are women heads of household; women banking in Argentina; 81st generation in Spain; o Choose ME and Tuiio, in Mexico. In addition, the entity launched the first investment fund in Spain targeting companies that promote equality and adherence to the United Nations principles for the empowerment of women.
And in our country, too, she advocates for the advancement of women in society thanks to programs such as De Mujer a Mujer. This mentoring initiative was developed with the Integra Foundation to support victims of gender-based violence. Or the Rincointra programme, which helps women who gave up their careers for family reasons to return to the job market.
Attracting female talent
Digital technology is one of the sectors where the gender gap persists. According to a report by the European Parliament, it is estimated that the gap is known in environments related to artificial intelligence (AI) and cybersecurity, where the average number of women does not exceed 20%. “Two months ago, I visited the Santander Global T&O team at our headquarters in Boadilla del Monte. I saw firsthand how much progress we are making in getting more women into our tech workforce. We beat the market average by five points, with 31% of Our tech and operations team members are women,” Anna Putin recently commented on her LinkedIn profile.
The Women in Tech Program is one of the programs that aims to attract female talent to the so-called STEM (for its English acronym, Integrated and Applied Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics), which is part of Be Tech! With Santander to break stereotypes in favor of diversity, inclusion and gender equality in the tech industry. As the first supported hackathon FemHack Program for Women, which was held last January. Christina San Jose, Global Head of Models and Data at Entity, participated as a speaker at the event Online.
Leadership Scholarships
Women’s leadership is also one of the focus of the wide range of scholarships offered by Santander Bank. In collaboration with the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), the entity has launched a new edition of its two flagship programme: Santander Scholarships for Women | W50 Leadership 2022 – LSE and Santander Women Scholarship | Emerging Leaders 2022 – LSE. Both calls are open until March 15 and April 6, respectively. The terms and conditions can be found on the portal www.becas-santander.com.
The main objective of Santander W50 is the high-performance training of fifty women for senior management positions in companies in any sector who are looking to work and hone their leadership style. More than 700 specialists from all over the world have already participated in this international programme. The scholarship includes 100% of the cost of the training program and accommodation in London for the duration of the programme. The Emerging Leaders Program, which has already trained more than 250 women in the previous two cycles, is offering 125 scholarships to women in middle management positions, regardless of age or industry sector.