Telefónica Ability Awards

The awards arrived in Spain in 2010, endorsed by their success in Ireland, where they were created by Caroline Casey, the founder of the non-profit organisation Kanchi. This year will see the third Spanish edition; in the first two, there were a total of 872 candidatures from 505 entities. They will be expanded into other countries in the future.

The awards have the support of a large, prestigious Board of Trustees, composed of representatives from the business world, trade unions, international institutions, associations, academia and the media, as well as society in general, notably the CERMI (Spanish Committe of Representatives of People with disabilities), ONCE and Fundación ONCE. This means the backing of the entire ecosystem which currently works around disability issues.

For its part, PwC is the verification entity, responsible for guaranteeing the excellence of the process, endowing it with rigour, independence, confidentiality, objectivity and transparency. Telefónica’s role is to act as the facilitator and integrator and to assist the work of the Board of Trustees, a true driver of the change in perceptions around disability.

The awards consist of ten categories: the absolute ones – Best large private company, Best small private company, Best public sector organisation, and Innovation for inclusion – and the main ones – Senior management leadership and commitment, Recruitment and selection, Accessibility of the physical space, Customer orientation, Professional development and training, and Prevention and retention.

The finalist entities are considered “Ability Companies or Organisations” and they form part of the Ability Club, a common interest network to exchange good practices and to generate knowledge.