Gender equality, how it is measured and why it is the new value - Lifestyle

There is a lot of talk about gender equality in companies, the topic is highly topical and as well as other parameters, starting with inclusion, sustainable practices, corporate well-being, diversity, everything contributes to differentiate companies and build the so-called 'reputation', trivially reputation, a factor that will increasingly be a driving force also from an economic point of view, marking differences on the market.

In the Recovery Plan, the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, certification for gender equality in the company is required.

But how is gender equality measured? For some time there has been an objective, measurable certification process, which analyzes data provided by companies, checks them and validates them with an auditing company. What are the parameters exactly? We talked about it with Enrico Gambardella, president of the Winning Women Institute, who takes care of just this. "There are 4 areas of analysis - he tells ANSA - 1) the opportunities for growth in the company 2) remuneration equity 3) the policies for the management of gender diversity 4) the policies for the protection of parenthood. Over 25 parameters then they are weighted with a methodology guaranteed by the Scientific Committee. In the companies you approached, what situation was found? How far were they from achieving parity?We have met many companies and this is already an important sign. The situation is certainly heterogeneous with extremely virtuous companies and with others very far from a possible certification. The greatest critical issues are always in the areas that are most difficult to modify and change: the presence of women in positions with greater responsibility (middle managers, executives and CEOs) and the gender pay gap which in some cases reaches 30%. I would add that if the lack of women at the top of the company is ... visible, companies are not equally aware of the gender pay gap. To the question: "What is your gender pay gap?" Almost nobody knows how to answer ".The greatest critical issues are always in the areas that are most difficult to modify and change: the presence of women in positions with greater responsibility (middle managers, executives and CEOs) and the gender pay gap which in some cases reaches 30%. I would add that if the lack of women at the top of the company is ... visible, companies are not equally aware of the gender pay gap. To the question: "What is your gender pay gap?" Almost nobody knows how to answer ".The greatest critical issues are always in the areas that are most difficult to modify and change: the presence of women in positions with greater responsibility (middle managers, executives and CEOs) and the gender pay gap which in some cases reaches 30%. I would add that if the lack of women at the top of the company is ... visible, companies are not equally aware of the gender pay gap. To the question: "What is your gender pay gap?" Almost nobody knows how to answer "."What is your gender pay gap?" Hardly anyone knows how to answer "."What is your gender pay gap?" Hardly anyone knows how to answer ".

How long have these certifications existed in Italy and how many companies currently in Italy? "Winning Women Institute has existed for about 4 years and has certified 15 companies to date - Cameo, Grenke, Alés Groupe, Biogen, Allianz Partners, Amgen, Sanofi, Sas, Ipsen, Humana, BNP Paribas Cardif and Carter & Benson -. Other companies are in the "improvement" phase and we expect to have as many by the end of 2021. We must emphasize that the Certification is the result to be achieved, but the process (which begins with a pre-audit) gives the Company a very precise map of its points of strength and areas for improvement by identifying a specific path ". Compared to the rest of Europe and other countries, where are we? "We are far behind. As a country we launch initiatives but do not implement them. Often the policy of announcement prevails.Companies then deal with the issue of gender equality only from an ethical point of view (and it certainly is), ignoring the competitive advantages that gender diversity produces and paying little attention to the "reputation risk" which will be an increasingly important issue. We see this from the fact that some certified companies are starting to use the “gender sticker” also to talk to end consumers, obtaining excellent results. An alarm bell for those who cannot certify ". Finally, can there be" genderwashing "?" We were born with the idea of ​​"fighting it". We were (and are) a little tired of talking but of little progress. We are full of companies that declare themselves attentive and sensitive to the issue of gender equality, perhaps because they launch some sporadic and "marketing" initiatives. The question we ask is simple:Can your company or cannot be certified? Everything else is (a bit) gender washing ".