A better world is possible. To awaken the actors of the corporate world to an infinite range of possibilities for growth was one of the most recent challenges of the Sprowt Foundation. High representatives of institutions that bet for a better future participated in the webinar "Diversity and Inclusion in Corporates", in the scope of the "Genderful Society Exhibition", last Saturday, at the Indy Village, in Maputo city.

The main panel of the event presented its vision, experience, and ideas on how to envision a corporate world that mirrors diversity and inclusion, in all its layers, from the lowest level to the top. In this, he referred not only to women, who are always at the center of the debate on this subject, but also to people with psychological and physical limitations.

The Executive Director of the Maputo Port Development Company, Osório Lucas, besides sharing his personal story - he was born with physical limitations on one side of his body - pointed out the institution he runs as an example of inclusion and diversity.

"The Port of Maputo has an employee with motor limitations. The family itself did not believe it, but we showed them that it was possible. There is an employee who needs a companion, and yet he carries out his duties, and much more," she said.

The official said that the institution's employees have participated in basic sign language training to deal with people who communicate through sign language.

Lucas also revealed that the Portos de Maputo company currently has "50% of the company's structure made up of women," and in the last ten years "the ratio has grown by 50% without there being an inclusion program."

And, as revealed, Maxime Rabilloud, President of TotalEnergies in Mozambique, during the most acute phase of the covid-19 pandemic, women in managerial positions at Total performed better compared to men.

And this seems a highly relevant fact as the world will need good business leaders making relevant decisions at a distance, as it moves towards the entrenchment of remote or hybrid work.

Another panelist, Chiara Condi, a French activist and advisor on gender equality and inclusion, said that many companies are unaware of the plurality of benefits that diversity can bring to the corporate sector.

"The first step is, based on scientific data, to understand why to have gender diversity, in corporations" stating that "diverse teams bring different experiences and better results."

On the other hand, he warned that the greater the diversity, the greater the possibility for a given company to innovate and better prepare itself for the future.

"To create an inclusive corporation diversity must start from the bottom to the top of management positions. It must make itself felt throughout the entire company system," Condi said.

For example, according to the administrator of Absa Bank Mozambique, Bernardo Aparício, the banking institution has always had this idea imprinted on the bank, since the days of the "Austral Bank".

"Absa invests in training for inclusion and creating a culture of inclusiveness, and has been careful not to create gender disparities," the administrator said, noting that in graduate programs one of the main goals is to "broaden the range of talent, with different backgrounds."

However, Aparício recognizes that the big challenge of inclusion and diversity for a banking institution, which is usually considered "functional" for specific educations, is to make it attractive for other areas of knowledge.

And in all of this, it should be kept in mind that "if we don't invest in diversity and inclusion we will be limiting the growth of the company."

In her speech, the lawyer and social activist Lara Pacheco Faria said that human resources employees in companies have limited or no knowledge about diversity and inclusion. Thus, she advises that the goals of each company should be defined right at the selection and hiring process. And, she reminded, that it is necessary to make use of information technology to evaluate companies.

SPROWT, with support from Pioneer Network, held four debate sessions, with online broadcasting, on "Ethics in Leadership", "Women in Leadership", "Gender Neutrality in Fashion", and "Diversity and Inclusion in Corporations", in parallel with Mozambique Fashion Week.