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The acting minister or Culture and Sport, José Guirao, and the chairman of Iberdrola, Ignacio Galán have extended the agreement which made the company the main driving force behind the Higher Sports Council (CSD) Women's Universe Programme.

The event, which took place today in Madrid at the High Performance Centre (Centro de Alto Rendimiento (CAR)) of the Higher Sports Council was also attended by the president of the Higher Sports Council, the Secretary of State for Sport, María José Rienda, and the presidents of sports federations and athletes representing the 16 federations supported by Iberdrola.

The purpose of this agreement is to nurture and develop women's sport as an instrument for recognising women's importance in sport and in society in general.

In 2016, Iberdrola became the first company to make a global commitment to encourage women’s participation in sport under the same conditions as men. As things currently stand, the company supports 16 federations (gymnastics, triathlon, rugby, canoeing, badminton, football, hockey, volleyball, table tennis, athletics, karate, boxing, surfing, ice sports and fencing), lending its name to 22 leagues, all at the top level, and it also provides backing to over 35 sportswomen. 

The agreement has increased the number of federated members in these 16 disciplines by 32%, of whom there are now 316,500. The company also helps by the providing necessary infrastructure in terms of installations, transport, other medical services, referees and other technical support, improving the competitions as well as the clubs’ ability to monitor their performance.

These interventions and additional resources are translating into a higher level of competition and are allowing many of the elite Spanish athletes, who have had to moved abroad to pursue their careers, to come back and compete in Spain.

Sport, crucial for promoting equality

Iberdrola, as set out in the equal opportunities and work-life balance policy approved by the Board of Directors, believes that equal opportunities between men and women are among the companies essential values.

With this commitment, the company is improving success in women's sport, encouraging equal opportunities and promoting healthy habits in society from an early age. According to Iberdrola, the most ambitious challenge is to promote women's sport and help to increase its visibility, its achievements and the creation of new role models in society.

The company also drives and disseminates the role of women in sport by means of the ‘Women's Universe Tour’, an initiative from the Higher Sports Council, the Fundación Deporte Joven and Iberdrola, which launched the third tour in June. The purpose of this sports format is to travel around several Spanish cities to transmit the ideas of effort and improvement through the practice and exhibition of different disciplines and to spread the news of the successes achieved by Spanish athletes. 

Recently, Iberdrola and the Royal Spanish Football Federation (Real Federación Española de Fútbol (RFEF)) presented the Spanish Women's Football Team as the first Sustainable Team, in order to raise awareness of the importance of renewable energies and sustainability as a way of combating climate change.

Iberdrola, committed to the SDGs

Iberdrola has fully incorporated the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) into its strategy. The goals are part of the 2030 Agenda and were approved by the UN in September 2015.

By supporting women in sport, Iberdrola is focusing its efforts on gender equality and female empowerment (Goal 5), health and well-being (Goal 3) and promoting public-private initiatives (Goal 17), such as this alliance with the Higher Sports Council (Consejo Superior de Deportes (CSD)).