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July 5, 2024
Energy company, Iberdrola Mexico, has launched a new program to promote women’s empowerment and development through sport, starting with rugby. The initiative, DestElla, aims to increase the number of girls and young women in sports at schools and universities, donate sports equipment and training gear, provide access to gyms and support high-performance athletes with accommodation and expenses.
The physical and psychological benefits of sports are not widely experienced among Mexican women and girls. According to data, only 34% of women are physically active in Mexico. Additionally, girls have lower physical activity levels and sports participation in schools than boys the same age in the country.
DestElla’s first phase focuses on rugby through a partnership with the women’s branch of the Mexican Rugby Federation. The program will activate training programs in schools to help rugby grow and provide access to training facilities, equipment and more to support women and girls’ players. It will also help women pro athletes with resources and meals during training camps. For Mexican national rugby team member Paola Rodríguez the program is a crucial support system to overcome some of the barriers Mexican women athletes face.
“Rugby has given me a community and balance between body and mind,” she stated DestElla’s launch in Mexico City. She went on to explain that greater visibility for women in sports can help combat other societal issues whether that be psychological, economic, physical, sexual or discrimination.
The energy company has been promoting women and girls from around the world in sport since 2016. One of its core values is to serve as an inclusive force and fight for social equality. In 2022, it doubled the sportswomen it reaches and supports from 300,000 to 600,000 in Spain. In both Spain and Brazil, Iberdrola Mexico is the main partner-sponsor of the women’s national senior national football team. Additionally, it has sponsored women’s football in the UK since 2023 with its subsidiary Scottish Power. As a result, the Iberdrola Group now supports more than 100 competitions.
Iberdrola Mexico also has other social programs dedicated to women such as Impulso STEM, which promotes the development of scientific and tech careers and ComunidadEs Igualdad that aims to eliminate gender violence and reduce inequality gaps by raising awareness of human rights. Its ComunidadEs Igualdad initiative seeks to eradicate gender violence and close inequality gaps by raising awareness about human rights.
Source: Latin America Post and Iberdrola
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