Bizkaia Talent and PWN Bilbao present a study about talent and diversity management

• The aim of the report is to raise awareness in the business and the science & technology sector about new leadership profiles and to appreciate the need to establish a joint action plan enabling the Basque Country to progress in this area

Over the period since Bizkaia Talent set up its Be Basque Dual Career service in 2015 to accompany international professional couples in their transition and working and sociocultural integration, the organisation has detected that the gender factor plays a key role. The fact is that 75% of the partners of international professionals who have benefitted from the aforementioned service are women.

With this in mind, and working in collaboration with PWN Bilbao, an international movement which fosters progress in women’s professional careers and promotes gender equality in companies, the two organisations have organised several meetings with agents involved in talent management: human resources consultancies, universities, companies and technology and science centres. The aim of such meetings has been to put forward the needs of these women and make companies and the science & technology area aware of new leadership profiles and the importance of talent diversity for the success and efficiency of both companies and society in general.

One of the main conclusions to be drawn from the report is the lack of a joint strategy designed to manage diversity in general in companies, particularly with respect to gender, as a vital factor in terms of progress and competitivity in the business world. At present there is a predominance of highly traditional policies and procedures in companies, with a marked lack of diversity on company management committees which are mainly made up of local men and have a very limited female participation.

Mr Ivan Jimenez, Managing Director of Bizkaia Talent, expressed his “gratitude for the collaboration of all those involved in drawing up the report” and emphasised that “we must have the conviction to launch a genuine and profound change in the internal culture of organizations and open up to diversity, for which the participation of all those involved in the company world is absolutely essential”.

>> See report “Talent and Diversity Management: New Leadership Profiles” <<