What is gender equality and how is it measured? From the Gender Equality Plan to the benefits, here's how and why to promote gender equality within companies.
An overview of gender equality
Along with other issues, that of gender equality is increasingly relevant. Together with sustainability, corporate well-being, attention to diversity and life-work balance, Gender Equality is today a key parameter on which to build the success of a company.
Specifically, for gender equality we mean the "equal treatment and opportunities of men and women in all social contexts". It is recognized as a fundamental right by the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and coincides with Goal 5 of the United Nations 2030 Agenda.
Although it concerns all aspects of a person's life, the issue of equal opportunities between women and men is particularly important in the workplace. In fact, it is in the professional sphere that the gender gap is more frequent. The gander gap consists of unfavorable opportunities for women in terms of access to work, wages, career growth, leadership roles, and job retention.
However, many companies today are stepping up their efforts to create more inclusive work environments. These efforts are highlighted by the Bloomberg Gender Equality Index which shows how much different countries are promoting gender equality. The index measures various business aspects, such as female leadership, gender pay equality, inclusive corporate culture in favor of women, and policies against sexual harassment.
Relevance of gender equality in work contexts
The current centrality of this issue is also due to the fact that equality between men and women is one of the essential elements for accessing funding from the Horizon Europe program. In fact, to obtain funding, it is necessary to have a Gender Equality Plan (GEP), a formal document that illustrates the set of actions and structural changes that an organization is adopting to promote gender equality. The document allows public bodies wishing to participate in the calls for research to illustrate interventions undertaken to promote work-life balance, gender equality in decision-making processes, equal opportunities in recruitment and career paths, but also approaches and measures against gender-based violence in the workplace.
Although it is currently required for public bodies, it is also recommended for companies. However, starting from 2023, the Gender Equality Plan will be mandatory for all public and private organizations interested in accessing European funding programs.
So, the GEP favors access to new funding channels for research, but tracing in a clear and transparent way what a company does to promote gender equality has positive returns also in terms of image and reputation. Indeed, there are numerous studies that show that gender equality and corporate performance are correlated from an economic-financial point of view and the effective management of human resources.
How to measure the level of gender equality within a company
Is it possible to understand in a precise and reliable way how much a company is concretely committed to promoting gender equality? Yes, actually it is a measurable and also certifiable parameter. There are various tools and processes that make it possible to analyze the commitment of organizations in a qualitative and quantitative manner.
Among the most prestigious certifications there is, for example, that of the Italian Winning Women Institute, which has already certified companies such as Allianz Partners, Cameo, Humana, Biogen, Sanofi, and many others. It is the Dynamic Model Gender Rating and takes into account 4 indicators:
- Growth opportunities for women, which analyzes how many women are employed in a company and in which roles;
- Salary equity, which compares the salaries of men and women, with the same seniority and role;
- Policies for Gender Diversity, i.e. programs and interventions to promote the presence of women in the company and foster a more inclusive corporate culture;
- Parenting policy, which refers to the company's actions to facilitate flexibility and work-life balance. It also assesses the presence of Company Welfare Plans to support the management of personal and family commitments of female employees.
These indicators represent the main dimensions that companies interested in improving their gender equality must analyze. In addition, they represent important elements -to be investigated even using People Analytics tools- with which to outline an exhaustive overview of the company context. These are the starting points for making decisions for more effective Human Resources management, but also for improving business performance.
