That organisations across the world are doing their bit to ensure equal representation and parity is clear from the 2023 Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index (GEI). The data revealed by the Report is rather heartening, with 41 of the 484 companies covered globally having a woman as their chief executive officer (CEO). That is not all, 50 organisations have a woman as chairperson.
If that isn’t enough, the average representation of women for GEI member companies is 32% of the board. About 44 per cent of women have been promoted on an average.
A whopping 86 per cent of the member companies have a recruiting strategy in place to increase the number of women hires. About 63 per cent seek gender diversity amongst the candidates they examine for managerial roles.
The 2023 Index comprises 484 companies with a combined market capitalisation of $16 trillion headquartered in 45 countries and regions across 11 sectors and 54 industries.
Based on the responses to questions related to leadership and talent pipeline, gender pay and equal pay parity, inclusive culture, anti-sexual harassment policies, and external brand, it has been discovered that GEI member organisations are hiring more women than they are losing.
Average percentage of women who left the company is 41 per cent, while average percentage of women among new hires is 44 per cent.
A good 70 per cent of the member countries conducted an equal pay audit, while about 60 per cent publicly disclosed statistics on gender-based differences in compensation. A significant 73 per cent disclosed their gender pay gap.
Companies are putting in efforts to build a more inclusive work culture wherein all employees can thrive. An overwhelming 86 per cent of companies have unconscious bias training available to all employees. On an average, about 86 per cent of employees who return post parental leave remain with the company. About 80 per cent of companies provide on-site lactation rooms and 62 per cent offer childcare subsidies or other financial support.
Work-from-home or flexibility is offered by 93 per cent employers, while 95 per cent provide mental health support or consultation services to their workforce. Most of them (97 per cent) offer paid time off for bereavement.
Outside of work, communities are also gaining from the inclusive policies of corporates. This is because, 52 per cent sponsor a health education programme for women in the community. A good 74 per cent sponsor a STEM education programme for women in the community. About 63 per cent sponsor a financial education programme for women in the community, while 57 per cent have a supplier-diversity programme, which includes vendors or supplies owned by women.
About 44 per cent of the organsiations screen machine learning (ML) data sets for inherent gender biases.
