The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were launched in September 2015 and comprise 17 objectives and 169 targets to be achieved by 2030, covering a range of social, economic and environmental issues. At the same time, the financial system plays a key role in boosting economic growth and encouraging practices that lead to a more sustainable society. We therefore believe that the SDGs can drive positive transformations because they help direct efforts and prioritize initiatives, highlighting the role of companies and institutions in this context. Since their launch, we have been committed to working on the SDGs, both for their dissemination and incorporation.
One of the topics we have been working on intensively, connected to the Sustainable Development Goals, is women's empowerment, which is present in goal 5: “Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls”. Aligned with the culture and guided by the purpose of stimulating people's power of transformation, initiatives have emerged in the bank from different areas to promote equality, whether among employees, with the incorporation of the topic in the diversity strategy, creation of a policy for mothers and pregnant women, in addition to the diagnosis of female advancement; among customers, with support for female entrepreneurship and understanding of female financial behavior to develop solutions that address women's financial needs; and in society, with encouragement of teaching exact sciences subjects to girls and communication encouraging equality. These are examples of initiatives and for each one of them, there is a specific challenge but they are united by the same goal: to promote the country's economic and social development through an environment of equal opportunities for women and men.
Among these actions, we highlight Itaú Mulher Empreendedora, a program launched in 2014, based on the pillars of training, inspiration and connection. In a online platform, currently with over 6,000 entrepreneurs, we provide free videos, articles and tools focused on management, finance, marketing and innovation, as well as a section for exchanging messages between participants. Also in the training pillar, participants can sign up for workshops, mentoring programs and business acceleration programs, fostering opportunities for growth and differentiation of their businesses. In the inspiration pillar, one of the fronts is the sharing of successful trajectories of female entrepreneurs, through lectures and videos, which help to create new leadership references. To intensify the connection between them, one of the initiatives is the Business Round, which brings together entrepreneurs from different segments to present their companies to each other, encouraging partnerships, business and networking.
One way to measure the program's results was through a survey conducted in 2016, which compared program participants with entrepreneurs who were not involved in the initiative. The study showed that entrepreneurs who participate in Itaú Mulher Empreendedora have higher revenues and are working to leverage their companies; contracting more financial products, investing more and at the same time taking on less debt.
Over the past few years, we have made voluntary commitments, such as the Gender and Race Equity Program, the Women 360º Movement, the Business Coalition for Racial and Gender Equity, the Global Banking Alliance for Women (GBA), and more recently, in 2017, we signed up to the Women's Empowerment Principles (WEPs), a term proposed by UN Women and the Global Compact. Our commitment to achieving gender equality was reflected in our inclusion in the Bloomberg Financial Services Gender Equality Index in 2017, which recognizes companies for their commitment to gender equality and transparency in their actions. Also in 2017, we were recognized by the Great Place to Work award as the 4th best Brazilian company for women to work for.
The results of the actions and the recognitions show that we are on the right path in a long journey that requires dedication and constant learning. We are committed to continuing to advance in promoting an environment of respect and equal opportunities for all.
We share the importance of companies promoting internal immersion in the SDGs and considering them in their goals, identifying those in which they can improve the positive impact and reduce the negative, and then establishing actions to address them, with indicators and targets that can be monitored. In this way, with efforts from all sectors of society, we will come ever closer to achieving the sustainable development goals.
