By Alexis Barton

As integration planning efforts continued—and almost one month after PNC’s acquisition of BBVA’s U.S. subsidiary was announced— BBVA USA team members across the bank began to be introduced to PNC’s leaders and structure in a series of virtual town halls. The events kicked off the week of Dec. 14 and are scheduled to continue through January.

The pandemic and the subsequent health protection measures have forced the bank to adapt the actions planned for its employees this Christmas. The traditional Christmas festivities have been replaced by global digital celebrations and a donation to three NGOs that provide support to the sectors of society that have suffered the most during the crisis.

Christmas brings with it the most anticipated lunches and dinners of the year. With the intention of closing 2020 in the best of ways, the Roca brothers and 'Sustainable Gastronomy' present a culinary proposal based on seasonal ingredients from small producers. This BBVA led project is a commitment by those from Girona who want to stand alongside one of the sectors most affected by this crisis, while raising awareness of the importance of healthy cooking.

The financial institution celebrates Diversity Days, a conference that highlights recently implemented projects in this area and that draws a roadmap with the challenges and goals for converting diversity into the Group's DNA and as a key objective for the future.

Between October 2019 and June 2020 women lost jobs at a greater rate than men, while the employment recovery rate in the third quarter of 2020 was slightly higher for men, widening the gender gap. These are some of the key takeaways of BBVA Research’s 'Gender diversity and training' paper. According to the report, published on the occasion of BBVA’s diversity workshop (Diversity Days), training is one of the essential factors to reversing this situation and boosting women’s participation in the digital economy, a sector that’s recovering at a faster pace.

‘Opportunity’ is a new tool that provides employees with the instruments to independently design their training, development and ultimately, their career within the company. Based on advanced analytics, big data and visualization tools, it advises employees on the skills they must acquire to aspire to positions of interest and allows them to create alerts about tailored job opportunities.

The mass closure of schools, colleges and universities in the 2019-2020 academic year proved that not all schools, teachers, students and families were ready to teach and learn online. One in ten households with school-age children have no Internet access, according to the Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Spain's national statistical institute. Due to the pandemic, technological resources and training in using them effectively is more important than ever. The risk surrounding the digital divide is serious.

At BBVA's talent fair held in November to showcase the latest trends in business talent, Ophélie Richard, global head of Talent Acquisition at BBVA, and Nacho Villoch, from the Open Innovation area, shared their thoughts on future job opportunities and career challenges.

In order for women like Yamile Salazar or Ceneris Espitia – two BBVA Microfinance Foundation (BBVAMF) entrepreneurs - to advance in Latin America they require three basic conditions: financial independence, self-esteem and a sense of belonging, or social integration, among other things.

For yet another year, BBVA renewed its commitment to diversity and inclusion and is named one of the Top 30 Spanish companies with the best practices in the field. It was reported in the 2021 VariableD Report from Intrama's ECDI Network, comprised of companies committed to diversity and inclusion. The organization presented its conclusions at the 2020 FactorW Diversity Summit which is the largest national congress on this matter.