The Homeward Bound 8 expedition to Antarctica promoted by ACCIONA began yesterday, with 124 female scientists and technology experts traveling to the frozen continent.

During the two-week voyage, in addition to seeing the effects of climate change first-hand in one of the most vulnerable territories in the face of global warming, expedition members will participate in workshops, training sessions, and interdisciplinary working groups aimed at creating synergies and alliances to combat major global problems by incorporating female talent into decision-making.

Eight Spanish women are involved in this edition: Edith Guedella Bustamante, environmental biologist and head of Sustainability in ACCIONA's Construction division; María González Fajardo, a civil engineer at ACCIONA; Marta Crespo, engineer and head of Photovoltaic Technology at ACCIONA Energía; Alba Fernández Sanlés, a molecular biologist; Paula Moraga Serrano, professor of Statistics at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology; Rosa Castizo, director of the “La Rábida” Observatory for Sustainable Development and Climate Change; and Anna González Manjón, a molecular biologist. Meteorologist Mercedes Martín is also traveling with them, with the aim of contributing to the awareness of both the Homeward Bound program itself and the problem of global warming, as evidenced in Antarctica. 

The expedition is the culmination of the annual Homeward Bound female leadership program, which aims to form international and interdisciplinary networks of women in STEMM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics, medicine) professions to help address the planet's most pressing challenges, such as the climate emergency.

ACCIONA has been collaborating with Homeward Bound since 2017, promoting this initiative and contributing to its global awareness. On this occasion, female ACCIONA workers from different parts of the world are participating in the program. They are environmental biologist Edith Guedella, engineer María Gonzalez Fajardo, and engineer Marta Crespo, from Spain; engineer Kirsten Holston, from the US; environmental engineer Walentina González, from Australia; and engineer Alice Clark, from Australia.

LEADERSHIP AND SUSTAINABILITY

The expedition is the result of a year of training and knowledge exchange focused on achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), so that participants can bear witness to the critical state of the planet.

Homeward Bound aims to create an international network of 10,000 female professionals from STEMM disciplines to collaborate on projects in various scientific and geographic fields, thus giving visibility to women in science, so that they can be leaders with the ability to influence and make decisions for the solution of challenges such as the climate emergency.

ACCIONA supports the full participation and inclusion of women across all the sectors in which it operates. The company is part of the Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index, which is made up of companies around the world that have demonstrated the best transparency and performance in terms of gender equality. It is also part of the Global Compact's Women's Empowerment Principles initiative to encourage gender equality in the workplace. Furthermore, the company has gender-based recruitment programs that prioritize the search of female talent.