Gender Equality Takes Giant Step Forward

Written by Jan Jaben-Eilon Tuesday, March 22 2011

At the end of January, at the World Economic Forum held in Davos, Switzerland, a Swiss-based foundation announced a groundbreaking assessment methodology for gender equality in the workplace. Called the Gender Equality Project, it is expected to serve as a basis for the first global certification system and standard in gender equality.

The methodology is designed to provide a clear picture of a company’s progress on gender equality as measured in terms of equal pay for equivalent work, recruitment and promotion, training and mentoring, work-life balance, and the company culture, says Aniela Unguresan, cofounder of The Gender Equality Project.

“The methodology provides a road map for multinational organizations to chart their progress as they strive to accelerate the pace of change toward gender equality. It is an effective assessment tool which will not only allow companies to hold themselves accountable, but also turn the talent, creativity, and the valued reputation that comes with gender equality into a business success,” she says.

The French-based Coca-Cola Europe group worked with the foundation to assess and streamline the methodology as part of a pilot phase.

“As one of the most significant economic and social drivers, gender equality is not just good for business, it is essential for business,” says Dominique Reiniche, president of the European group of The Coca-Cola Co. “We have seen the value of gender equality in our workplace for many years. In today’s world, there is no question about the need for gender equality; there is just the need for action. A single globally recognized certificate could play a real role in bringing about changes we need to see in all businesses, large and small.”

In addition to the Coca-Cola system in France, other top multinational companies that worked with The Gender Equality Project to assess and streamline the methodology as part of a pilot program that launched in March 2010 include Alcatel-Lucent, BC Hydro in Canada, Ogilvy & Mather, L’Oréal, Pfizer Inc., and PwC in Germany.

At the World Economic Forum, Alcatel-Lucent CEO Ben Verwaayen, stated, “Gender equality is about future-proofing your organization; it’s a license to be there. We live in a world of massive change that compels us to embrace new thinking as we look at restructuring our societies, economies, and businesses. That will only come if we truly open up our organizations to both men and women. Our employees expect it, and our customers and investors depend on it.”

Corporations have talked about gender equality in the workplace for years, but little has actually been accomplished. It is often said that what gets measured gets done, according to Unguresan.

In each of the five areas on which the assessment tool focuses, The Gender Equality Project seeks to capture not only outcomes, but also the policies and practices that have proven to be effective in fostering equal opportunities between men and women in the workplace. Companies are scored on these quantitative and qualitative measures.

A recent study published by the World Economic Forum revealed that:

• 72 percent of the companies surveyed, covering the largest companies in 20 OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries, do not monitor the potential salary gaps between women and men in their companies.
  
• 12 percent of these companies do not measure how many women occupy their entry-level management positions.
  
• Only 5 percent of the CEO positions are held by women.

Moreover, at the global level, there is still a 40-percent gap between women and men in terms of economic participation and opportunity. In addition, women earn 85 percent of what men earn and hold fewer positions of responsibility. Only 15 percent of top management posts of Fortune 500 companies are occupied by women, and the participation of women on corporate boards is about 10 percent.

As part of the pilot, Christine Diamente, director of corporate responsibility at Alcatel-Lucent, says her company chose India as the target market.

“India is recognized as a challenging market from both an industry and global perspective on gender equality. Nonetheless, it is an important market for us, and it is also a key country in terms of our global operations,” Diamente says. “We want to make sure our Alcatel-Lucent Indian work force represents the best and the brightest, and you can’t do that if half of the population is hampered.”

Alcatel-Lucent dedicated important people resources in India and across the globe to provide the key data needed to successfully carry out the pilot program, she adds.

“In terms of the value of our investment, we are extremely satisfied with the pilot and found the assessment methodology a useful tool for tracking our progress on this very important topic,” Diamente says. “It was an excellent learning experience for Alcatel-Lucent. Our employees were enthusiastic about it, showing just how important it is for both them and our company leadership.”

Other companies that participated in the pilot program were also enthusiastic about the new assessment tools.

“I am certain that our company has made better decisions because we made some progress toward gender equality and because we learned to listen better to each other over time. Learning about what others have done will help all companies in the future,” says Bob Elton, special adviser to the board of directors, at BC Hydro in Canada.

Unguresan explains that there are three major components of the certification process. The first is the assessment methodology; the second is the standard that should be met for a company to be certified; and the third is the actual certification process, which will be conducted by a third party auditor. The standard for certification will be made public by the Gender Equality Foundation in the next couple of months. And the actual certification process is expected to be up and running this autumn.

Jan Jaben-Eilon was a founding staff writer of the Atlanta Business Chronicle. Since then, she has been the international editor of Advertising Age magazine and has written for such publications as The New York Times, International Herald Tribune, Washington Journalism Review, and Consumer Reports. She is the author of soon-to-be-published (There is) Life After Cancer. Jan and her husband have homes in Atlanta and Jerusalem.