Cuatrecasas, Gonçalves Pereira to Increase Number of Women in Top Management Positions

The firm has signed two agreements with the Spanish Ministry of Health, Social Services and Equality to increase the number of women in management positions and on its board of directors.

Chairman and Managing Partner Rafael Fontana, next to Spanish Ministry of Health, Social Services and Equality, Ana Mato

Cuatrecasas, Gonçalves Pereira has signed two collaboration agreements with the Spanish Ministry of Health, Social Services and Equality to promote female representation in management positions and encourage female leadership. Ana Mato, Spanish Minister for Health, Social Services and Equality, and Rafael Fontana, Chairman and Managing Partner of Cuatrecasas, Gonçalves Pereira, signed the agreements.

Together with eight other large Spanish companies, the firm commits to improving gender balance on its board of directors and aims to have a minimum female participation of 25% in 2020 and 33% in 2024.

Under the second agreement, over the next four years, the firm will adopt measures to increase the number of women in management positions and on management boards—up to 25%—a commitment made by 70 other leading Spanish companies.

Directing her words towards the signing companies, the Minister for Health, Social Services and Equality stated that “with these agreements, you are taking a step forward towards an equal opportunity environment in your companies. You are an example for other companies in the country, which I encourage to create similar policies, create richness and value, manage their resources efficiently and intelligently, and to back female talent. Because, more women means better companies.”

According to the Chairman and Managing Partner of Cuatrecasas, Gonçalves Pereira, “Women’s participation in executive positions continues to be low, despite 60% of university title holders in Europe being women. This is a loss of talent that society cannot permit. Diversity is a competitive advantage, and at our firm, we are aware of the importance of there being a balance between women and men in management positions; that is why we have taken on this commitment.”

 Scope of the agreements and compliance

The commitments Cuatrecasas, Gonçalves Pereira takes on are based on strong intentions to promote female leadership throughout the professional career and in the partnership, and aimed at attracting and retaining female talent as a competitiveness and development tool. The objective is for the firm’s management bodies to benefit from all the firm’s talent. As a signing company, it commits to continue designing measures for efficiently organizing and managing time, which lead to a better work-life balance, and promote use of these measures by both men and women.

Cuatrecasas, Gonçalves Pereira has developed a statistical information policy on the proportion of men and women working for it, enabling it to have an up-to-date internal diagnosis and to identify obstacles to women’s career development. Based on this, it will implement work plans and specific actions to improve and promote women’s career development. It will identify and train female managers and potential female managers with leadership qualities, and will implement work methods that prioritize efficiency, excellence, innovation and productivity.

Both the firm and the Ministry for Health, Social Services and Equality have agreed on measures to follow-up on and improve the application of these agreements, including regular and final reports assessing the effective presence of women in management positions; the ministry has committed to implementing top-level training, coaching and mentoring plans required to meet the objectives agreed regarding equal opportunities for men and women.

Commitment to equality

The signed agreements are aimed at developing and strengthening the measures Cuatrecasas, Gonçalves Pereira includes in its Equality Plan. This plan establishes (i) a set of measures aimed at promoting gender balance, and (ii) a work method that prioritizes efficiency and quality as tools for offering an excellent service and a career for the best talent in an equal opportunity environment.

The plan also includes a harassment prevention code and a commitment to combat discrimination in the workplace.

 Cuatrecasas, Gonçalves Pereira is a member of the EACC New York.