What does it take for a company in order
to receive this distinction?
A real commitment. We have been working
on this issue for more than three years and,
to do this, the commitment of management
is essential and without it, it would not be
possible to transmit this message throug-
hout the entire organization.
We have worked hard during these years
to ensure that equality between men and
women is a reality. We began with the sig-
nature of the Equality Plan with the trade
union organizations. This Plan contempla-
ted several types of measures such as on-
line training for the entire FCC Aqualia staff
through the e-learning platform and this will
be expanded this year to all employees.
The plan also included measures for pro-
Biographical data
Carmen Rodríguez Gómez, 43 years
old, holds a law degree from Univer-
sidad Complutense of Madrid, and a
master’s degree in Human Resources
and Organization from ESIC.
‘
She joined the company in 2001 as
the head of Labour Relations at FCC
Aqualia’s Central Zone.
She was appointed manager of Hu-
man Resources of FCC Aqualia in
2013.
When not working, she spends her
time and energy on her real passion;
her three children.
Interview with
Carmen Rodríguez Gómez
Manager of Human Resources at FCC Aqualia
fessional development and advancement
for women in the company, such as, for
example, the mentoring program that we
implemented this year.
Since we are also a company with more
than 3 million end clients, we contributed
to disseminating this equality message
through the 13 million invoices that we send
each year.
The fact that the Equality Seal (DIE) was
awarded for another three years indicates
that we are on the right track; nevertheless,
we should not be content with this and
must make more progress every year.
On life-work balance, what importance
does this have for FCC Aqualia?
I believe that reconciling our personal lives
and work goes beyond the company and
is a social and educational issue. The com-
pany cannot work on this alone since there
must be a social change, a change in the
mentality, for example, in the pre-establis-
hed roles of men and women at home.
For me, reconciliation in the company is
based on its awareness of the problem
of people who work for the company and
this must be combined with flexibility. We
have to facilitate the balance between the
professional and personal lives of our staff
and only then will we be able to have the
real commitment of people in the company.
In any case, reconciliation is an important
part of our equality plan and is one of the
issues that must be developed, improved,
and which requires that we make progress
in this respect on a daily basis.
We are hearing frequently more voices
on the importance of women in the com-
pany. Do you consider this a passing
trend?
Evidently, in our society women have not
yet been able to take up positions of res-
ponsibility in companies. At FCC Aqualia,
we appointed two female managers. This is
a good step in that direction.
I believe in meritocracy, but sometimes it is
difficult since in order to be able to choose
the best maybe you have to see all the op-
tions and sometimes, women do not have
sufficient visibility within the company.
We are working on this aspect. We have
women in our company with great poten-
tial who, for various reasons, lack visibility.
We want to contribute with our mentoring
program to achieve a cultural change in our
company and to facilitate and help in the
professional development of women who
we consider have great potential. This is our
first mentoring program and, from here, I
want to thank the mentors and mentees for
believing in this project and for enthusiasti-
cally dedicating their time. It is with people
like these, who have so much initiative, that
an organization is able to progress.
In relation to the training offered by the com-
pany, I would highlight the EOI course for
managers that I myself attended two years
ago. I was an unforgettable experience that
allows you to grow professionally and per-
sonally. Two women from FCC Aqualia were
selected this year, both with great potential.
The intention is to continue wagering on
these types of actions.
What role can a company play against
gender violence?
Gender violence is a scourge of our society
and must be eradicated. As a company, we
