The latest news on workplace equality and gender lens investment
In the last few weeks, the good news of a coronavirus vaccine – in fact, several vaccines – has provided a shot in the arm for global stock markets. It is easy to forget that many parts of the world are still under some form of lockdown, and ‘normality’ may well not be felt until later in 2021.
Over the last nine months, we have witnessed the best and worst of corporate activity. Massive pharmaceutical companies who vow not to make a profit from saving lives with a vaccine, alongside companies who sign government contracts to deliver millions of dollars worth of unusable masks. Investors now have a clearer choice as to the kind of companies, society and economy we want to invest in.
Women also fall under the ‘S’ category of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) investing. While we have seen some progress, such as companies allowing their employees more flexibility to work from home, we have also seen some major steps backwards, such as reported spikes in domestic violence and the gender pay gap reporting being scrapped in the UK. Many women feel pressured to choose between their work and childcare: a recent report from McKinsey and Lean In found that 1 in 4 women are considering leaving the workforce or downshifting their careers due to the coronavirus.
In this way, the Social in ‘ESG’ has bounced to the forefront. The good news is that the responsible investment community is increasingly interested in gender equality data and reports, pushing investee companies to be transparent and forward-thinking. Momentum is truly growing for ethical, socially sustainable and gender-equal investment.
Equileap launches S&P 500 report
The S&P 500 index is the largest single-country equity index in the world, with over USD11 trillion benchmarked or indexed against it. However, its constituent companies had never been assessed in depth from a gender equality perspective. Our new report is the first of its kind to rank every index constituent company based on 19 criteria, from the diversity of its supply chain to its gender pay gap and anti-sexual harassment policy.
U.S. corporate policy provides a unique challenge to Equileap, given so many workers are dependent on their company for access to healthcare, maternity leave and other benefits that are not offered by the state. Therefore we have dedicated an entire section to covering each company’s healthcare plan.
Only 8% of all Chair, CEO and CFO positions at S&P 500 companies are occupied by women
91% of companies do not publish their gender pay gap
213 of the S&P 500 companies offer two weeks or more of paid maternity carer leave
News: Parental leave changes gather global momentum
The U.S. is the only OECD country to not offer paid, statutory maternity leave. However, president-elect Joe Biden and vice president-elect Kamala Harris propose to bring in 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave come 2021.
Other changes are afoot. France has recently doubled its paid paternity leave to 28 days. In January, Iceland will up its paid leave for both partners to five months, plus two months each to share. The UK is also facing more pressure to revamp its shared parental leave, half a decade after the policy was introduced.
In the absence of legislation, companies like Hewlett Packard Enterprise are going above and beyond legislation to create a culture of progressive parental leave. However, we can’t presume fathers will take time off, even if it’s well paid, if that is not supported by company culture, as is the case in many Japanese and South Korean companies. Companies need to normalise a culture where fathers take time off for real change to happen.
In the spotlight: BlackRock
The world’s largest asset manager ranks 21st in terms of gender equality in the S&P 500 this year with an Equileap score of 60%, a notable improvement from our research in early 2019 when it scored 26%. What has prompted BlackRock’s rise in the rankings?
An increase in transparency across all categories, including its representation of women in the workforce.
A commitment to a living wage.
Published policies regarding parental leave, flexible work arrangements and anti-sexual harassment.
The company became a signatory to the United Nations Women’s Empowerment Principles in June 2019.
Research has found women are likelier to lose work or take on the burden of childcare compared to men during the pandemic – but flexible working and more willing fathers could flip this around.
Research shows women’s job loss rate is 1.8 times greater than that of men and the poverty rate among women could go up by 9.1%, hence the need for action at the Commission level.
Do you have news on gender equality or investing with a gender lens? Please email us!