Recently we celebrated International Women’s Day, a global celebration which aims to inspire women in countries across the world. The tradition began with the first National Women’s Day, on the 8th of March in 1909 and its roots are in campaigning for better pay and voting rights.
Nonetheless, reports show that while more and more companies file CSR reports every year, the lack of transparency into workplace gender equality still remains troubling. Nowdays, women outperform men academically and increasingly enter the workforce, but they still do not reach leadership , even though they are qualified to do so. Many governments have stepped in to regulate the matter. For example Norway requires 40% of directors be female while in the U.S., public companies must disclose whether and how their nomination committees considers diversity in selecting directors.
Gender Equality Leads to More Productivity
Closing the gender gap in management and governance positions actually correlates to stronger productivity on both corporate and national levels. However, despite the mounting data proving the benefits of ”a woman’s touch” in corporate governance, almost 85% of Fortune 500 company board positions still belong to men.
Gender Equality in CSR Reporting
CSR reporting recognizes companies with initiatives and efforts that go beyond legal requirements. Including gender in CSR reports allows tracking of gender equality progress by company, industry and nation. The Global Reporting Institute provides guidelines for companies to start tracking and reporting their gender-related initiatives.
The time has come to go further than merely recognizing the value women provide in corporate governance. It is time to take down the glass ceiling, close the gender gap and realize the benefits of gender equality to the private and public sectors.