An agreement at the island level promotes two programs aimed, on the one hand, at promoting the presence of women on the boards of directors of Tenerife and, on the other hand, training in the entrepreneurship sector for young pre-university students. It is one of the main consequences of the meeting held yesterday between the Tenerife Councilrepresented by its president, Rosa Davilaand the employers’ association of island businessmen, through the Spanish Confederation of Business Organizations (CEOE) with Pedro Alfonso at the head.
Rosa Dávila valued: «Women take a leading role in the transformation of current societies and hence the collaboration projects to which we commit with the CEOE.
Pedro Alfonso, for his part, indicated that “we appreciate the support of the Cabildo in a star design that we developed some time ago and that the president wants to promote. “It is about the integration of women through two programs to be developed throughout this year.” He delved into them. On the one hand, Chicas Unparables, “aimed at training young ESO or Baccalaureate students to teach them how to work as a team and at business management levels.” In addition, the “important Progresa project Canary Islands “Aimed at the directors of the firms that make up the productive fabric of Tenerife,” he stated.
Both parties stressed the importance of strengthening the female presence in management positions to consolidate gender equality in the business sector in the first years of the current mandate. This agreement will allow for the joint development in 2024 of both projects focused on “the integration of women with the positioning of pre-university and managerial roles.”
In relation to the budget item for the initiatives to be developed this year, they have not yet received final approval but both institutions, public and private, will make contributions.
‘Progresa Canarias’. The goal is for more women to reach positions of greater responsibility in companies. She runs companies committed to equality and the professional promotion of women. Women participate in pre-managerial situations and the managers of both sexes of the companies who will act as mentors. The first pilot edition took place between October 2022 and June 2023. Among other subjects, teaching, including simulations, on leadership was developed; opportunities identification; the person as a source of competitiveness; executive presence and communication; Innovation Management; digitization and transformation or project management.
‘Unstoppable Girls’. The basis is in different studies that show how girls grow up with more self-demand and insecurity due to the perception of different roles between men and women. The research explains that from the age of six, they begin to underestimate themselves, to the point that it is at that age when they mostly attribute “very intelligent” jobs to boys, and not to themselves. Furthermore, at eleven years old there is a gap that directly affects girls’ detachment from mathematics. From there, in the adolescent age, a rejection is generated towards STEM careers, science and technology. On the other hand, there are many women who reveal the well-known Imposter Syndrome when they have accepted positions of responsibility in their professional careers. There is data that certifies how women demand professional and salary promotions five times less than men, hesitate more when accepting a position and make fewer contacts, as it generates less visibility in careers and leadership. Also in this case there was already a pilot project with 50 places, 64 registration applications and the participation of 22 educational centers in Tenerife.
Collaboration. The island president, Rosa Dávila, highlighted during the meeting with the CEOE the importance of collaboration between the public and private sectors to generate employment. He valued, as the CEOE had done before in the presentation of the Building Future project at around 5,000 million euros “the possible economic injection in the coming years in projects in this area on the path to reaching full employment in Tenerife.”
Favorable data. “We only have to look at the latest unemployment data for December 2023, the lowest since 2019,” said the president, “with almost 14,000 fewer unemployed.” For his part, Pedro Alfonso highlighted that “the employment data is resounding.” The president of the Tenerife employers’ association highlighted various common projects on textiles, crafts or fashion. He highlighted the commitment to employability through internships in companies through Dual FP and the continued success of the mentoring project that connects experts from various sectors with recently created companies.
