Traditionally marked by the predominantly male presence, the Brazilian electric sector is undergoing transformations. Female participation is gaining momentum and expanding, with more women reaching positions in senior management. That is the scenario of EDP, a firm operates throughout the value chain of the electric sector and that has, recently, made changes in its high leadership in alignment with its inclusion and diversity policies.

In February, the Company announced Fernanda Pires for an executive position in charge for newly created People and ESG vice-presidency, a chair focused on reinforcing the incorporation of environmental, social and corporate governance topics on businesses and increasing their integration in decision making processes. She is the first woman to hold a vice-presidency chair at EDP, in Brazil.

Until then, Fernanda was working as co-director of People, Digital and Society and, under her management, in 2019, the EDP Inclusion and Diversity Program was launched, aiming to stimulate the company's culture and principles. “I am honored with the trust placed in me and in my work. I understand that diversity is the way for us to strengthen our culture and the employees' sense of belonging, in addition to enhancing the pillars of innovation and creativity at EDP. We will continue to follow this trajectory with more and more initiatives aimed at increasing the representativeness of socially minority groups”, she states.

In addition, Vera Pinto Pereira and Ana Paula Marques joined the Company's Board of Directors, which already had the participation of Juliana Rozenbaum. As a result, EDP now has a 33% of female representation in this administrative body, three times the national average.

Diversity goals

Increasing the female presence in the workforce and in leadership positions is among EDP’s goals to promote inclusion and expand diversity. By 2022, the Company is committed to have at least 20% women in leadership positions, and 30% women in the general workforce. In the same interval, 50% of new employees hired by the company must come from groups that are currently underrepresented (women, blacks, people with disabilities, 50+, LGBTI+ etc.),

Women's Day: professional development in a 360-degree view

In 2021, one of EDP's first initiatives to discuss the women valutation at home and in the labor market will be a live scheduled for March 9, Tuesday, at 5 pm, onYouTube. The debate will address the challenges of gender equity inside and outside the organizations and will have the opening of João Marques da Cruz, CEO of EDP Brasil, participation by Fernanda Pires (Vice President of People and ESG, EDP Brasil), Lisiane Lemos (Forbes Under 30 and LinkedIn Top Voices), Bruno Scaldaferri (HR Superintendent, Banco Santander) and mediation by Margareth Goldenberg (Leader of Movimento Mulher 360 [Women Movement 360]).

On this occasion, EDP will announce the Conexão Mulheres EDP [Women Connection EDP], a development program for the Company’s female employees, and the subscription to the Movimento Mulher 360 [Women 360 Movement], which has been working in partnership with several companies in the private sector for ten years. Among the objectives of the movement is to engage companies in concrete actions for the economic empowerment of their female internal public and, gradually, to expand this performance to women in the communities and the supply chain, promoting in the long term changes in society in a broader way. .

Conexão Mulheres EDP: Aprogramto strengthen the network of women and boost their development in the Company. The initiative must last for 12 months and will include a trail with themes such as gender bias, strategic leadership and imposter syndrome, in addition to having training modules for mentoring sessions.

According to Fernanda Pires, “the program is one of the affirmative actions reflecting, in practice, the EDP's commitment to expand representation from a journey of self-knowledge and reflection, sharing experiences and learning around the challenges of gender equity for women and men in the Company.

The Company will also announce the EDP Peripheral Entrepreneurship Challenge, an immersion in innovation and entrepreneurship, in partnership with the Instituto das Pretas. The initiative will aim to enhance businesses led by women in a situation of social vulnerability in São Paulo and Espírito Santo. There will be 20 days of activities and 20 businesses altogether previously selected through online registration on the EDP Institute's Energizze platform.  

Volunteering

Finally, the Company will also engage in an initiative with the Social Organization "Cruzando Histórias” [Crossing Stories], an initiative in which volunteers will be engaged to participate in a training agenda in active listening and non-violent communication, with the objective of working in listening sessions together to women in a situation of social vulnerability.

 “Our objective, based on these initiatives, is to engage people and other leaders, inside and outside organizations, strengthening the active role that all and all of us must play in order for this change to really happen”, concludes Fernanda.

About EDP in Brazil

With over 20 years of experience, EDP is one of the largest private companies in the electricity sector operating throughout the value chain. The Company, which has over 10 thousand direct and outsourced employees, has six hydroelectric and one thermoelectric power plants, in addition to operating in Transmission, Marketing and Energy Services. In the Distribution, it serves approximately 3.5 million customers in São Paulo and Espírito Santo, in addition to being the main shareholder of Celesc, in Santa Catarina. In 2020, the company was elected as the most innovative in the electricity sector by the Valor Inovação ranking, of the Valor Econômico newspaper, and is a reference in Governance and Sustainability, having been on the B3 Corporate Sustainability Index (ISE) for 15 consecutive years.

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