Banco Santander, through Santander Universities and in collaboration with The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), is launching another edition of its two main female leadership programmes: ´Santander Scholarships Women | W50 Leadership 2022 - LSE´ and ´Santander Scholarships Women | Emerging Leaders 2022 - LSE´.

 For both programmes, all participants must have a level of English equivalent to C1 or higher and reside in one of 13 countries (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Columbia, Germany, Mexico, Portugal, Poland, Peru, Spain, the United Kingdom, the USA and Uruguay).

Applications may be submitted for these two female leadership programmes at www.becas-santander.com (with a deadline 15th March for Santander W50 and 6th April for Emerging Leaders). The terms and requirements for these two programmes are also available on the website.

A commitment to female leadership in senior management

The Santander Women Scholarships | W50 Leadership 2022 - LSE programme, which is running for the 12th time this year, mainly sets out to deliver high performance training for 50 women who hold upper management positions in companies in any sector and who are looking to develop and refine their own leadership style.

This international programme, in which more than 700 professionals from all over the world have already taken part, will be delivered face to face once again after going online for two years due to the mobility restrictions brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to the full cost of the training programme, the scholarship includes costs for accommodation in London during the dates when the programme is running.

It provides face-to-face training in London, on the campus of LSE, one of the most prestigious universities in the world. Participants will learn how to enhance their personal leadership style through training, experiential sessions and one-to-one coaching. In addition, they will have the opportunity to share experiences with women from different countries and establish a global network of female leaders. After the face-to-face phase, participants will have six weeks to develop their leadership development plan individually, which they must present to their respective mentors remotely.

Applications may be submitted until 15th March at www.becas-santander.com

 Montse Puig, corporate director at Tangelo Games, says "The programme provides clear and tangible training on the dynamics within a board of directors and provides directors with the knowledge that they need to take action with confidence. In addition, world-class teachers deliver the training."

Training for future leaders

At the same time, Banco Santander has opened registrations for another round of the Santander Women Scholarships | Emerging Leaders 2022 - LSE¸ a fully online seven-week programme, which sets out to unleash the potential of the next generation of female leaders. So far, more than 250 women have already received training across the two previous iterations.

It offers 125 scholarships for women in middle management positions looking to progress in their careers, irrespective of their age or sector. Selected applicants will receive the training, tools and skills that they need to be more influential, persuasive and impactful in the leadership positions which they will take up in the future.

Virginia Pérez, an architect and former Emerging Leaders student, says "The programme hugely focusses on reflection, self-knowledge and understanding the leader inside ourselves. It was a very challenging personal development journey for me, with a huge impact on my personal and professional life."

Participants will receive training in order to develop negotiating skills in essential concepts for the leaders of the future such as strategies, principles, new trends and the various, more advanced and effective negotiation tactics and processes. They will learn how to analyse and effectively conduct a negotiation using proven techniques, explore conflict-resolution strategies and develop their communication skills.

Anyone interested can enroll until 6th April 2022 at www.becas-santander.com and the course will begin on 15th June.

Blanca Sagastume, deputy global director of Santander Universities, says "with the launch of both programmes, we want to continue fostering female leadership, both in senior management and in middle management positions, where skills such as negotiating and communicating are key to carving out a successful career. We are working hand in hand with LSE and we are sure that it will be a real treat for participants, due to the impact and outcomes of previous iterations of the programme”.

“We are delighted to be partnering with Banco Santander for the third year in a row,” says Russell Brooks, Associate Director (Online Programmes) and Deputy Director (Extended Education). “We are looking forward to continuing our partnership with Banco Santander to design and deliver scholarship programmes to equip the next generation of leading women with the necessary skills to advance in their career.”

The initiatives on both programmes are aligned with Banco Santander's commitment to equal opportunities for men and women in all of the countries where it operates. The bank, which is one of the ten leading companies in the world in this area according to the 2021 Bloomberg Gender Equality Index, joined the United Nations Global Compact gender equality programme in 2020 and has signed up to the Target Gender Equality programme (TGE) launched by the body in 19 countries, which aims to increase female representation on company boards of directors and in executive management positions.

Santander's Board of Directors is made up 40% of women, which is higher than the average for IBEX companies, and has set itself the target to reach 30% of women holding senior management positions by 2025.

Banco Santander and its support for higher education

Banco Santander, the leader in responsible banking, is firmly committed to progress and inclusive sustainable growth. It has a long-standing commitment to higher education through , which has been operating in this area for 25 years, setting it apart from the world's other financial institutions. Banco Santander has invested more than EUR 2 billion and awarded over 630,000 scholarships and grants since it was established Santander Universities.

London School of Economics and Political Science

The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) was founded to know the causes of things, for the betterment of society. The school has an outstanding reputation for its academic excellence and it is one of the most international universities in the world. Its study of social, economic and political problems focuses on the different perspectives and experiences of most countries. From its foundation LSE has aimed to be a laboratory of the social sciences, a place where ideas are developed, analysed, evaluated, and disseminated around the globe.