Support extends to the Brazilian Women's Championship and reinforces the company's commitment to gender equality and women's empowerment
On Tuesday (1st), Neoenergia signed a historic contract with the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) and became the first company in the country to exclusively sponsor the Brazilian women's soccer team. The agreement, valid for the next four years, also provides support for the national competition of clubs, which will be called from the next round onwards Women´s Brasileirão Neoenergia, (Brasileirão Feminino Neoenergia, in Portuguese) (Brasileirão stands for Big Brazilian is how the big national soccer competition is known). The giant in the Brazilian electricity sector has a premise of expanding the participation of women in the social and professional context, reinforcing the commitment to gender equality.
The contract between CBF and Neoenergia runs until 2024 and provides for the display of the brand on the Women's National Team training uniform, promotional actions and activations on the social networks of the Guerreiras do Brasil (Warriors of Brazil). The energy company will accompany the Brazilian Women's Teams, adult and youth, in important moments such as the final stretch of preparation for the Tokyo Olympic Games, the Women´s Copa America 2022, the South American Youth Championships, the Women's World Cup 2023 and the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
In addition to the new brand in the official name of the Women´s Brasileirão, Neonergia will be present on the advertising boards around the lawn of all games and backdrops. In addition, it will be able to make activations during the breaks of the matches (as soon as allowed by the health authorities) and actions on the competition's social networks. The support for the sport practiced by women has become a lever for Neoenergia, whose essential values are equality between men and women. In addition to believing in sport as an agent of social change that promotes principles such as healthy living, respect, example and discipline, the company's premise is to expand the participation of women in the social and professional context, reinforcing its commitment to equity. For this, it works for the deconstruction of paradigms by contributing to the female insertion in activities valued and considered predominantly as male.
“We, who know a lot about electricity networks, want to draw another network, invisible, but equally solid, to unite all those who contribute to advancing towards full equality in a field with as much impact as sport. We bet on this action to support women's sports with the conviction that we fight for equal opportunities. We believe in equality in all fields and we share with these players the same values as effort, resilience, professionalism, teamwork. These athletes are the mirror in which many men and women look, they are examples for so many others who see sport as a window of opportunity for social change. In addition to being a fundamental right, equality is also one of the essential foundations for building a more prosperous world for all." affirms Mario Ruiz-Tagle, CEO of Neoenergia.
"This partnership with Neoenergia also means having on our side one of the largest energy companies in the country and the world, and which will combine support for women's soccer with the causes of equality and sustainability, strengthening what we already know, which is huge social and engaging force of our sport" says Rogério Caboclo, President of CBF.
The partnership between Neoenergia and CBF reaffirms the commitment of both companies to create opportunities and equalize historical differences between men and women in the labor market. These values together will provide subsidies so that the athletes of the Women's Teams and who compete in the Women's Brasileirão can have the best opportunities throughout their professional training.
Currently, Neoenergia has 43% of women in its corporate teams, whereas in the Executive Office the proportion is 44% female. The goal is for the percentage numbers to be even more expressive in the coming years. Financial independence is one of the main ways to empower women and, with this in mind, promoting equality in the access to the labor market is key. The company has a diversity program that focuses on promoting a work environment of inclusion, respect for diversity, empowerment and combating prejudice. As part of the strategy, Neoenergia revised its Human Resources processes, and started to work in recruitment and selection to promote more inclusive selection processes, train its leadership to manage diversity, and continue to promote actions for empowerment and combating prejudice.
In addition, Neoenergia maintains an Equal Opportunities and Conciliation Policy, not admitting any type of discrimination by race, color, age, gender, marital status, ideology, political opinions, nationality, religion, sexual orientation or any other personal condition, physical or social among its professionals. The initiatives are in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the UN, especially number 5, Gender equality.
This project with CBF demonstrates the work that Neoenergia and the Iberdrola Group are developing with the impulse to women's sports in the world, with more than 330,000 athletes supported in several countries, which makes the Spanish company the biggest supporter of women in the sport, in Europe.
School of Electricians – Recognized by UN Women
Our School of Electricians is carried out by Neoenergia and aims at contributing for the promotion of gender equality in a profession where the presence of men used to be dominant, through the exclusive classes for women. The initiative was internationally recognized in a case study, published in WeEmpower, a UN Women program with the International Labor Organization (ILO) and the European Union aimed at encouraging good practices of the companies. The document points out the Brazilian company's project as a role model for one of the Women Empowerment Principles (WEP), of promoting education and professional development for women.
Created in 2017, the School of Electricians has so far trained 1,330 students in the states of Bahia, Pernambuco, Rio Grande do Norte and São Paulo. Of this total, 768 students were hired by the group's companies. In 2019, Neoenergia promoted a pioneering initiative by creating the first groups exclusively for women, in order to promote diversity and inclusion. The project was created in August 2019, when the company realized that classes with both genders did not have sufficient adhesion by women and it decided to seek ways to increase their participation. Due to covid-19 pandemic, during part of the 2020 and 2021, theoretical classes were made available on virtual format.
About the Brazilian Women Teams:
There are three Brazilian Women Teams: Main, U-20 and U-17. Each of them has a fixed technical committee and unconditional support from the CBF Board. In 2020, the president of the organization, Rogério Caboclo, announced the equalization of awards and payments between the female and male teams.
Currently, the Brazilian Women's Team is led by the Swedish Pia Sundhage. Hired by the CBF in 2019, she has won two gold medals at the Olympic Games in her curriculum, a feat she hopes to repeat with the Amarelinha (Little Yellow, as the Brazilian soccer team t-shirt is known) at the Tokyo Olympic Games. In 2020, the former player Duda Luizelli, with passages for the Team, took over the coordination of the Brazilian Teams, which still have Jonas Urias in the Under-20 and Simone Jatobá in the Under-17.
About the Women's Brasileirão:
Organized and funded by the CBF, with support from the 2014 FIFA World Cup Legacy Fund, the Women´s Brasileirão brings together 16 clubs in its elite division. After 15 rounds of the first phase and the dispute of the quarter-finals, the main competition in women's soccer in the country is now entering its decisive phases.
Since 2013, when it took on this name, the winning teams have been the Centro Olímpico (2013), Ferroviária (2014), Rio Preto (2015), Flamengo (2016), Santos (2017), Corinthians (2018) ), Ferroviaria (2019) and Corinthians (2020). In the last edition, Women´s Brasileirão reached expressive numbers, tripling the number of audiences in relation to 2019, going from 107,305 views to 319,771 views in 2020.
This Wednesday (02) in the 12th round. The first phase has three more rounds, before the break for the Tokyo Olympic Games. The final stretch is scheduled to start in August, with the beginning of the quarter-final, semi-final and final disputes.