The role of women in Budimex highlighted in the Financial Times ranking

Budimex – a Polish general contractor – has been ranked among the top ten construction companies in the world in the Financial Times – Diversity Leaders 2024 ranking. The Polish company scored 71.6 out of 100 possible points and overtook many leading players on the international market. The award is the result of a consistent policy of supporting diversity and systematic support for women’s professional development.

The ranking, organized for the fourth time, is the result of comprehensive research based on the analysis of surveys collected from over 100 thousand employees from 16 countries. The result is based in 70% on surveys of over 100,000 employees of various companies from around the world, and in 30% on HR indicators, such as the share of women in managerial positions or communication of diversity by the company. The ranking is organized jointly by the leading economic daily Financial Times and the world’s largest global business platform Statista. This year’s ranking was attended by 850 companies from all over the world.

“The appreciation of our activities in the implementation of the diversity policy by the Financial Times is valuable to us, especially since we are the only Polish construction company that is among the top 25 companies in the industry,” says Anna Karyś-Sosińska, Member of the Management Board, Director of the Human Resources Management Division.

In the opinion of the organizers of the Diversity Leaders 2024 ranking, the leader in the Polish general contractor market pursues an effective policy aimed at taking care of the development of women’s careers and increasing their share in managerial positions. Thanks to the company’s activities, both the number of women working in the company and their percentage share in the management and expert positions are systematically growing. Currently, every second woman (50%) works as a construction engineer. For comparison, in 2012 it was 31%. At the same time, the number of apprentices has also increased significantly – women now account for 47% of people learning about the profession during internships. The company also has a salary policy aimed at equalizing wages. Currently, the gender pay gap rate at Budimex is below 3%, which is lower than the EU average (10% in 2022). Women make up 20% of the managerial staff, which is a nearly threefold increase since 2019 (8%).  At the same time, the company conducts activities to support motherhood, such as “Mom on maternity leave”.

Budimex consistently implements its diversity policy. Its principles have been set out in three documents applicable to all companies of the Group. The first of them is the “Principles of the Company’s Liability Policy” – Ferrovial Group, a co-shareholder of Budimex. The regulations contained in this document oblige all employees, m.in. to respect basic human rights, promote equality and take care of the work-life balance. The provisions of the “Human Rights Protection Principles” define actions the application of which will prevent discrimination in the workplace, as well as to recognize the value in diversity. The third important document is the “Code of Ethics” implementing the assumptions of the indicated policies and counteracting discrimination in the area of employment.

– Systematic actions taken by us relating to equal treatment on the grounds of gender, age, disability, health condition, nationality, political beliefs, form, scope and basis of employment. As a result, we have been able to create an organizational culture that respects all forms of diversity. We are glad that this is also noticed outside Poland,” says  Anna Karyś-Sosińska.

The organizers of the global ranking also appreciated the company’s efforts to support intergenerational cooperation. Due to the large age range – the youngest Budimex employee is 19 years old, and the oldest is 78 – it is necessary to build understanding already at the level of language communication. “To this end, we have organized a number of various activities. One of them was a week-long workshop, to which we invited linguist Prof. Jerzy Bralczyk. The participants of these meetings then took part in a quiz to check their knowledge of the changing language. Thanks to this form of classes, acquiring knowledge has become not only pleasant, but also effective,” explains Anna Karyś-Sosińska. 

Due

to the fact that Budimex is actively developing on foreign markets, an important element of the Group’s activities is also learning the specifics of working in a multicultural environment. Due to numerous contacts with co-workers, clients and business partners representing different nationalities, but also attitudes and values, professional and research-based knowledge of the social and cultural determinants of diversity becomes a key tool in management. Webinars and workshops were organized to understand the psychological dimensions of cultural differences and similarities, referring to the examples of countries such as Poland, Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Lithuania, Australia and Spain, during which employees with the most experience in projects outside the Polish country share practical knowledge with younger employees.

Link to the ranking and methodology of the survey: https://www.ft.com/content/cea8b0f2-fac0-4b80-8aa0-8488e232040e