Telefónica takes a step forward to promote equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual and intersexual individuals. Aware of the importance for all –both companies and society in general– of working towards non-discrimination, Telefónica supports the UN "Standards of Conduct for Business" to protect the rights of LGBTI people. 

Thus, Telefónica, present in 17 countries, with over 120,000 employees and more than 350 million customers, is committed to promoting fairness at work and facing discrimination in the community in general. This announcement was made at a dinner in Madrid organized by the Global Diversa association, a non-profit that promotes diversity and plurality of ideas, thoughts and behaviours.

In the private sector, there are already more than 100 large companies that have expressed their support for these standards of conduct, developed in collaboration with the Institute for Human Rights and Business and based on the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.

"Telefónica's support for these global principles is great news for the world. This decision is both brave and intelligent, because it is proven that diversity and inclusion add value to companies", explains Fabrice Houdart, Human Rights Officer in the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in New York.

For Telefónica, adherence to these principles is part of its strategy to promote diversity as a source of talent and competitiveness. The principles of the United Nations are the best possible route to move forward in this direction. "Our goal is to have people with different cultures, gender, sexual orientation, race, generation, capabilities, profiles and beyond all this, with diversity of thought," explains Arancha Diaz-Lladó, global Director of diversity at Telefónica.

"We want to be a company where we employees dare to be ourselves and to contribute opinions and suggestions without being afraid to make mistakes. And we want to extend this to society, acting as a necessary and positive agent of change. At Telefónica, we are fully aware that new technologies and the Internet also are being used as weapon of discrimination, and our commitment is to help prevent these bad uses ", adds Diaz-Lladó.

The support to the Standards represents another step in Telefónica's commitment to human rights, following the Guiding Principles. According to the evaluation of the potential impact made by Business and Human Rights (BHR) for the company in 2017, non-discrimination, inclusion and equality are matters considered in all actions of the Telco, from the deployment of the network to the conditions of its offer, developments with Artificial Intelligence or working conditions.