From GIIN - Resource library of different strategies to achieve gender impact.

From Equileap- This report measures gender equality in the global workplace and provides data and insight into the corporate sector. It ranks 4,000 public companies across the world across 19 criteria.

From International Journal of Finance and Economics - This article examines the relationship between gender diversity, selected female attributes, and financial performance of FTSE 100 firms in the UK. This study finds a positive and significant relationship between gender diversity and firm performance. However, the results become highly significant and unequivocal when three or more females are appointed to the board compared to the appointment of two or less females. Further analysis reveals that post-appointment financial performance is positively related to female age, level of education and where female board members also hold executive director positions.

Gender diversity at work and investing in equality for women can actually increase a company’s—and your portfolio’s—bottom line. Lily Trager, Wealth Management, Director of Impact Investing at Morgan Stanley, explains.

From McKinsey. A year and a half into the COVID-19 pandemic, women in corporate America are even more burned out than they were last year—and increasingly more so than men. Despite this, women leaders are stepping up to support employee well-being and diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, but that work is not getting recognized. That’s according to the latest Women in the Workplace report from McKinsey, in partnership with Leanin.Org.

From McKinsey. An updated view into gender and racial diversity in financial services—as well as women’s day-to-day work experiences—reveals some progress. But challenges in building an equitable and inclusive workplace persist.

At the beginning of 2021, women in North America remained dramatically underrepresented in the financial-services workforce—particularly at the level of senior management and above. A new industry-specific analysis of data from the latest Women in the Workplace report, a McKinsey collaboration with LeanIn.Org, reveals a leaky pipeline from which women are falling out in greater numbers as they progress up the career ladder, resulting in significant inequality at the top. Consistent with previous years, women in financial services continue to experience a “broken rung” at the first step from entry level to manager—where they are significantly less likely than men to be promoted (for more about our research, see sidebar “About the research and findings”). At the same time, women leaders have taken on the additional responsibilities of supporting employees and investing in diversity and inclusion during the COVID-19 pandemic—but they aren’t being rewarded for this critical work.

From Deloitte. The venture capital (VC) industry appears to be making progress in achieving greater gender, racial, and ethnic diversity. Some progress has been made in expanding the representation of women in leadership positions, particularly for investing professionals. In addition, of the VC firms surveyed, more are adopting diversity and inclusion strategies than before, and firms with these strategies report having more diverse workforces than other VC firms. However, the pace of progress has been uneven across diversity demographics—there has been little increase in the representation of Black and Hispanic employees in the overall industry and in leadership positions. At the talent management level, few of the firms surveyed conduct employee surveys to assess their progress in creating a more inclusive workplace. While the improvements indicate a positive trend, the data indicates the industry has work to do to achieve a long-term diverse workforce.

These are some of the key findings of the third edition of the VC Human Capital Survey, powered by the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA), Venture Forward, and Deloitte to assess the state of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the VC industry. The survey provides a source of information that allows firms to benchmark themselves against industry practices and helps them identify innovative approaches to promote DEI.

From the Global Business Certification Standard for Gender Equality. EDGE is the leading global assessment methodology and business certification standard for gender equality. It measures where organizations stand in terms of gender balance across their pipeline, pay equity, effectiveness of policies and practices to ensure equitable career flows as well as inclusiveness of their culture. EDGE stands for Economic Dividends for Gender Equality and is distinguished by its rigor and focus on business impact.

From Bloomberg. Advisers are adding guarantees to certain merger agreements in light of the sexual misconduct scandals that have enveloped the producer Harvey Weinstein and other high-profile businessmen -- ones that legally vouch for the behavior of a company’s leadership.

The development is a concrete example of how business is trying to adapt to the #MeToo era, at least in terms of legal liability. The move is particularly noteworthy given its source: the male-dominated world of M&A advisory where the terms of an offer can make or break a bid.

Equileap is an independent, specialized data provider with a broad scope of gender metrics. It enables investors to make better investment decisions with data on equality in the workplace. Equileap is assessing over 3,500 companies globally on 19 criteria including gender balance, the gender pay gap, paid parental leave and anti-sexual harassment policies. Equileap data is used for ESG integration, portfolio analysis, stewardship and managing reputational risks.

Several indices have also been designed with Solactive and Morningstar, to track companies leading in gender equality. These indices are used both as benchmarks and underlyings of financial products.

From Forbes. There have been at least six shareholder proposals during this proxy season, according to Parallelle Finance, a research firm that monitors, analyses and advocates for gender lens investing. It appears that shareholder activism is increasingly a successful strategy by investors to enhance companies’ performance and disclosures on environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria, including in diversity and inclusion.

From SJF Ventures. SJF Ventures has curated a list of actionable steps and resources to consider in working towards improving Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) practices.

From Harvard Business Review. In an era where companies are paying more and more attention to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), inclusion remains the most difficult metric to track. From new research, Gartner developed the Gartner Inclusion Index to measure what true inclusion looks like across an organization. The authors outline how to use the Gartner Inclusion Index to measure employee perceptions of inclusion, what effective action looks like from leaders, and common pitfalls to avoid.

From ForcetheIssue.org. The Force the Issue project launched September 9, 2019 and is a joint effort between Grab Your Wallet Alliance, LedBetter Gender Equality Index, and the Adasina Community. Our goal is to get companies to end the harmful practice of requiring arbitration for sexual harassment claims. The project’s launch was accompanied by a statement of support from a broad array of institutional investor groups including the AFL-CIO, Trillium Asset Management, the president of Los Angeles City Employee Retirement System (LACERS), Walden Asset Management, Natural Investments, and Nia Impact Capital. The signers of the statement represent $54 billion of investor assets. The statement is also officially endorsed by Sharan Burrow as General Secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC).

From Stardust Equity. Stardust Equity believes that the best performing investment firms will be those that are approaching gender equality as they would any other business priority. In an effort to fully use the levers investors have at their disposal, Stardust Equity compiled the Gender Smart Due Diligence Questionnaire: a diligence tool assessing firms’ commitments to gender analysis and toward gender equality.

From Power Africa. Women represent half of the world’s employment potential, yet they make up only 32 percent of the renewable energy sector workforce worldwide. In Africa’s off-grid energy sector, this discrepancy is especially acute, and problematic, as companies race to meet the workforce needs of a rapidly growing sector. PEG Africa (PEG) is a fast-growing, 400+ person company that provides solar-powered electricity solutions, called solar home systems (SHS), to customers in rural and remote parts of West Africa where the electricity grid does not reach. Small off-grid companies in Africa, such as PEG, must tackle an array of business-related challenges, and gender equality and women’s empowerment are not often prioritized. However, integrating gender-inclusive practices can both benefit business performance and increase social impact. Power Africa supports projects, programs and policies that strive to reduce gender inequalities and promote the effective engagement of both men and women in the energy sector. As part of its ongoing businessrelated support to PEG, Power Africa identified the opportunity to help the company implement strategic measures to increase internal gender equality and strengthen women’s economic opportunities.

By Erin L. Thomas, PhD, VP, Head of Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging at Upwork. “At Upwork, we stand firmly against racial injustice and are working to create a safe environment for honest conversations about race, including how we can effectively upend the chronic racism that many of our team members experience every day. We recognize that we also have much progress to make within Upwork, and we have committed to take action toward building a more diverse and inclusive workplace.“

From Harvard Business Review. Iceland’s equal pay for equal work system is still in the early stages, but initial signs suggest that requiring organizations prove they compensate employees fairly may be very effective. Much more effective, in any case, than the alternatives currently in place elsewhere. Introduced in 2018, the policy requires companies and institutions with more than 25 employees to prove that they pay men and women equally for a job of equal value. If companies show they pay equally for the same positions, they receive certification. Beginning in 2020, certification became a requirement and companies without certification incur a daily fine. The few issues that have thus far emerged, such as the burdensomeness of the process for managers, are start-up problems, moreover, not long-term consequences. And what’s more: the system has stimulated both-in-firm and societal discussions about how jobs are valued, based on what criteria, and whether these criteria are still relevant in the current society and labor market.

From the World Benchmarking Alliance (WBA). This report presents the methodology of the Gender Benchmark, an in-depth evaluation of companies on gender equality and women’s empowerment. The first public ranking of companies, as well as the results from the first application of this methodology, will be published in September 2020 and will present how the apparel industry’s most influential companies address gender equality and women’s empowerment. Ultimately, the Gender Benchmark will enable all stakeholders, from consumers and investors to employees and business leaders beyond the apparel sector, to make informed decisions and encourage stronger corporate impact on gender equality and women’s empowerment.