Línea Directa Aseguradora joins the Ibex Gender Equality Index thanks to its large number of women in management positions and on the Board of Directors

• Línea Directa Aseguradora is now part of the Ibex Gender Equality Index, an index promoted by Bolsas y Mercados Españoles (BME) and the first to measure the number of women in management positions and on the Board of Directors in Spanish companies.
• 43% of the company's Board of Directors and 31% of the Management Committee was made up of women at the end of 2021, which were figures used by BME to put together the index. With this number of female workers on the Board of Directors and in the Management Committee, the company is following the recommendations in the CNMV's Code of Good Governance.
• With the appointment of Patricia Ayuela as CEO in February and the management restructuring a few weeks ago, these percentages are now 57% and 54% respectively.
• As part of its Diversity and Inclusion Policy, Línea Directa promotes gender equality by focussing on promoting and professionally developing women, based on merit, by putting in place measures that make it easier for them to get into management roles and positions of responsibility.

Madrid, 10 June 2022. Línea Directa Aseguradora is now part of the prestigious Ibex Gender Equality Index, a stock-market index promoted by Bolsas y Mercados Españoles (BME) which measures the number of women in management positions and on the Board of Directors in listed Spanish companies. By entering this index, the Group's diversity and inclusion policies and the gender-equality milestones that it has achieved are being recognised.

BME launched the Ibex Gender Equality Index in November 2021. It was initially made up of 30 companies and it is updated every year based on information published by the Spanish National Securities Market Commission (CNMV). Companies listed on the Spanish Stock Exchange with a Board of Directors made up of between 25% and 75% women and with a Senior Management team made up of between 15% and 85% women can be part of this index.

During its first review of companies in this index, the stock exchange manager's Technical Advisory Committee has approved adding Línea Directa Aseguradora to this diversity index, along with 16 other companies, which is now made up of 45 listed companies. 

At the end of 2021, based on the latest data available in the CNMV about the gender make-up of decision-making bodies in listed Spanish companies, which was used for this review process, Línea Directa Aseguradora's Board of Directors was made up 43% of women (3 directors out of a total of 7) and the company's Management Committee was made up 31% of women (4 directors out of a total of 13). 

Therefore, the Group complies, and was doing so even before its IPO in April 2021, with the gender-equality recommendations in the CNMV's Code of Good Governance, which establish that female directors should account for at least 40% of the members of the Board of Directors by 2022. As a result, the Group has managed to achieve the CNMV's recommended target ahead of time.

In addition, with the appointment of Patricia Ayuela as CEO in February and the subsequent restructuring of the Management Committee, the proportion of women on Línea Directa's Board of Directors has increased to 57% (4 out of 7 directors) and the amount of women on Línea Directa's Senior Management team has increased to 54% (6 out of 11 directors).

Diversity and equality commitment

The Línea Directa Group, which has historically seen high numbers of women move into positions of responsibility on merit (50% of positions of responsibility are held by women), promotes very broad diversity, including gender. 

The company champions promoting and professionally developing women, based on merit, by putting in place measures that make it easier for them to get into management roles and positions of responsibility. It also promotes work/life balance and flexibility measures, support for women during specific periods so that they do not hinder their professional development (such as childbirth), and shared responsibility between men and women.

"By entering this index, Línea Directa Aseguradora is being highlighted for its achievements through our measures to promote talent and professional development irrespective of gender, based solely on merit, with support from our work/life balance measures, and is inspired to keep going in this area, not only following the recommendations in the CNMV's Code of Good Governance, but also going further", says Mar Garre, Head of People, Communication and Sustainability at Línea Directa Aseguradora.