For the first time ever, Ternium has just been awarded the Best Place to Work for LGBTQ+ Equality certificate for its facilities in Mexico, Brazil, and Argentina.
The Human Rights Campaign foundation is one of the leading movements campaigning for LGBTQ+ groups’ rights and inclusion in the world. One of these efforts is the annual award of the “Best Place to Work for LGBTQ+ Equality” certificate, which recognizes companies that have taken concrete measures to include these groups in their operations.
The certificates are awarded pursuant to the score achieved in the Corporate Equality Index , “a benchmarking tool on corporate policies, practices and benefits pertinent to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer employees.” The index is based on seven different criteria, such as written non-discriminatory policies that protect LGBTQ+ employees, education, and training programs on LGBTQ+ diversity and inclusion, and public demonstrations of support and commitment to the community as a whole.
This year, Mexico, Brazil and Argentina, three of Ternium's main locations, were awarded the prestigious certification for their participation in inclusion programs such as Diversity+ and the Lean-In Circles. In addition, leaders from their regions have represented the company at human rights forums, while the company works actively to ensure compliance with the Diversity and Harassment-Free Work Environment Policy.
Mexico
After becoming the first steel company in the country to obtain this distinction in 2021, Ternium Mexico is dedicated to taking the necessary measures to achieve true inclusion within its facilities. Thanks to its Diversity and Inclusion Policy, e-learnings and the Transparency Line, as well as workshops and training on this subject, this is the company’s third consecutive win. Perhaps one of the most successful initiatives in this agenda has been the Lean-In Circles, a 4-month open discussion cycle where people from various areas, countries and contexts can exchange ideas and experiences about issues such as bias, privilege and discrimination, contributing to raising awareness of these in the workplace.
“Ternium has travelled a long way down the path towards inclusion, but I consider that the biggest achievement was the creation of the Lean-In Circles (…). In these circles, employees are empowered by gaining a deeper understanding and knowledge enabling them to recognize and act when a situation is being negatively affected by biases and discrimination against other people, and they even learn to recognize biases in themselves that perhaps didn’t think they had," commented Paola Gonzalez, from the Organizational Development area in Mexico.
Brazil
In 2023, Ternium Brazil was listed among the 57 best companies to work for LGBTQ+ professionals out of 91 that took part, thanks to the efforts aimed at fostering greater inclusion, such as the training courses on LGBTQ+ issues held in June 2022, titled “The ABC of LGBTQ+”. Over 400 participants had the opportunity to hear from specialists about relevant topics in the LGBTQ+ community such as inclusion and respect in the workplace, and the importance of visibility for everybody.
Additionally, the company's Diversity and Inclusion Policy played an important role, as its founding principle is zero tolerance to any act of harassment or discrimination. “Measuring and reflecting on where we are as an organization on such an important issue has made me understand just how much effort Ternium has made to create an inclusive and diverse environment that really works,” explained Ana Caroline Alves, HR Business Partner at Ternium Brazil.
“Diversity plays a key role in building more collaborative environments with better results. This certification by Human Rights Campaign is an achievement that reinforces Ternium's commitment to move towards an increasingly diverse workplace, founded on equity and inclusion, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity," added Vanessa Antoine, Talent Acquisition and Development Senior Manager at Ternium Brazil.
Argentina
HRC Equidad AR is the Argentine chapter of its Equidad initiative, promoted by the Human Rights Campaign foundation in various countries in the region. It is a self-assessment tool that aims to enable the improvement of processes within companies as regards diversity and LGBTQ+ inclusion.
Being able to measure the current state of corporate policies on diversity and inclusion, based on objective indicators, enables changes to be planned, with a focus on implementing continuous improvement processes. “Obtaining this certification in Argentina is the result of a range of different initiatives launched by the Company, such as its Diversity policy, specific training courses and the creation of new spaces for conversation on this topic such as Lean-In Circles and others, which are fundamentally a starting point to continue building an increasingly diverse and inclusive company,” explains Ana Kuntschik, HR Business Partner Manager.
The HRC Equidad AR survey was applied for the first time in Argentina between March and April 2022, which led to the creation of the final report covering the activities of the most inclusive companies for LGBTQ+. Among the best-known companies at a local level are Accenture, Cargill, Cervecería Quilmes, Ford and General Electric. Ternium Argentina is the first steel company in the country to achieve this recognition.