View in browser

The latest news on workplace equality and gender-lens investment

No company in the S&P 100 Index achieves gender balance – at all levels

Our report Gender Equality in the US ranks companies in the S&P 100 index based on their commitment to gender equality, including their healthcare benefits. This is the first research ever to assess the largest US companies on their gender equality practices, including the way these are reflected in the health insurance coverage provided to employees. The report looks at parental leave, anti-sexual harassment policies, the gender pay gap and much more.

Only four companies have a gender-balanced board.
Only 22% of companies give 14 weeks of paid parental leave to primary carers.
A record 71% of companies have an anti-sexual harassment policy.

Four out of 10 leading US companies for gender equality are banks

Watch CNBC's Dominic Chu examine the Equileap US Report on the show Squawk Alley

Country focus: Canada

Canadian companies (in the S&P/TSX 60 Index) have an average gender equality score of 29%.
They have fewer women at the executive level, in senior management and in the workforce than US companies but they have slightly more women at board level.
63% of companies have an anti-sexual harassment policy in place, eight points lower than the US.

The momentum is here: gender-lens investing sees explosive growth

It took 25 years to reach USD 1 billion of investments with a gender lens, and only 12 months to reach the second billion, according to the VERIS report Gender Lens Investing: Bending the Arc of Finance for Women and Girls.

Since then, major players have entered the market. There is also an increasing focus on intersectionality in both gender-lens investing and philantropy, as explained by Suzanne Biegel in Forbes.

Scandinavia has joined the movement too. In the past months, three products powered by Equileap data have been launched in the region, by Swedbank, Storebrand, and Avanza Bank (the AVA Gender Equality Tracker).

In the spotlight: General Motors

General Motors was awarded first prize in the Equileap Global Report last year. So what's great at GM?

It is the only company among the largest 20 in the US that has both a female CEO and CFO as well as an equal number of women and men on its board of directors.
GM is one of just two global businesses that has an overall gender pay gap of less than 3% and pay gaps of less than 3% at executive, management and non-management levels.
It offers flexible work arrangements. It also has policies to combat sexual harassment at work and a supplier diversity policy that supports women-owned businesses.

Our top picks from the news

/ Market Watch: Here’s an ETF to make International Women’s Day more than one day a year - March 8, 2019

/ Make It, CNBC: Employing more women could boost economies by 35 percent, says IMF chief Christine Lagarde - March 5, 2019

/ The National: Why it makes sense to invest in companies with a healthy gender balance - January 14, 2019

Dear gender equality advocate,

We’ve seen lot of positive activity in the corporate world of gender-lens investing and gender equality recently. Our quarterly update presents some of the main highlights, but this is really only the tip of the iceberg.

During the first quarter of 2019, we rang our 'alarm bell' on several companies in our database, indicating a gender equality-related controversy. We see it as our responsibility to hold companies to account, with the aim that they will take measures to proactively address issues of gender-based violence or discrimination within their workforce and supply chains. We have also seen a growing momentum for legislation to close the gender pay gap in Europe, with both the UK and France now requiring companies to report their gender pay gap to the public. And then there are the countless initiatives which see women supporting other women: from a fund for businesswomen of color to a new directory for women in Ven ture Capital.

One of our main highlights the past month was our participation at the 5th WAW! W20 conference in Japan, where I was inspired by the heartfelt speeches of Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai and former Chilean president Michelle Bachelet, as well as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's commitment to advance gender equality in Japanese workplaces. We presented our latest Special Report highlighting the Top 100 Asian companies, commissioned by the Sasakawa Peace Foundation and launched during a panel on gender lens investing.

Equileap turned three years old last February, and our research continues to expand thanks to the growth of our international team. The first quarter of this year is only just over, and we look forward to sharing our new and exciting plans ahead.

We would love to hear from you, too. Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn, and send us the latest updates from your company.

Warm regards,

Diana van Maasdijk,
CEO, Equileap

Don't forget to follow us on Twitter for updates!