WEPs
Women’s Empowerment Principles
A snapshotof 350 companies
in G7 countries

7

PRINCIPLES

Principle 1

Establish high-level corporate leadershipfor gender equality.

Principle 2

Treat all women and men fairly at work – respect andsupport human rights and non-discrimination.

Principle 3

Ensure the health, safety and well-being of
all women and men workers.

Principle 4

Promote education, training and professional
development for women.

Principle 5

Implement enterprise development, supply chain
and marketing practices that empower women.

Principle 6

Promote equality through community initiatives
and advocacy.

Principle 7

Measure and publicly report on progressto achieve gender equality.

WEPs
Women’s Empowerment Principles
A snapshotof 350 companies
in G7 countries

Linkedin@WEPrinciples@WEPrinciples

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WEPs - Women Empowerment Principles | A snapshot of 350 companies in G7 countries

United Nations Entity for Gender Equality
and the Empowerment of Women
220 East 42nd Street
New York, New York 10017
United States
www.weps.org
weps@unwomen.org

First Edition | 2021
Copyright © 2021 UN Women. All Rights Reserved.

Lead authors: Anna Fälth and Diana Rañola,WE EMPOWER-G7 and Women’s Empowerment
Principles Secretariat, UN Women.
The authors are grateful for the support, feedback
and inputs received from both internal and external
experts on women’s economic empowerment andqualitative and quantitative analysis.
UN Women: Daniel Seymour, Mitzy Baqueiro,
Jessamyn Encarnacion, Leia Grossman,
Alper Gucumengil, Kae Ishikawa, Ghida Ismail,Nancy Mitchell, Ody Neisingh, Ayumi Nishimae,
Diana Rusu and Vanina Vincensini.
Experts: Heather Larson and Lotte Van Der Stelt(Equileap); Mariko Saito (Gender Action Platform)and Mara Bolis (Oxfam).
Editor: ProseWorks
Design: Oliver Gantner

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: This study was preparedby WE EMPOWER-G7 – a joint programme ofUnited Nations Entity for Gender Equality andthe Empowerment of Women (UN Women),the European Union and the International Labour
Union (ILO). The WE EMPOWER-G7 team would
like to thank the European Union for its partnershipand financial support.
DISCLAIMER. This study was produced with thefinancial support of the European Union. Its contents
are the sole responsibility of the authors and do notnecessarily reflect the views of the European Union,
the United Nations and their Member States.
This report contains certain data sourced from
Equileap Investment Services Support or its affiliates(hereafter “Equileap”). Equileap is a third-party data
provider and does not accept any direct or indirect
liability for the accuracy, completeness or use of
the information it provided. The Equileap data andinformation contained herein: (a) is proprietary toEquileap; (b) may not be copied or distributed
without Equileap’s express written consent; and (c)is not warranted to be accurate, complete or timely.

3

Women’s Empowerment Principles A snapshot of 350 companies in G7 countries

Women’s Empowerment Principles A snapshot of 350 companies in G7 countries

Forewords
The COVID-19 pandemic has threatened hard won gains on
gender equality. Pre-existing inequalities in social, economic
and political systems have been exposed and further deepened.
Now more than ever we need multi-stakeholder partnership to advance gender equality andwomen’s empowerment in the workplace, marketplace and community. This demands strong
government action for gender-responsive laws and policies, a committed and forceful private
sector operationalizing them and a vibrant civil society.
This is the vision from which the WE EMPOWER-G7 programme was established over three
years ago. In 2018, UN Women joined forces with the European Union and the ILO to promotesustainable, inclusive and equitable economic growth in G7 countries. Our multi-stakeholder
approach has actively engaged the private sector, contributed to the G7 gender equality
agenda and built collaboration with civil society organizations.
This study of the largest 350 companies in G7 countries offers insights on how the public andprivate sector interact to advance gender equality. Laws and policies in each G7 country impact the lives of women, from the extent that women’s voices are heard, to their employment
in decent work, their holding of leadership roles and their decision making in the marketplace
including as entrepreneurs.
The study is founded in the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) framework. Informed
by international labour and human rights standards, the WEPs are grounded in the recognition that businesses have a stake in, and a responsibility for, gender equality and women’s
empowerment. Leveraging the WEPs, WE EMPOWER-G7 developed guidance and engaged
the private sector on key issues such as gender parity in the workplace and on boards, parental
leave and child care, gender pay gap, violence and sexual harassment, paid parental leaveand gender-responsive procurement.
To reverse the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and also meet the ambitions we collectively
share, we need bolder, bigger and faster steps. At its heart, this study makes a call on governments and the private sector to continue to advance gender equality and women’s rights.
This demands every effort to ensure that women in the workplace, marketplace and community
thrive. UN Women, and our partners present and future, stand ready to support these efforts.

Gender equality and women’s economic empowerment are
key objectives the European Union is committed to. Throughpartnerships all over the world, and jointly with the United Nations,
we show that together, we can make a difference.
In the wake of COVID-19, we must stand up, speak out and act to protect our hard-won gains
towards achieving gender equality from getting pushed back. The pandemic has presented
challenges, highlighting pre-existing inequalities that are exacerbated amid a global health andeconomic crisis. We must accelerate our actions to achieve our goals and strive to always do better.
Our EU Action Plan on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment in External Action
2021–2025 (GAP III) sets out concrete actions to contribute to building a gender equal world.
It complements the EU’s Directives on work-life balance and pay transparency. More recently,
the European Commission has put forward a proposed directive on corporate sustainability
reporting. Its aim is to increase transparency around organizations’ and companies’ contribution
to sustainable development, including gender equality and women’s empowerment.
The WE EMPOWER-G7 initiative is in full alignment with these directives and action plan,
ensuring that women and girls progress in the world of work. The WE EMPOWER-G7 initiative
has demonstrated what can be achieved if governments, private sector and civil society all work
together. Each sector has a specific role to play in creating an enabling environment in which
women and girls can thrive. Gender equality can only be achieved if we act and work together.
This study has highlighted the steps that have been taken by governments and private sector
alike to ensure women’s rights are recognized in the workplace, marketplace and community.
It also illustrates the power of the Women’s Empowerment Principles as a framework to bringabout this change. It guides companies through concrete steps to advance gender equality for
women in the world of work.
As of end August 2021, nearly 5,500 companies have committed to the WEPs. We are confident
that this will inspire others to follow and will continue to see progress on gender inclusive initiatives.
From the EU side we remain strongly committed to empowering women and to continue working
with partners to achieve a gender equal world.

Anita Bhatia
Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations and Deputy Executive Director of Resource Management,
UN System Coordination, Sustainability and Partnerships
UN Women

4

Hilde Hardeman
Head of Service for Foreign Policy Instruments
European Commission

5

Women’s Empowerment Principles A snapshot of 350 companies in G7 countries

Contents
Executive summary

8

Call to action

10

1. Introduction

16

Study objectives and methodology

20

Statistical significance: WEPs and non-WEPs companies

22

2. The Group of 7

25

Commitments to gender equality

25

Overview of regulatory frameworks

26

Responsible business conduct

30

3. Company performance by
Women’s Empowerment Principle

35

Foundations of human rights

35

Principle 1 Establish high-level corporate leadership for gender equality

38

Principle 2 Treat all women and men fairly at work without discrimination57

Principle 3 Employee health, well-being and safety97

Principle 4 Education and training for career advancement

106

Principle 5 Enterprise development, supply chain and marketing practices

111

Principle 6 Community initiatives and advocacy

121

Principle 7 Measurement and reporting

122*NOTE: this table of contents is interactive.

7

Women’s Empowerment Principles A snapshot of 350 companies in G7 countries

ANNEX
I.

Description of the 350 companies

Women’s Empowerment Principles A snapshot of 350 companies in G7 countries

129
129

II. Matching the characteristics of the companies

134

III. Statistical significance of being a WEPs signatory

138

Endnotes

140

Figures8

21. Number of parental leave days

84

22. Average number of weeks of parental leave, paid at 2/3 salary or more– primary caregiver90

23. Average number of weeks of parental leave, paid at 2/3 salary or more
– secondary caregiver92

24. Health and safety policies

98

25. Presence of policies on violence, abuse and sexual harassment at work102

26. Career and training development policy

108

27. Protecting workers in supply chains112

28. Companies with supplier diversity programmes

116

29. Percentage of companies that have received a gender audit certification

124

30. Average market capital (in billion US$)

130

1.

A global multi-stakeholder framework

17

31. Propensity score matching of WEPs companies and non-WEPs companies

134

2.

The Women’s Empowerment Principles

18

3.

Number of companies that are/are not WEPs signatories

20

32. Balance plots matching country, sector and percentage of market capitalfor 350 companies

136

4.

SIGI categories and 2019 scores for index and subindex,
restricted access to productive and financial resources, by country

28

5.

WEPs companies’ and non-WEPs companies’ adoption of policies on human rights

36

6.

Share of women members on company boards, 2010-2016

42

Tables7.

Percentage of women chief executive officers, latest year

42

1.

Overview of G7 country scores on women’s economic empowerment laws

27

8.

Average percentage of women on boards of the 350 companies

44

2.

Percentage of women on boards – below and above 30 per cent48

9.

Distribution of percentages of women on boards

46

3.

Average percentage of female executives

49

10. Average percentages of women executives

50

4.

Average percentage of companies with 30% and above women in senior management63

11. Distribution of percentages of women executives

52

5.

Laws governing women’s right to work77

12. Average percentage of female employees at companies that have/have not signed the
WEPs compared to labour-force participation rates and unemployment rates of women

58

6.

Parental leave policies in G7 countries with paid days

83

13. Recruitment strategies

60

7.

Leave for primary and secondary caregivers

95

14. Average percentage of companies with 30% and above women in senior management

62

8.

Legislation on sexual harassment

101

15. Average ratio of women in management to women employees

64

9.

Companies in G7 offering flexible work hours and locations or both

105

16. Ratio of women in management to women employees, above or below 0.5

66

17. Companies with policies on living wage

68

18. Publication of gender-disaggregated pay information or on overall gender pay gap
in company reports or filings

10. Regulatory barriers

119

11.

Secure access to formal financial services

119

12.

Signatories by sector

129

72

13.

WEPs signatories per sector per country132

19. Companies with strategies to close gender pay gaps

74

14. Statistical significance of being a WEPs signatory

20. Distribution of unpaid care work among women and men in G7 countries

78

136

9

Women’s Empowerment Principles A snapshot of 350 companies in G7 countries

Women’s Empowerment Principles A snapshot of 350 companies in G7 countries

Executive summary
This study:
Gender inequality is one of the greatest economic and social costs to society – so much sothat if full gender equality were achieved now it would increase growth in the global economy
by US$12 trillion by 2025.1 However, at the current rate of progress the gender gap in
economic participation will take 267.7 years to close.2
The COVID-19 pandemic has posed a serious threat to women’s employment and livelihoods
as it has deepened pre-existing inequalities and exposed cracks in social, political andeconomic systems. From access to health services, social protection and digital technologies
to a significant rise of domestic violence and unpaid care work, the impacts of COVID-19 areexacerbated for many women around the world. Women with care responsibilities, informal
workers, low-income families and youth are among the hardest hit.3
COVID-19 has also revealed that many workers lack paid family and medical leave which –in a pandemic – has meant that working women without paid leave, who are more likely tostay home with a sick child or other family member, might have to choose between going
to work and staying at home. This fact alone is a driver of pay inequity and limited career
opportunities.4
We need bolder, bigger and faster steps towards our collective goals on gender equality.
There is already an overwhelming acceptance of women’s right to financial independence andwhile G7 leaders can influence policies, implement reforms and invite the global community
to follow suit the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) offer the private sector a clear
framework to address gender gaps in the workplace, marketplace and community.

10$

Analyses the 50 largest companies in each of the G7 countries. One fifth of these350 companies are WEPs signatories. There is a clear correlation between those thathave adopted the WEPs and the generally higher percentages of women in thosecompanies on boards, in executive positions, senior management and indeed thenumber of women employees.

$

Examines some of the relevant laws and frameworks that G7 countries have implemented to promote gender equality. Gender-responsive laws, regulatory frameworks
and policies shape and influence companies’ behaviour, which in turn benefits
working women.

$

Shows areas where companies have made significant progress in improving theirpolicies and practices and others which require more work.
Some results are dictated by existing frameworks within the country, while others
are based on companies’ own initiative to advance gender equality andwomen’s empowerment.
Most of the 350 companies have implemented policies that promote genderequality alongside corporate strategies on human rights, safety at work andtraining and career development and recruitment that do not discriminate against
any demographic group.
WEPs signatories in general do better on the indicators analyzed. They have shown
both commitment and action to have acted to improve gender equality andwomen’s empowerment in the workplace.

11

Women’s Empowerment Principles A snapshot of 350 companies in G7 countries

Women’s Empowerment Principles A snapshot of 350 companies in G7 countries

Call to action
to pay a living wage (although the United Kingdom has a certifying body which offers
accreditation to employers who voluntarily offer living wages to their staff andemployees).7 Providing living wages has an impact on narrowing the gender andracial pay gap.8

We invite the remaining 80 per cent of the 350 companies in the G7 to start their WEPs
Journey by signing the CEO Statement of Support and becoming WEPs signatories.
UN Women provides WEPs signatories with guidance, advice, peer-to-peer learning activities
and national and regional awards. Being part of the WEPs community and network also
allows companies to exchange information and good practices.

$

The gender pay gap – Closing the gender pay gap is dependent on greater pay
transparency, as it gives employees confidence that their pay is fair and non-discriminatory. Pay transparency also helps employers obtain the necessary information toassess gender discrimination and rectify pay gaps, and reduce any risk of unequal pay
claims against them. Gender-disaggregated pay information needs to be publishedby more companies in order to ensure fair remuneration.

$

Gender-based violence at work – COVID-19 saw a spike in the incidence ofdomestic violence and abuse. Employers have a role not just in cultivating a safeand respectful corporate culture to prevent violence and harassment and insupporting survivors of violence, they also benefit from doing so. For example,
domestic violence negatively affects the company’s bottom line from costs
associated with higher rates of absenteeism, staff turnover, reduced productivity
and the potential for reputational damage.9$

Supplier diversity – Some 44 out of 50 companies (88 per cent) in the United States
have a supplier diversity programme, followed by Canada (30 per cent). Overall,
21 per cent of WEPs signatories and 20 per cent of non-WEPs signatories have sucha programme. However this issue, including support for women-owned businesses
in the supply chain, needs more effort.

$

Greater transparency and reporting – All companies should report their performanceto achieve the substantive gender equality goals set out by the WEPs. The WEPs
reporting platform allows companies to assess their progress on gender equality.
Globally, 124 companies have publicly reported on this platform since March 2021.10

Improvements are required in the following areas:
$

$

$

$

12

Corporate leadership – Companies should embed gender equality and women’s
empowerment into their business model, values and overall organizational culture,establishing company-wide goals and targets and measuring progress through clear
performance indicators. A dedicated gender action plan is a clear path to making
progress and achieving results. Corporate leaders should signal the importance ofgender equality for the company by initiating and leading this action plan. Actions
speak for themselves and leading by example in areas such as taking time off for familyneeds could set the tone and direction for a gender-sensitive corporate culture.
Women’s leadership and decision-making – The proportion of women in decisionmaking positions remain limited – women CEOs range from zero to five per cent.
However, research shows that companies with gender diversity in leadership anddecision-making roles tend to outperform those with fewer women in executive
positions. Some G7 governments have recognized this by expanding gender quotas
to executive teams and leadership pipelines. Companies need to step up their efforts
to recruit and promote women into leadership and decision-making roles; thereby
signaling that they value women’s perspectives and talents.
Parental leave – Most G7 governments have put in place statutory and paid
maternity, paternity and parental leave. However, efforts are needed to encourage
and incentivize men to take their provisions of parental leave to avoid perpetuating
gender roles and stereotypes that tend to discriminate against women in theworkplace. Efforts must also be made to ensure that maternity, paternity and/or
parental leave are at least paid at two-thirds of the salary.
Living wage policy – A living wage affords workers and their families a decent
standard of living, 5 which covers needs such as food, water, housing, education,
health care, transportation and clothing.6 None of the G7 countries requires companies

UN Women will continue to expand its guidance and support to all stakeholders in collaboration with partners to foster an enabling environment for gender equality in the workplace,marketplace and community. This includes supporting organizations to embed values ofgender equality in their business model and overall organizational culture and guiding themthrough the WEPs Journey – from designing action plans to measuring performance.

13

Thematic guides

All about WEPs

Leaders’ insights

FAQ | How-to’s

Ally insights
Action in crisis

WEPs TOOLKITYour tools for advancing gender equality
in the workplace, marketplace & community

Signatories in action
Templates

Public policies

Multimedia

Transparency andaccountability

WEPs Learn

Women’s Empowerment Principles A snapshot of 350 companies in G7 countries

1
Introduction

16

Women’s Empowerment Principles A snapshot of 350 companies in G7 countries

Introduction

1

Introduction
Sustainable Development Goals
Gender inequality is one of the largest economic and social costs to society. Women earn
only one tenth of global income while they contribute two thirds of all working hours.
Achieving gender equality is a key factor in fostering economic growth, competitivenessand capacity of economies and businesses worldwide.
It has been estimated that if full gender equality were achieved now it would increase growth in the global economy by US$12 trillion by 2025.11 Yet according to
the World Economic Forum in 2020, at the current rate of progress the gender
gap in economic participation will take 267.7 years to close.12

Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action
Women’s Empowerment Principles
International Labour Standards
G7 common principles

We need bolder, bigger and faster steps towards our collective goals.
Gender equality and women’s economic empowerment is at the heart of the 2030
Agenda for Sustainable Development and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs). While international labour standards offer governments a framework toadvance gender equality and women’s empowerment, the WEPs offer a parallel
framework for the private sector to address gender gaps in the workplace, marketplace and community.

G7 Government
Regulatory Frameworks

G7 Company Policies

Recent efforts through the Generation Equality Forum have mobilized US$40
billion from all stakeholders.13 However, this is far from enough to achieve genderequality globally.
Figure 1 illustrates how the SDGs, the Beijing Platform for Action (BPfA), WEPs, theInternational Labour Standards and G7 principles provide frameworks for governments
governments, companies and civil society in G7 countries in G7 countries to enhance genderequality and women’s participation in the world of work.

Civil society advocacy and action

Women’s participation in
the world of work

Figure 1:
A global multi-stakeholder framework.

18

19

Women’s Empowerment Principles A snapshot of 350 companies in G7 countries

Women’s Empowerment Principles A snapshot of 350 companies in G7 countries

Figure 2: The Women’s Empowerment Principles.

The WEPs were established by UN Women and the United Nations Global Compact in 2010
and are based on international labour and human rights standards. They enable companies
to evaluate and assess their policies and practices and to identify areas for improvement.
Transparency and accountability are key elements of the WEPs that build on the increasing
demands from a wide range of stakeholders – including employees, consumers, business
partners and investors – for inclusive and transparent companies. The rapid rise in environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) investing is one of the key drivers attributed
to investors’ concerns over climate change and social justice, particularly younger investors.

20

This has incentivized companies to start monitoring and reporting on their progress, which inturn has helped them attract and retain talent, particularly women, consumers and investors.
Some companies have also documented employees’ higher job satisfaction, reduced stressrelated absenteeism and increased productivity.
This study uses data and information – from both WEPs and non-WEPs signatories – to identify
areas where companies in G7 countries have made progress and where there are still gaps.

21

Women’s Empowerment Principles A snapshot of 350 companies in G7 countries

1

Introduction

Study objectives and methodology

As shown in Figure 3, of the 350 companies analysed in this study, 71 (20 per cent) are WEPs
signatories (see Annex I for more information on the companies’ market capital and sector).

This study highlights the roles of the public sector14 and private sector in advancing
Sustainable Development Goal 5 on gender equality and women’s empowerment.

The 2020 data from Equileap17 does not reflect company behaviour and changes in policies
during COVID-19. However, it does offer information which can be used to compare changes
in company behaviour/ performance for future studies of a similar nature.

To understand companies’ contributions to promoting in promoting gender equality andwomen’s empowerment in the workplace, marketplace and community, UN Women analysed
data, based on Equileap’s Gender Equality Scorecard™.15 The data set is composed of the
top 50 publicly listed companies in G7 countries, based on publicly available information
reported by the companies in their most recent annual reports, sustainability reports,
code of conducts, websites and other public filings.16 The 350 companies analysed in thisstudy represent 13 per cent of all G7 companies evaluated by Equileap (2,621 publicly listedcompanies in the G7 in total). In this particular data set, each G7 country is equally represented
with 50 companies (approximately 14 per cent of the 350 company data set for each country)
and by the largest market capital in each country (350 of the 2,621 companies represent
51 per cent of the market capital on the last trading day in 2019).

Insights on companies’ action to address gender equality in COVID-19 response and recovery
measures across the world can be found in the joint UN Women and IFC report on ‘Bridging
the Gap: Emerging Private Sector Response and Recovery Measures for Gender Equality
amid COVID-19’.18
The varying barriers and inequalities experienced by women in the workplace,marketplace and community are revealed when applying an intersectional lens19
to efforts to achieve gender equality. However, the data sets that areused in this study contain only data disaggregated by women and men.

The analysis is conducted by separating the 350 companies into two groups: WEPs
signatories and those that are not, and then determining their performance on gender equality.
Throughout this study, UN Women assessed each company’s performance through metrics on:$

gender balance in leadership– women on boards, executives
and senior management$

gender balance in the workforce$

gender pay gap$

paid parental leave and flexible
work options$

sexual harassment and human rights$

training and career development
opportunities$

supply chain and supplier diversity$

uptake of certification andgender audit.

Figure 3:
Number of companies thatare/are not WEPs signatories.

WEPs signatories
Non-WEPs signatories

Source:Equileap data set.

4
46

19

13

9

8

10

8

41

42

40

42

Italy

Japan

United Kingdom

United States

37
31

Canada22

FranceGermany

23

Women’s Empowerment Principles A snapshot of 350 companies in G7 countries

Statistical significance: WEPs and non-WEPs companies
To better understand the association between being a WEP signatory and women’s
working lives, each WEP signatory is matched to a non-WEP signatory of similar country ofincorporation, sector, and percentage change of market capital, using propensity scorematching. The following outcomes are then compared between matched pairs.
The results show that being a WEPs signatory has a statistically significantly positive effecton the following outcome variables (See Annex III, Table 14):$

women on boards, executives,senior management– 30 per cent and above$

career development for all employees– having an employee training policy$

equal opportunities– having an equal opportunity
recruitment policy$

gender balance in the workforce– 30 per cent and above$

living wage
– having a policy on living wage$

human rights– having a human rights policy$

parental leave– having at least 14 weeks ofpaid leave$social supply chain– having an inititative on on social
supply chains$

flexible work
– allowing flexible work hours
or location or both$gender audit– having gone through an independent
gender audit by an Equileaprecognized body.

Propensity score matching was used since the outcomes of an ordinary least squares regression, while providing estimates of the effects of one variable or the other, are often biased.20-21
PSM estimates the causal effects of the treatment (being a WEPs signatory) throughconstructing an artificial control group matching each treated company with a non-treated(non-WEP signatories) company based on relevant covariates.22 PSM matches treated units
to untreated units with similar probability of being WEP signatory based on the covariates.
In this way, PSM seeks to overcome selection bias.
See Annex II to see how the characteristics of the treatment and control group match.
It is important to note that the matching is done on the basis of observable and measured
characteristics. However there may be other non-observable and unmeasured characteristics
that impact the association between being a WEP signatory company and the outcomes ofinterest and that confound the statistical results found.23

24

2
The Group of 7

Women’s Empowerment Principles A snapshot of 350 companies in G7 countries

The Group of 7

2

The Group of 7
Commitments to gender equality
Creating an enabling environment for women’s economic empowerment is key to achieving
gender equality. It requires multi-stakeholder interventions that address constraints on
women’s economic empowerment on both the labour supply and demand sides.
Leaders of the G7 countries influence reforms and global policy directions. They havecommitted to advancing gender equality and to pursuing actions based on recommendations
made at their summits through the:24

$

$

$

G7 common principles on
Women’s Entrepreneurship(Elmau, 2015)
G7 Guiding Principles for Building
the Capacity of Women and Girls(Ise-Shima, 2016)$Charlevoix G7 Summit Communiqué(Charlevoix, 2018)$

Paris Declaration on Gender Equality(Biarritz, 2019)$

G7 Leaders’ communiqué: Our sharedagenda for global action to build backbetter (Carbis Bay, Cornwall, 2021).

G7 Road Map for a GenderResponsive Economic Environment(Taormina, 2017)

The 2017 G7 roadmap targets structural policies within central governments that pertain to
women’s economic participation through decent work and entrepreneurship.
The G7 recognizes women’s roles in driving economic growth, innovation and jobs, and hastaken action to:$invest in women’s skills
development$

facilitate women’s labour-force
participation, career advancement
and work–life balance$stimulate women’s entrepreneurshipand the growth and sustainability ofwomen-owned businesses$

accelerate the adoption and implementation of the WEPs as of 2015.

27

Women’s Empowerment Principles A snapshot of 350 companies in G7 countries

The Group of 7

The 2021 G7 Summit held in Carbis Bay, United Kingdom, adopted additional commitments
on gender equality and women’s economic empowerment, including ones on trade, climate
and energy, innovation, education and skills development and gender-based violence. The
leaders highlighted the importance of developing a strong evidence base of genderdisaggregated data and analysis.25

2

For this study, we have chosen the subindex ‘restricted access to productive and financial
resources’ as the most relevant. This subindex shows discrimination towards women in social
institutions, formal and informal laws, social norms and practices.31 It also brings to lightnegative behaviours towards women’s formal work and entrepreneurship, and indicates
whether social norms dictate that women’s access to credit requires any form of mediation
by men.32

Overview of regulatory frameworks
A strong evidence base of gender-disaggregated data and analysis is key to tracking
progress on gender equality and women’s empowerment. Two indices offer key insights
into G7 countries’ regulatory frameworks around gender equality and women’s rights:

1.

Table 1:
Overview of G7 country scores on women’s economic empowerment laws.

Women, Business and the Law (WBL) – this project of the WorldBank Group amasses data on gender equality. While there are many
categories in this database, the most relevant for this study relate to
the workplace, pay, parenthood, entrepreneurship and pension.26
The data used are mostly from WBL 2020, which consists of information reported on 1 September 2019, and also WBL 2021, reported
on 1 October 2020.

Source:
Women, Business and the Law, 2020 and 2021.

2. OECD’s Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) – the SIGI
subindices range from 0 for no discrimination to 1 for very highdiscrimination.27, 28 A lower SIGI value indicates that the country has
fewer laws or legal frameworks that discriminate against women.29

SIGI looks at four types of discrimination:$

discrimination in the family$

restricted physical integrity$$

restricted access to productive
and financial resources

FranceGermany

Italy

Japan

UnitedKingdom

UnitedStatesWBL INDEX

100

100

97.5

97.5

81.9

97.5

91.3

Workplace

100

100

100

100

50

100

100

Pay

100

100

100

100

50

100

75

Parenthood

100

100

80

100

100

80

80

Entrepreneurship

100

100

100

100

75

100

100

Pension

100

100

100

100

100

100

75

restricted civil liberties.

Table 1 shows the scores of G7 countries in WBL. Overall, Canada, France and
Italy scored perfectly 100 in WBL indicators related to the workplace, pay,parenthood, entrepreneurship and pension.30 Germany, the United Kingdom
and United States scored 80 on the parenthood indicator. Japan scored lowest
in the categories of workplace 50, pay 50, and entrepreneurship 75, whereas
the United States scored 75, 80 and 75 on the indicators of pay, parenthoodand pension respectively.

28

Canada29

Women’s Empowerment Principles A snapshot of 350 companies in G7 countries

The Group of 7

Discrimination is observed in different ways in many countries around the world. Manifestationof discrimination includes not allowing women to access bank loans despite the presence oflaws prohibiting such discrimination33 or offering women only microcredit instead of larger
amounts of credit that would allow them to set up small to medium-sized enterprises.34
This illustrates important gaps between laws and practice.

2

Figure 4:
SIGI categories and 2019 scores for index andsubindex, restricted access to productive
and financial resources, by country.

As shown in Figure 4, G7 countries had low to very low SIGI scores, with France the strongest
among the G7 countries. The SIGI subindices range from 0 for no discrimination to 1 for very
high discrimination. 35 A lower SIGI value is a good score, indicating that the country has
fewer laws or legal frameworks that discriminate against women, as opposed to a higherscore which indicates that laws or legal frameworks discriminate against women.36

SIGI value
Restricted access to productive
and financial resources
Very low SIGI category
Low SIGI category

24.0%
29.6%
18.3%
15.0%

17.4%

13.1%

8.0%

11.1%
3.6%
Canada30

France13.5%

Germany

Italy

Japan

17.5%

17.9%

9.5%

10.6%

United Kingdom

United States
31

Women’s Empowerment Principles A snapshot of 350 companies in G7 countries

The Group of 7

2

Responsible business conduct
In 2018, the European Union, UN Women and the International Labour Organization (ILO)
launched the WE EMPOWER-G7 Programme ‘Promoting economic empowerment of womenat work through responsible business conduct in G7 countries’.
The programme’s guiding framework is the WEPs, and guidance on labour issues has beendrawn from international labour standards and the ILO Multinational Enterprises Declaration.
Endorsed by the United Nations General Assembly in 2015,37 the G7 in 2015,38 the W20 in
201739 and the Human Rights Council in 2019,40 the WEPs enable businesses to analyse theircurrent initiatives, benchmarks and reporting practices on gender equality, and then design
company-specific gender action plans, policies and practices.
The WE EMPOWER-G7 launched the WEPs TAF41 in March 2021, allowing WEPs signatories
to report on eight essential indicators. These measure positive, irreversible change towards
gender equality. Other indicators measure areas that tackle systemic barriers to genderequality and provide input to new policies and practices. While reporting on these indicators
is voluntary, it demonstrates goodwill on the part of a company which now has the necessary
information to work out how to improve.
As of 31 August 2021, 3,100 companies globally have already reported on the baseline
indicators and 4,903 companies have reported (publicly or privately to UN Women) on
at least one essential indicator set out by the TAF.
The COVID-19 pandemic has illustrated, once again, the importance of working through multistakeholder partnerships to advance gender equality and women’s economic empowerment.
WE EMPOWER-G7 recognizes the important influence of public policies on companies tocreate gender-responsive corporate cultures and work environments.42 Where strong public
policies are lacking, some companies have stepped up and offered women and men work
environments without discrimination or bias and that foster diversity, equality and inclusion.
Civil society, driving cultural and social movements, complements these efforts in to advancegender around gender equality and women’s empowerment.43

The WE EMPOWER-G7 Programme
The WE EMPOWER-G7 Programme aims to support sustainable andequitable economic growth by promoting women’s empowerment in the
public and private sectors in G7 countries.45 To do so, the project has
taken a two-track approach:
Track 1: Multi-stakeholder and action-driven policy dialogues andknowledge exchanges among G7 countries.
Track 2: Private sector engagement and enhanced knowledge for WEPs
implementation to promote women’s economic empowerment.
Since its launch, the programme has worked closely with diverse stakeholders, particularly companies, providing them with abundant advice in
implementing the WEPs through in-person and virtual events and resources, such as the WEPs Toolkit46 and the WEPs Brochure,47 highlighting theentire WEPs Journey and providing examples of how companies have
implemented the Principles. Collections of emerging practices by theprivate sector include Promoting Economic Empowerment of Women at
Work through Responsible Business Conduct in G7 Countries48 and thePower of Working Together,49 which highlights specific practices promoting
gender equality from companies and governments alike.

The WE EMPOWER-G7 Programme convened a virtual high-level roundtable with leadersacross the G7 during the COVID-19 lockdown in May 2020. The leaders laid out 10 key
actions for the G7 Member States. They included inviting G7 companies to sign andimplement the WEPs, calling for the collection and reporting of gender statistics andsex-disaggregated data.44

32

33

Women’s Empowerment Principles A snapshot of 350 companies in G7 countries

3
Company performanceby Women’s
Empowerment
Principle

34

Women’s Empowerment Principles A snapshot of 350 companies in G7 countries

Company performance by Women’s Empowerment Principle

3

Company performance by
Women’s Empowerment
Principle
Foundations of human rights
The WEPs are informed by international labour and human rights standards and groundedin the recognition that businesses have a stake in and a responsibility for gender equality andwomen’s empowerment. The WEPs are founded on treating all women and men fairly at work
and with respect and supporting human rights and non-discrimination. Having a humanrights and women’s rights based approach to policy is paramount to ensuring that a company
recognizes the human rights of all its stakeholders, including those in their supply chains.
As shown in Figure 5, most of the 350 companies analysed in this study have establishedpolicies on human rights. These policies also cover their commitment to ban business-related
activities that condone, support or otherwise participate in slavery, human trafficking,forced labour or child labour. Companies were also assessed by Equileap based on their social
supply chain management policies as a separate measure to human rights to reducesocial risks in their supply chains.
Overall, WEPs signatories have a stronger commitment to human rights with 98.6 per centhaving a human rights policy compared to 91.4 per cent of non-WEPs signatories.

37

Women’s Empowerment Principles A snapshot of 350 companies in G7 countries

Company performance by Women’s Empowerment Principle

3

Figure 5:
WEPs companies’ and non-WEPs companies’
adoption of policies on human rights.
Source:UN Women calculation
using data from Equileap.

Non-WEPs signatories with policy

WEPs signatories with policy
WEPs signatories without policy

Non-WEPs signatories without policy

1.4%
98.6%

5.4%
8.6%

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%
94.6%

91.4%

2.4%
97.6%

2.4%
100%

97.6%

5.0%
100%
95.0%

26.1%

– 100%
12.5%

14.3%

87.5%

85.7%

– 80%

73.9%

– 60%
– 40%
– 20%

G7 Total
38

CanadaFranceGermany

Italy

Japan

United Kingdom

United States

– 0%

39

Women’s Empowerment Principles A snapshot of 350 companies in G7 countries

Company performance by Women’s Empowerment Principle

3

HeForSheA flagship initiative of UN Women, the HeForShe solidarity movement
is an international platform that invites and engages men and boys tocomplement the work of the women’s movement and create an equal
world for all. This recognizes that men hold a disproportionate level ofpower across cultures globally, but that they remain largely absent fromthe gender equality conversation. Similar to other human rights and social
justice movements all together, gender equality requires action andallyship across all of society.50

Principle 1
Establish high-level corporate leadershipfor gender equality
Principle 1 calls on company leaders to establish goals and targets for implementing theWEPs, to increase gender equality in leadership roles, and to measure progress throughclear performance indicators.

Leadership for gender equality
Company leaders should strive to embed gender equality into their business models andoverall organizational values and culture. Leaders should also establish company-wide goals
and targets for gender equality and women’s empowerment and measure progress throughclear performance indicators. While information across the G7 is not available, a dedicatedgender action plan is a clear path to making progress and achieving results. Corporate
leaders should signal the importance of gender equality for the company by initiating andleading this work. Actions speak for themselves and leading by example in areas such as
taking time off for family needs could set the tone and direction for a gender-sensitive
corporate culture.
Women and men on boards and executive levels should use their influence to signal thatgender equality is important for corporate success. Male corporate leaders should in fact beleaders of gender equality and should communicate their support for gender equality.

40

WEPs signatories are encouraged to consult internal and external stakeholders when developing company policies, programmes and implementation plans. Managers at all levels are
expected to be held accountable for progress and results through performance reviews.
Other actions involve reviewing the requirements for board membership and other governance bodies to remove any discrimination or bias against women.
Companies with inclusive and diverse leadership and cultures have competitive advantages
in that they generally have better decision-making (broader perspectives and critical thinking),
innovation (broader range of opportunities) and broader appeal to more and larger audiences.

Gender-balanced leadershipA strong commitment from the top can help achieve gender parity in corporate leadership.
A company’s board of directors plays a crucial role in setting the corporate agenda, ensuringthat gender equality and women’s economic empowerment are recognized in policies thatdefine corporate management and oversight.

41

Women’s Empowerment Principles A snapshot of 350 companies in G7 countries

Company performance by Women’s Empowerment Principle

Studies and research show that companies with gender balance and with women in decisionmaking positions attain better financial outcomes than those with less diversity in theirleadership structures.51-54 A study of 353 Fortune 500 companies shows that the companies
with better financial performance had on average more women in their top management
teams than lower performing companies.55

In this case, while the goal is to reach 50-50 for gender equality, reaching the ‘tilting point’of 30 per cent women in leadership could more easily enable companies and otherinstitutions to achieve this 50-50 goal. While numbers of women are important, it is foundthat the real impact of leadership may be measured by understanding women’s substantive
representation 65 and what actions they take to advance gender equality.

Evidence also shows that companies with gender-balanced boards benefit from better
decision-making, improved governance, enhanced consumer insight and strong corporate
performance and increased profitability.56

Women on boards in G7 countries

There are both demand-side (selection and appointment of women) and supply-side
challenges (obstacles to women’s board readiness) in securing gender parity among theboard members.57

The largest publicly listed companies in G7 countries saw an increase in the share of women
on boards between 2010 and 2016.66, 67 Among these countries, France and Italy had thelargest increase following the implementation of quotas for women on company boards(Figure 6).68 However, the proportion of women chairing these boards in their capacity as
CEOs ranges from 0 per cent in Germany to 4.6 per cent in the United States (Figure 7).69$

Demand-side obstacles include
upholding the status quo, and alack of prioritization of diversity inboards often derived from genderstereotypes and perceptions of
women’s limited capabilities. Bothconscious and unconscious bias
influences the selection of womenfor these roles.

$

3

Supply-side obstacles refer to a lack ofopportunities for mentorship, sponsorship and skills-building, the limited
opportunities presented based on the
career tracks and a lack of work–lifebalance provisions that enable parents
and other caregivers to progress intheir careers.

Affirmative action to reach 50-50
Over the years it has become evident that equality requires more than simply removing
discriminatory practices.58 According to ILO Convention No. 111, measures and programmes
should correct past or present forms of discrimination and prevent any future recurrenceof discrimination.59 Allocating positions for members of such designated groups throughquota systems is a form of affirmative action.60 Quotas were initially temporary measures
to overcome gender inequalities in political representation.61 This eventually led to using
quotas for corporate leadership.62

Building Inclusive Boards
to Achieve Gender Equality
The WEPs guidance note on ‘Building Inclusive Boards to Achieve
Gender Equality’ illustrates the barriers faced by women in accessing
leadership roles and board seats.70 It also outlines the benefits of board
diversity and strategies that companies have taken to ensure parity on
boards and that women’s perspectives and talents are equally valued indecision-making. This guidance note offers concrete recommendations
to support WEPs signatories in proactively recruiting and appointing
women to executive positions and to the corporate board of directors.

The critical mass of 30 per cent is a crucial cut off point to ascertain the impact of women in
the world of work.63 Based on sociodynamics, critical mass is a notion where a sufficientnumber of people take on a new idea or concept so that the adoption rate sustains itself
and grows further.64

42

43

Women’s Empowerment Principles A snapshot of 350 companies in G7 countries

Company performance by Women’s Empowerment Principle

3

37.0%

27.0%

12.7%

27.0%

21.0%

19.4%

12.9%

France97.3%

Germany

13.0%

Italy

12.3%

12.2%

2010
2013

3.4%

1.7%

0.9%

100%

97.1%

16.4%

15.0%

5.0%

CanadaOriginal source:
OECD. Stat, 2018. Quoted in ILO, 2019,‘A quantum leap for gender equality’.

21.0%

13.0%

12.0%

Figure 6:
Share of women members oncompany boards, 2010-2016.

30.0%

30.0%

2016

Japan

United Kingdom

99.6%

97.1%

United States

96.0%

95.4%
Figure 7:
Percentage of women chief
executive officers, latest year.
Original sources:
European Institute for Gender Equality.
2018. “Gender Statistics Database”.
Available at: https://eige.europa.eu/
gender-statistics/dgs.
Deloitte Global Center for Corporate
Governance. 2016. Women in theboardroom: A global perspective, Fifth
edition (London).
Quoted in ILO, 2019, ‘A quantum leap forgender equality’.

Women

2.7%

Canada44

2.9%

France0%Germany

2.9%

Italy

0.4%

Japan

4.0%

United Kingdom

4.6%

Men

United States
45

Women’s Empowerment Principles A snapshot of 350 companies in G7 countries

Company performance by Women’s Empowerment Principle

3

In terms of the largest 350 companies, the average percentage of women on boards71
is 37.5 per cent for WEPs signatories compared to 31.3 per cent for non-WEPs signatories.
As shown in Figure 8, on average boards of companies in all G7 countries, WEPs or non-WEPs,
comprise at least 30 per cent women, with the exception of Japan.
WEPs signatories

Figure 8 also shows the countries with a quota requirement, with France at 40 per cent and30 per cent for Germany and Italy. The 30 per cent dotted line shows the critical mass needed
to reach the tilting point for 50-50 gender equality.

Non-WEPs signatories
Average
Quota requirement
30% critical mass

Figure 8:
Average percentage of women
on boards of the 350 companies.
Source:UN Women calculation
using data from Equileap.

46.1%
46.9%

45.6%

38.7%

39.3%

37.5%

32.6%
31.3%

31.5%

35.9%

33.9%

40.4%

40%

38.3%
36.1%

33.1%

30.9%

33.5%
33.3%
32.9%

19.3%

30.2%

30%

29.6%

14.1%
13.1%

G7 Total
46

CanadaFranceGermany

Italy

Japan

United Kingdom

United States
47

Women’s Empowerment Principles A snapshot of 350 companies in G7 countries

Company performance by Women’s Empowerment Principle

Figure 9 shows the distribution of the percentage of women on boards among the 350
companies by WEPs signatories and non-WEPs signatories. Most of the G7 countries havea median between 30 and 40 per cent with the highest for France, Germany and Italy,
which has probably been incentivized by the quota requirement.

3

Figure 9 demonstrates that generally the percentage of women on boards are higher for
WEPs companies. There are some exceptions for WEPs signatories in Japan, the United
Kingdom and the United States, where some companies’ percentage of women on boards
falls below the 30 per cent critical mass. For non-WEPs signatories in Germany and Italy,
while they have some companies that are above the 30 per cent critical mass, they also haveoutliers that fall far below the normal range and the 30 per cent critical mass, and for non-WEPs
signatories in Germany and Italy (which could be explained by the quota requirement in thesetwo countries).

The distribution of these percentages are narrower for WEPs signatories compared to nonWEPs signatories, for all G7 countries with the exception of France. The median for WEPs
signatories is on average higher in all G7 countries, with the exception of France and Germany
where the median is the same. The dots represent outliers both front-runners and laggers interms of appointing women on boards.

Figure 9:Distribution of percentagesof women on boards.

WEPs signatories
Non-WEPs signatories

Source:UN Women calculation
using data from Equileap.

Median WEPs signatories
Median Non-WEPs signatories
30% critical mass

– 70%
– 60%
– 50%
– 40%
– 30%
– 20%
– 10%
Canada48

FranceGermany

Italy

Japan

United Kingdom

United States

– 0%

49

Women’s Empowerment Principles A snapshot of 350 companies in G7 countries

Company performance by Women’s Empowerment Principle

Table 2 shows that some 80.3 per cent of WEPs signatories have 30 per cent or more women
on boards, compared to 61.6 per cent of non-WEPs signatories. However, this varies acrosscountries in the G7. For example, in France, all 50 companies studied have more than 30 per
cent women on boards while in Japan only 2.4 per cent of non-WEPs companies and 12.5 percent of WEPs companies have more than 30 per cent of women on boards.

3

Women in executive positions in G7 countries
Companies with gender diversity in leadership and decision-making tend to outperform
those with fewer women in executive positions,72 and this also contributes to attracting andretaining talent. Research also shows that blending different backgrounds, perspectives
and experiences leads to cognitive diversity which can lead to better problem-solving,
innovation and team performance.73, 74
Nearly one third of executives are women in 33.8 per centof the WEPs signatories (compared to 17.6 per cent of
non-WEPs signatories).

50

Table 2:
Percentage of women on boards– below and above 30 per cent.

Table 3:
Average percentage
of female executives.

Source:UN Women calculation
using data from Equileap.

Source:UN Women calculation using
data from Equileap.

WEPs signatory

Non-WEPs signatory

WEPs signatory

Non-WEPs signatory

< 30%

≥ 30%

< 30%

≥ 30%

< 30%

≥ 30%

< 30%

≥ 30%

Total percentageof women on boards

19.7%

80.3%

38.4%

61.6%

Total percentageof women executives

66.2%

33.8%

82.4%

17.6%

Canada0.0%

100.0%

45.7%

54.3%

Canada

25.0%

75.0%

87.0%

13.0%

France0.0%

100.0%

0.0%

100.0%

France

52.6%

47.4%

83.9%

16.1%

Germany0.0%

100.0%

18.9%

81.1%

Germany

100.0%

0.0%

91.9%

8.1%

Italy

11.1%

88.9%

9.8%

90.2%

Italy

88.9%

11.1%

87.8%

12.2%

Japan

87.5%

12.5%

97.6%

2.4%

Japan

87.5%

12.5%

100.0%

0.0%

United Kingdom

20.0%

80.0%

32.5%

67.5%

United Kingdom

20.0%

80.0%

65.0%

35.0%

United States

50.0%

50.0%

50.0%

50.0%

United States

75.0%

25.0%

61.9%

38.1%

51

Women’s Empowerment Principles A snapshot of 350 companies in G7 countries

Company performance by Women’s Empowerment Principle

3

The average percentage of women executives in companies which are WEPs signatories is21.2 per cent (15.6 per cent for non-WEPs signatories).
Figure 10 illustrates that only two of the seven countries, Canada and the United Kingdom,
have companies where more than 30 per cent of the executives are women – and thosecompanies are WEPs signatories. This critical mass of 30 per cent, as previously shown in
Figure 8, is also illustrated in Figure 10.

Figure 10:
Average percentagesof women executives.
Source:UN Women calculation
using data from Equileap.

WEPs signatories
Non-WEPs signatories
Average
30% critical mass

31.0%

31.3%
19.1%

21.2%

16.7%

23.6%

18.5%
15.5%

23.2%
24.9%

30%

26.1%

21.2%

18.1%
15.6%

25.9%

11.7%

14.2%
10.8%

13.1%
14.2%

12.8%

14.1%
5.4%
3.7%

G7 Total
52

CanadaFranceGermany

Italy

Japan

United Kingdom

United States
53

Women’s Empowerment Principles A snapshot of 350 companies in G7 countries

Company performance by Women’s Empowerment Principle3

As data in Figure 11 show, there is a lower percentage of women in executive management inall countries than women on boards. This is likely because while there is a quota requirement
for women on boards, this is not commonly the case for executive positions. The dots
represent outliers of companies with women executives in Italy, Japan and the United States.
On average, the median for most median for most companies is below the 30 per centtilting point.

Figure 11:
Distribution of percentagesof women executives.

WEPs signatories
Non-WEPs signatories

Source:UN Women calculation
using data from Equileap.

Median WEPs signatories
Median Non-WEPs signatories
30% critical mass

– 70%
– 60%
– 50%
– 40%
– 30%
– 20%
– 10%
Canada54

FranceGermany

Italy

Japan

United Kingdom

United States

– 0%

55

Women’s Empowerment Principles A snapshot of 350 companies in G7 countries

Public policies in G7 countries to advance women’s leadership

Other G7 countries

European Union

In Canada, the Quebec Government legislation requires equal representation of women andmen on corporate boards of Crown Corporations.94-96 Board parity was achieved in 2011 in
22 of the Crown Corporations covered by the legislation shortly after it was passed.
According to Bill C-25,97, 98 as of 1 January 2020 federal law requires Canadian corporations
governed by the Canada Business Corporations Act to disclose, at a minimum, the numberof women, Indigenous people, individuals with disabilities and individuals from minority
groups on their boards and in senior management – information which is shared withshareholders and Corporations Canada.99, 100

The EU Gender Equality Strategy 2020-2025 aims to improve gender balance on corporateboards. The strategy contains a draft Directive that requires a minimum of 40 per cent of
non-executive members of the under-represented sex on the boards of listed companies in
Europe.75, 76 While this Directive is still pending adoption,77 it requires companies to show thatclear and gender-neutral criteria are applied in their selection processes.78-80
Many countries have used quotas as a temporary method to overcome gender inequalitiesin leadership in politics.81 More recently, the private sector has also used quotas to increase
the number of women in managerial and leadership positions.82 Italy and France saw anincrease of 500 and 208 per cent respectively in their shares of women on company boards
between 2010 and 2016 as a result of these quotas.83, 84
The gender quotas for corporate boards in France, Germany and Italy range from 30–40 per
cent. This is in large part due to the differences in structure in these countries. For example,
in France there is a one-tier or two-tier board structure, while in Italy there is more of a
hybrid board structure. As such these quotas are not applicable to the executive team,which is equivalent to a German management board. In Germany, however, the quota is only
applicable to supervisory or administrative boards, not executive or management boards.85-89
The German management board, often with two to three people, does affect thepercentages of women on management boards. It is therefore extended to the executive
team/committee for the executive.
It should be noted, however, that many decisions take place at CEO level and not necessarily
on boards, and so the outcomes of having women on boards may vary90 depending on how
much power they have to make decisions as well as the type of company (public versus private).
Countries in Europe are now looking at applying quotas for executive leadership. Germany
started this in 2020, followed recently by France.91 In May 2021 the French parliament voted
to introduce gender quotas on the executive teams and leadership pipelines of companies
with over 1,000 people.92 The target is set at 30 per cent minimum of either gender by 2027,
and 40 per cent by 2030.93

56

Company performance by Women’s Empowerment Principle

3

The latest reform of the Companies Act of Japan in March 2021 requires Japanese listedcompanies to have at least one outside director with independent status and without close
ties to the company.101 This is an opportunity for companies to welcome women directors
from outside, especially companies that struggle to expand their pool of internal candidates.
The reform is in line with the Corporate Governance Code of Japan, which is highly influential
among listed companies and was also revised in June 2021.102 The Code already requiredcompanies to promote diversity when it first came into effect in 2018, but further asks
companies to strengthen disclosure of information on policies and measurable targets topromote diversity in senior management.103 In addition, the Japan Business Federation(Keidanren), a powerful lobbying group, announced a numerical target of 30 per cent formember companies to increase women in executive positions, an extremely important step
towards achieving parity in boardrooms in Japan.104
In 2012 the United Kingdom adopted a “comply or explain” model for gender disclosure,coupled with existing regulations on a board’s term limits, specifically regarding theindependence of directors who have served more than nine years.105 As a result women’s
representation on FTSE 100 boards more than doubled from 2011 to 2015.106
In the United States, the state of California recently implemented legislation requiring publicly
held domestic California corporations and foreign corporations headquartered in California
to have a minimum of one female board member by the end of 2019, and a representative
number of female board members by the end of 2021.107, 108

57

Women’s Empowerment Principles A snapshot of 350 companies in G7 countries

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3

Principle 2
Treat all women and men fairly at workwithout discrimination
Principle 2 is about the equal and fair treatment of women and men by fostering an inclusive workplace culture that promotes equal pay and remuneration, including benefits andbonuses, for work of equal value and ensures at a minimum a living wage for all employees.
Principle 2 is also about implementing gender-sensitive recruitment, retention, promotion
and reintegration practices that proactively seek to create a gender-balanced workforce,
including at managerial level and in roles traditionally occupied by men. Ensuring equal
opportunities for women of diverse backgrounds to lead important assignments could
contribute to making progress.
Another key area of action is establishing, and especially encouraging, men’s uptake offamily-friendly policies such as parental leave and flexible work options, that allow working
parents to be productive and efficient at work, while fulfilling their care responsibilities.
These kinds of policies lead to better talent acquisition, higher employee retention andsatisfaction, increased productivity, better decision-making and promotion.

58

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Women’s Empowerment Principles A snapshot of 350 companies in G7 countries

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3

Achieving gender parity in the workforce
Women employees
Figure 12 shows that women employees are generally better represented in WEPs companies,
at an average of 43 per cent compared to 35.6 per cent in non-WEPs companies.

Figure 12:
Average percentage of female employees at companies
that have/have not signed the WEPs
compared to labour-force participation rates
and unemployment rates of women.

It also shows the labour force participation rate and unemployment rate per country.
On average, most WEPs signatories in Canada, France and Italy employ the same, or higher,
share of women employees as the women’s overall labour-force participation rate in theirrespective countries. In contrast, non-WEPs signatories do not meet the same labour-force
participation rate in the population.

Source:WEPs/Non-WEPs signatories:
UN Women calculations using data from Equileap.

In G7 countries, legislation provides women and men with equal rights to access jobs,
and the law prohibits discrimination based on gender. However, ensuring non-discriminationin the workplace requires effective recruitment and promotion strategies.

Labour force participation rate of women ages 15+
and unemployment rate of women
both based on modeled ILO estimate,
World Bank Gender Statistics, 2019.

WEPs signatories
Non-WEPs signatories

Labour-force participation rateof women per country109
Unemployment rate of women

61.1%
56.0%

53.8%

58.1%

55.6%
50.7%

49.2%

56.8%

53.6%
44.3%

43.0%

41.0%
36.2%

35.6%

36.0%

40.9%

35.5%

34.8% 34.9%

40.8% 40.4%

39.0% 37.8%
28.8%

5.3%

G7 Total60

5.3%

Canada

11.1%

8.4%
2.7%

FranceGermany

2.2%

Italy

Japan

3.5%

United Kingdom

3.6%

United States
61

Women’s Empowerment Principles A snapshot of 350 companies in G7 countries

Company performance by Women’s Empowerment Principle

Figure 13 illustrates that 97.2 per cent of WEPs signatories and 89.6 per cent of non-WEPs
signatories have reported having a recruitment strategy, or an equal opportunity policy(or its equivalent) to ensure gender equality. Only 2.8 per cent of WEPs signatories and10.4 per cent of non-WEPs signatories reported having no such policy.

3

Figure 13:
Recruitment strategies.
Source:UN Women calculation
using data from Equileap.

Non-WEPs signatories with strategy

WEPs signatories with strategy
WEPs signatories without strategy

Non-WEPs signatories without strategy

2.8%
97.2%

2.4%
10.4%
89.6%

100%

8.7%
91.3%

100%

6.5%
93.5%

100%

11.1%
16.2%
83.8%

88.9%

12.2%
87.8%

100%

12.5%
87.5%

19.0%

7.5%

100%

– 100%

97.6%

92.5%

– 80%

81.0%

– 60%
– 40%
– 20%

G7 Total
62

CanadaFranceGermany

Italy

Japan

United Kingdom

United States

– 0%

63

Women’s Empowerment Principles A snapshot of 350 companies in G7 countries

Company performance by Women’s Empowerment Principle

3

Gender parity in senior management
This indicator is used to measure the percentage of women and men
senior managers in the company.110 As shown in Figure 14, on average
27.8 per cent of senior managers in WEPs companies in G7 countries
are women, compared to non-WEPs signatories with 22.5 per cent.
In Japan 19.1 per cent of senior managers in WEPs companies are women,
compared to 7.4 per cent in non-WEPs signatory companies (a differenceof 11.7 percentage points).

WEPs signatory

Non-WEPs signatory

< 30%

≥ 30%

Companies

< 30%

≥ 30%

Companies

Total percentageof women in senior
management

62.0%

38.0%

71

62.4%

37.6%

279

For companies where at least 30 per cent of senior managers are women,
Table 4 shows that the average for WEPs companies is 62 per cent
women in senior management.

Canada0.0%

100.0%

4

37.0%

63.0%

4

However, there is a large difference between countries.

France

52.6%

47.4%

19

64.5%

35.5%

19

Germany

92.3%

7.7%

13

73.0%

27.0%

13

Italy

77.8%

22.2%

9

75.6%

24.4%

9

Japan

75.0%

25.0%

8

88.1%

11.9%

8

United Kingdom

50.0%

50.0%

10

60.0%

40.0%

10

United States

50.0%

50.0%

8

42.9%

57.1%

8

Figure 14:
Average percentage ofcompanies with 30% and above
women in senior management.
WEPs signatories

Source:UN Women calculation
using data from Equileap.

Non-WEPs signatories

Table 4:
Average percentage ofcompanies with 30%
and above women insenior management.

Average

Source:UN Women calculation
using data from Equileap.

30% critical mass

23.7%

27.8%

29.5%

28.6%

38.3%

27.4%
22.5%

33.9%

27.5%
20.7%

26.8%
21.2%

20.5%

20.2%

25.3%

19.0%

27.9%
19.1%

27.4%

30.1%
30.1%

30.1%

– 30%

9.5%
7.4%

G7 Total64

CanadaFranceGermany

Italy

Japan

United Kingdom

United States
65

Women’s Empowerment Principles A snapshot of 350 companies in G7 countries

Company performance by Women’s Empowerment Principle

3

Promotion and Career Development Opportunities for Women
A score of 1 means that there is similar representation of women in senior management as in
the overall workforce. This indicates that there is a proportional pipeline of women to senior
management or balanced hiring of women at the workforce and senior management levels.

$$

The average ratio of womenmanagers to women employees is0.68 for both WEPs and nonWEPs companies (Figure 15).

$

Effort is still needed before companies
can achieve similar representation of
women in senior management as in theoverall workforce.

Figure 15:
Average ratio of womenin management to women employees.

As shown in Figure 16, some 77.5
per cent of WEPs signatories havea ratio of women in management
to women employees above 0.5(compared to 75.3 per cent of
non-WEPs signatories).

Source:UN Women calculation
using data from Equileap.

WEPs signatories
Non-WEPs signatories
Average

0.83
0.68
0.68

0.68

0.68

0.81

0.77

0.85

0.87

0.80

0.78

0.65

0.72
0.64

0.66

0.82

0.60
0.61

0.89
0.78

0.60
0.50
0.29
0.25

G7 Total
66

CanadaFranceGermany

Italy

Japan

United Kingdom

United States
67

Women’s Empowerment Principles A snapshot of 350 companies in G7 countries

Company performance by Women’s Empowerment Principle

Figure 16:
Ratio of women in management
to women employees,
above or below 0.5.

3

WEPs signatories
Non-WEPs signatories

77.5%

24.7%

100%
0%

93.5%
6.5%

84.2%
15.8%

80.6%
19.4%

69.2%
30.8%

73.0%
27.0%

55.6%
44.4%

68.3%
31.7%

62.5%
37.5%

26.2%

90.0%

90.0%

87.5%

73.8%

10.0%

10.0%

12.5%

95.2%

0.5 Ratio

4.8%

Ratio of women in management
to women employees of <0.5

22.8%

75.3%

Ratio of women in management
to women employees above or equal to 0.5

Source:UN Women calculation
using data from Equileap.

G7 Total
68

CanadaFranceGermany

Italy

Japan

United Kingdom

United States
69

Women’s Empowerment Principles A snapshot of 350 companies in G7 countries

Company performance by Women’s Empowerment Principle

3

Living wage
A living wage affords a worker and their family a decent standard of living,111 and should
ideally take them above the poverty line.112 A decent standard of living means that a person
can meet their needs, including food, water, housing, education, health care, transportationand clothing.113 Living wage policies are very specific to their countries but the premise is thesame in that jobs should pay beyond the poverty line. Extensive research by the Economic
Policy Institute has shown that living wage policies and ordinances have no real impact on
the number of jobs. Living wage policies enable employers to see increased efficiency andproductivity, an increase in hiring skilled workers and decreased employee turnover.114

Figure 17:
Companies with policies
on living wage.
Source:UN Women calculation
using data from Equileap.

WEPs signatories with policy

WBL and SIGI do not specify if governments have policies offering living wages, although
the United Kingdom has a certifying body, the Living Wage Foundation, for companies
which voluntarily ensure their employees are paid a living wage.

WEPs signatories without policy
Non-WEPs signatories with policy

This indicator measures a company’s commitment to pay a living wage to all employees,
even in countries where this is not legally required, or where the minimum wage is not aliving wage. Only 14 per cent of all the companies surveyed have a living wage policy.115
As shown in Figure 17, 26.8 per cent of WEPs signatories have the policy, compared to only
11.1 per cent of non-WEPs signatories.

Non-WEPs signatories without policy– 100%

10.0%
90.0%

– 80%
– 60%

47.5%
52.5%

– 40%
73.2%

75.0%

26.8%
88.9%
11.1%

G7 Total
70

77.8%

78.9%

25.0%

21.1%
100%

Canada

84.6%
90.3%
9.7%

France

22.2%

15.4%

95.1%
4.9%

100%

Germany

Italy

87.5%
12.5%

– 20%

95.2%
4.8%

Japan

92.9%
100%

United Kingdom

7.1%

United States

– 0%

71

Women’s Empowerment Principles A snapshot of 350 companies in G7 countries

Company performance by Women’s Empowerment Principle

Equal pay for work of equal value

Gender pay gap in G7 countries

Equal pay for work of equal value promotes the principle that women and men are paid thesame for identical or similar jobs or, when their roles are different, that they have comparable
working conditions or require the same level of skills, training, effort or responsibility.116

The information available on the 350 companies showcases their reporting on equal pay,
but there is no information on whether equal pay has been achieved.

3This means that women and men receive equal remuneration for work performed that may
differ in content but is found to be equal in value based on criteria such as qualifications,
responsibilities, effort and working conditions.117-119 The principle of equal pay is critical toaddress bias, conscious or unconscious, when determining the value of work and eliminating
any form of gender-based discrimination to achieve gender equality.120, 121
There are many reasons for the gender pay gap. Part of the gap can be explained bydifferences in education and training, work experience, enterprise size and union density.
However, much of the gender pay gap remains largely unexplained, reflecting discrimination,
implicit biases and social norms in society, mirrored at the company level. These gaps
generate large disparities in women’s earnings over a lifetime.122

Closing gender pay gaps
UN Women’s guidance on equal remuneration offers WEPs signatories
insight on how to achieve equal work for equal value.127 The Diagnosis for
Equal Remuneration Tool is a self-assessment tool designed to help WEPs
companies accurately measure existing gender pay gaps and determine
how they came about.128

ILO Equal Remuneration Convention
The principle of equal pay for work of equal value is set out in the ILO Equal
Remuneration Convention, 1951 (N°100), ratified by 173 countries.123, 124
Article 1 defines equal remuneration for women and men workers for workof equal value in terms of rates of remuneration established without
discrimination based on sex.125, 126

72

This indicator measures a company’s transparency about the gender pay gap (Figure 18),
as well as a company’s strategy to close the gender pay gap (Figure 19).

$42.3 per cent of WEPs signatories and 34.8 per cent of non-WEPs signatories havepublished gender-disaggregated pay information (Figure 18).

$

Few non-WEPs signatory companies have published verifiable figures on the overall
gender pay gap in the company or have disaggregated pay information (Figure 18).

$

29.6 per cent of WEPs signatories and 15.1 per cent of non-WEPs signatories havea strategy to close the gender pay gap (Figure 19).

73

Women’s Empowerment Principles A snapshot of 350 companies in G7 countries

Company performance by Women’s Empowerment Principle

3

Figure 18:
Publication of gender-disaggregated
pay information or on overall gender
pay gap in company reports or filings.
Source:UN Women calculation
using data from Equileap.

WEPs signatories
with published pay data

Non-WEPs signatories
with published pay data

WEPs signatories
without published pay data

Non-WEPs signatories
without published pay data

10.0%
90.0%
33.3%
66.7%
50.0%
57.7%
42.3%

65.2%

68.4%
75.0%

50.0%
50.0%

31.6%
78.9%
92.3%
7.7%

CanadaFrance

– 80%
– 60%

63.4%

45.2%

15.2%

74

87.5%

36.6%

84.8%

G7 Total

12.5%

54.8%

50.0%
34.8%

– 100%

75.0%

76.2%

25.0%

23.8%

94.6%

92.9%

5.4%

7.1%

Germany

Italy

– 40%

Japan

United Kingdom

United States

– 20%
– 0%

75

Women’s Empowerment Principles A snapshot of 350 companies in G7 countries

Company performance by Women’s Empowerment Principle

3

Figure 19:
Companies with strategies
to close gender pay gaps.
Source:UN Women calculation
using data from Equileap.

WEPs signatories with strategy

Non-WEPs signatories with strategy

WEPs signatories without strategy

Non-WEPs signatories without strategy– 100%
– 80%

30.0%
70.0%

57.9%

50.0%

42.1%

70.4%
84.9%
15.1%

G7 Total
76

– 60%

62.5%

50.0%

29.6%

37.5%

– 40%
71.0%
29.0%

25.0%

22.2%

95.7%
4.3%

Canada

75.0%

77.8%

100%

France100%

Germany

100%

Italy

100%

– 20%

14.3%

100%

Japan

85.7%

United Kingdom

United States

– 0%

77

Women’s Empowerment Principles A snapshot of 350 companies in G7 countries

Company performance by Women’s Empowerment Principle

Public policies on equal pay in G7 countries

3

The plan must be created and shared with employees within three years. Employers with
100 employees or more who have unionized employees need to establish a pay equity
committee to carry out the pay equity plan. Other employers may establish a committee on
their own initiative.

A 2020 study by Hyland, Djankov and Goldberg shows that legal reforms to enable women’s
work outside the home have been relatively fast paced across the world, while similar laws
to ensure equal pay and equality in pensions have been much slower. The study points to a
positive correlation between law reforms and higher labour-force participation and lower
gender wage gaps.129

There are no restrictions in the G7 countries on whether women can work the same night
hours as men. There are also no for women working in jobs deemed dangerous in the same
way as men or for jobs that are deemed hazardous, arduous or morally inappropriate.
In Japan, the Labour Standards Act protects pregnant and nursing women from undertaking
hazardous work in industries such as mining and chemicals.134

Table 5 shows that Canada, France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom have proactive
laws that mandate equal remuneration for work of equal value, while Japan and the UnitedStates prohibits unequal remuneration or wage discrimination.
In Japan, the Labor Standard Act.130 bans wage difference based on gender. The work reform
law that came into effect in April 2020 also bans unequal treatment of regular and non-regular
employees with the same work responsibilities.131 However, women who make up the majority
of non-regular employees tend to work in gender segregated and low paying occupations(e.g. care industries), and Japan has the largest gender wage gap among G7 countries.
The United States has the Equal Pay Act, which prohibits wage discrimination based on sex.
WBL only considers the law if “employers are legally obliged to pay equal remuneration tomale and female employees who perform work of equal value in accordance with thesedefinitions.”132

Yes
No

Table 5:
Laws governing women’s right to work.
Source:
Women, Business and the Law,
World Bank, 2020.

The Pay Equity Act in Canada will come into effect on 31 August 2021, applicable to public
and private sector employers with 10 or more employees. The Act will require employers topost a notice on their obligation to establish a pay equity plan by 1 November 2021.133

CanadaFranceGermany

Italy

Japan

UnitedKingdom

UnitedStates

Does the law mandate equal remuneration for work of equal value?
Can women work the same night hours as men?
Can women work in jobs deemed dangerous in the same way as men?
Jobs deemed hazardous
Jobs deemed arduous
Jobs deemed morally inappropriate
Are women able to work in the same industries as men?

78

79

Women’s Empowerment Principles A snapshot of 350 companies in G7 countries

Company performance by Women’s Empowerment Principle

Family-friendly and parent smart employers

3

Establishing family-friendly workplace policies allows women and men to meet their care
responsibilities as well as carry out their work.

A key challenge to achieving gender parity in the workforce is the hours women spend on
care responsibilities resulting from persistent cultural norms and gender stereotypes thathave made care work primarily the responsibility of women.

Parent smart companies take into account, and capitalize on, the skills and competencies
that caregivers develop while away from work.139

Unpaid care work
On average, women’s burden of unpaid care and domestic work is 2.6 times greater thanthat of men.135 Economic decisions in the household are often governed by the earnings ofeach of its members but because women tend to be paid less they have no choice but toleave the workplace to care for family members, or to take on part-time or informal work or
lower paying jobs where working hours align with their care responsibilities. According to the
ILO Global Wage Report,136, 137 this is referred to as the “motherhood penalty” (as opposed to
the “fatherhood premium”).138 Figure 20 shows the distribution of unpaid care work among
the G7 countries based on proportion of time spent per day on unpaid care work by womenand men.

Figure 20:
Distribution of unpaid care work
among women and men in G7 countries.
Source:Data extracted from Progress of the World’s Women,
Compilation of figures and tables in the report.

Women
Men
Ratio (Women/Men)

20.4%

16.4%

15.8%

15.9%

15.1%

14.6%

12.7%
9.6%

4.8

10.4%

9.5%

9.8%
8.4%
7.0%

2.4
1.7

1.5

1.8

1.6

1.6

3.1%

Canada80

FranceGermany

Italy

Japan

United Kingdom

United States81

Women’s Empowerment Principles A snapshot of 350 companies in G7 countries

Company performance by Women’s Empowerment Principle

3

Maternity, paternity and parental leave
Maternity, paternity and parental leave policies help promote gender equality and women’s
empowerment. Effective parental leave policies promote the retention of women in theworkforce by ensuring that women can take paid leave without the threat of losing theirposition or pay 140 and by promoting reconciliation and co-responsibility measures toencourage men to exercise their right to parenthood.
However, when these policies are not in place, two phenomena have emerged: the motherhood penalty and the fatherhood premium/bonus.141

1.

2.

The motherhood penalty contributes to the gender pay gap throughfactors such as career interruptions, reduced working time, overrepresentation in low-paying but family-friendly jobs, or discriminatory
hiring and promotion practices that put women who are, or may
become, mothers at a disadvantage.142 According to University of
Massachusetts research, women’s earnings, on average, decreasedby 4 per cent for each child. Women who least can afford it tend to
pay the largest motherhood penalty.143, 144
The fatherhood premium acts in the opposite direction whereby
fathers benefit from salary rises and other benefits as the family
expands, further contributing to the gender pay gap. This is because
fatherhood is a typically valued characteristic among employers inthat it signals from the male employee greater work commitment,
stability and ‘deservingness’. On average men’s earnings increasedby more than 6 per cent when they had children and lived with them.
The premium is generally higher for men in top positions.145, 146

ILO Maternity and Paternity Provisions
The ILO Maternity Protection Convention, 200 (No. 183) sets out that cash
benefits paid during maternity leave should at least be two thirds of thewoman’s previous earnings for at least 14 weeks.149 The principle is thatthe level of benefits should ensure that women can maintain themselves
and their child properly with a suitable standard of living.
Currently, there is no ILO standard specifically on paternity leave.
However, the 2009 ILC resolution on gender equality at the heart ofdecent work recognizes the role of women and men in work–family
reconciliation measures. It also recognizes that paternity and/or parental
leave are some of the successful measures that allow working fathers toshare family responsibilities. The resolution calls for governments todevelop, along with social partners, policies that allow equal sharing of
responsibilities by allowing women and men to better balance work andfamily responsibilities. Policies should include parental and paternity leave
to allow men to take leave.150

Encouraging fathers to take parental leave demonstrates that companies recognize the roleof men in sharing childcare responsibilities.147 It helps level the playing field. Other researchshows that the uptake of men taking parental leave is highest among those who have an
income replacement rate of 80 per cent and higher.148

82

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Women’s Empowerment Principles A snapshot of 350 companies in G7 countries

Company performance by Women’s Empowerment Principle

3

Maternity, paternity and parental leave policies in G7 countries
Companies’ parental leave options are based on national laws which differ widely in theirprotection for women’s rights during pregnancy, and in their provision for maternity or
parental leave. All G7 countries prohibit the dismissal of pregnant workers.
As shown in Table 6, the laws of all countries except for the US provide for at least 14 weeks
of paid maternity leave. However, not all countries provide two-thirds paid maternity leave.
Figure 21 shows how parental leave is shared.

Table 6:
Parental leave policies in G7 countries
with paid days.

Yes
No

Source:
Women, Business and the Law,
World Bank, 2020 and 2021.

CanadaFranceGermany

Italy

Japan

UnitedKingdom

UnitedStates

105

112

98

150

98

42

n/a

2020

n/a

11

n/a

5

n/a

10

n/a

2021

0

15

0

9

0

14

0

Year
Is paid leave of at least 14 weeks available to mothers?

2020/2021

Length of paid maternity leave (no. of days)

2020/2021

Does the Government administer 100% of maternity leave benefits?

2020/2021

Is there paid leave available to fathers?

2020/2021

Length of paid paternity leave (no. of days)

84

Is there paid parental leave?

2020/2021

Is dismissal of pregnant workers prohibited?

2020/2021

85

Women’s Empowerment Principles A snapshot of 350 companies in G7 countries

Company performance by Women’s Empowerment Principle

3

Figure 21:
Number of parental leave days.
Source:
Women, Business and the Law, inclusive of bothdata reported in 2020 and 2021.

Days for the father
Days for the mother

Note:
In the US, time off due to childcare is not counted
towards pension benefits (WBL).

Shared days

365

35

35

35

35

210

210

2020

2021

Canada
86

180

180

180

180

2020

2021

France

60

60

60

60

300

300

309

231

180

2020

2021

Germany

210

210

150

150

2020

Italy

2021

231

180

2020

2021

Japan

2020

2021

United Kingdom

70

70

70

70

2020

2021

United States
87

Women’s Empowerment Principles A snapshot of 350 companies in G7 countries

In the European Union the Work–life Balance Directive, which passed in April 2019 and cameinto force in August 2019, introduced a set of legislative actions to modernize existing EU
legal and policy frameworks.151 This Directive is now to be implemented by EU Member States.
The aim of this Directive is to better support work–life balance for parents and caregivers,
encourage a more equal sharing of parental leave between women and men and address
women’s underrepresentation in the market.152
The Directive introduces paternity leave, where fathers must be able to take at least 10 working
days of paternity leave around the birth of their child, compensated at the compensated at
the same level as sick leave. It also ensures that two out of the four months of parental leave
are non-transferable between parents and compensated at a level determined by theMember State.153 It also entitles caregivers to five days of leave annually for workers thatprovide personal care to relatives.154
In terms of maternity leave, the 1992 Pregnant Workers Directive remains in effect in theEuropean Union. This Directive sets the minimum period for maternity leave at 14 weeks,with 2 weeks’ compulsory leave before and/or after confinement with an adequate
allowance subject to national legislation.155

Public Policies in the G7 and EU
The WEPs Spotlight on Public Policy shows an overview of policies
implemented in the G7 and EU to benefit parents and families.
It describes in detail the different family-friendly policies such as parental,
maternity and paternity leave, and illustrates how these family-friendly
policies benefit employers, employees and society. It offers concrete
recommendations for governments on how to support parents throughfamily-friendly laws and policies.156

88

Company performance by Women’s Empowerment Principle

3

Canada offers statutory leave for both primary and secondary caregivers, but the benefit
rate is less than two thirds of pay. Maternity leave is up to 15 weeks,157 and standard parental
leave is up to 40 weeks. One parent can receive no more than 35 weeks of pay, with 55 percent of earnings.158 The extended parental leave is up to 69 weeks and provides one parent
with no more than 61 weeks of extended benefits, with 33 per cent of earnings.159
In July 2021 Prime Minister Justin Trudeau signed the early learning and childcare programme
to increase women’s participation in the workforce.160 Canada has also extended its support
for low- and middle-income countries, with CA$100 million in support to increase women’s
participation in the economy, education and public life.161
In France, under the French Labour Code parents are entitled to maternity, paternity,
adoption and parental leave. Birth mothers are granted 16 weeks of maternity leave when
expecting their first or second child, 26 weeks when expecting a third child, 34 weeks when
expecting twins and 46 weeks when expecting triplets.162 Maternity leave benefits are fundedby health insurance through a shared contribution between employers and employees, andmothers receive 100 per cent of their earnings (public sector employees’ leave is fully paid,
while some private sector employers pay in full and others do not).163 Fathers can take 11days of paternity leave, capped at €77.24 per day, or 18 days for multiple births, plus three
extra days of paid holiday for the birth.164 It was announced in September 2020 that fathers
would be granted 28 days of paid paternity leave starting July 2021, and fathers will be
required to take at least a week off work after the birth of their children.165
In Germany mothers are entitled to leave of up to six weeks before, and eight weeks after,
the birth of a child.166 These maternity benefits are not extended to self-employed andnon-employed women without public health insurance, although these women may apply
for state social security of up to €210 per month.167 The German parental leave benefit,‘Elterngeld’ (basic parental allowance), was introduced in 2007 as a mechanism to reducefamily economic insecurity, and as an effort towards implementing gender-equal parental
leave policies that encourage fathers to take parental leave.168 The policy offers a basic
parental allowance (between 65 per cent and 100 per cent of lost income) giving parents an
income-related benefit for the first 12 months, and with two additional months if the second
caregiver takes a minimum of two months of parental leave.169
In Italy, mothers are entitled to five months of maternity leave (two months before andthree months after the child’s birth) paid at 80 per cent of salary (or 100 per cent for certain
categories of employees).170 Fathers receive five days of compulsory paternity leave paid at
100 per cent of earnings and an extra day of optional leave if the mother transfers part of hermaternity leave.171 Although this is a temporary measure based on budgetary implications,leave is fully paid and can be taken within five months of the child’s birth.172

89

Women’s Empowerment Principles A snapshot of 350 companies in G7 countries

Japan offers some of the most comprehensive and generous parental leave policies, backed
by its Act on Childcare and Family Care Leave Law. The Government of Japan has been
stepping up its efforts to encourage more fathers to take parental leave. The most recent
amendment to the Act will come into effect in April 2022, allowing fathers to take their leave
twice if they take their first leave within the first eight weeks after childbirth. The second
leave can be taken anytime up to one year and two months after the child’s birth, which
provides time for the parents to look for nursery schools. The restrictions on fathers withstay-at-home partners taking paternity leave were also lifted.173 Maternity leave is six weeks
before birth and eight weeks after giving birth, with childcare leave until the child turns one.174
Total leave for the mother is one year and six weeks, and one year for the father.175 However,
implementation remains a challenge: in the 2019 fiscal year only 7.48 per cent of men took
paternity leave while 83.0 per cent of women took maternity leave. The Government has set
a target to increase the ratio for men to 30 per cent by 2025.176
In the United Kingdom mothers can claim statutory maternity leave for up to 52 weeks.
Maternity leave is paid up to 39 weeks.177 For the first six weeks it is at a rate of 90 per centof a mother’s average weekly earnings (before tax) and for the next 33 weeks, £151.20 per
week or 90 per cent of a mother’s average weekly earnings (whichever is lower).178

Company performance by Women’s Empowerment Principle

3

Companies leave provisions in G7 countries
This study of 350 companies assessed whether they offered 14 weeks of parental leave with
pay of at least two thirds of a person’s salary for childcare, to both primary or secondary
caregivers globally or at least in the country of incorporation.182$

All companies met the statutory
parental leave in their respective
countries, but not all provided paid
leave. Figure 22 shows the number
of weeks where employees were
paid at least 2/3 of their salary. In
Canada for example, two out offour WEPs signatories provided six
weeks of paid parental leave forprimary caregivers.

$

The average number of weeks of atleast 2/3 paid parental leave offered toprimary caregivers is 18.9 for WEPs
signatories (paying two thirds of salary)and 18.3 for non-WEPs signatories(Figure 22).

$

The average number of weeks of atleast 2/3 paid parental leave forsecondary caregivers is 7.3 for WEPs
signatories and 8.1 for non-WEPs
signatories (Figure 22).

In the United States the legal framework guarantees equality between women and men in
the workplace. However, the United States provides certain employees with up to 12 weeks of
unpaid, job-protected leave per year. While employees are able to keep their health insurance
during maternity leave, taking leave affects their corporate pension contributions. The US
National Compensation Survey of March 2020 shows that only 21 per cent of US workers
have access to paid family leave through their employers.179
In April 2021 United States President Joe Biden signed into law the American Rescue Plan
which lays out his US$1.8 trillion American Family Plan.180 The Plan recognizes that the US
has fallen behind in terms of female labour-force participation and that parental leave andchildcare keep mothers in the workforce. By year 10, it will guarantee 12 weeks of paid parental,
family and personal illness/safe leave and will provide workers up to US$4,000 per monthwith a minimum of two-thirds of average weekly wages replaced with up to 80 per cent for
the lowest wage workers.181

90

91

Women’s Empowerment Principles A snapshot of 350 companies in G7 countries

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3

Figure 22 shows the number of weeks of parental leave for primary caregivers that companies
provide with at least two-thirds pay, while Figure 23 shows the average number of weeks ofpaid parental leave allotted to secondary caregivers.
All companies follow the statutory maternity leave in their country of incorporation.

Figure 22:
Average number of weeks of parental leave,
paid at 2/3 salary or more – primary caregiver.
Source:UN Women calculation using data from Equileap.

56.0*This is based on four Canadian WEPs signatories.
Only two companies offered six weeks of paid
primary caregiver leave. It is worth noting that one
non-WEPs company offered 36 weeks of paid
primary caregiver leave.

56.0

56.0

WEPs signatories
Non-WEPs signatories
Average
14 weeks of leave

20.0

18.4
18.9

16.1

18.3

16.0 16.0

14.0
14.0

3.0

G7 Total92

1.8

Canada*

20.0

20.0
10.7

14.0

12.4

10.3

10.2
11.5

14 weeks

10.0

1.9

FranceGermany

Italy

Japan

United Kingdom

United States
93

Women’s Empowerment Principles A snapshot of 350 companies in G7 countries

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42.0
42.0

42.0

Figure 23:
Average number of weeks of parental leave,
paid at 2/3 salary or more – secondary caregiver.
Source:UN Women calculation
using data from Equileap.

WEPs signatories

7.9

Non-WEPs signatories

8.1

Average

7.3

7.0

6.0
5.8

4.3

2.7
1.5

G7 Total
94

1.0

2.0

France0.0 0.0

Germany

2.3

1.2

2.0
0.0

0.9

Canada

2.7

2.3

1.0

Italy

Japan

United Kingdom

United States
95

Women’s Empowerment Principles A snapshot of 350 companies in G7 countries

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Table 7 shows that:$

36.6 per cent of WEPs signatories
offer a minimum of 14 weeks of
two-thirds paid primary caregiver
leave in the country of incorporation
or a minimum of 2 weeks of paid
secondary caregiver leave in the
country of incorporation comparedto 33.7 per cent of non-WEPs
signatories$

12.7 per cent of WEPs signatories and28.7 per cent of non-WEPs signatories
do not offer the paid leave option of
14 weeks for primary caregivers or
2 weeks for secondary caregivers.

Table 7:
Leave for primary andsecondary caregivers.
Source:UN Women calculation
using data from Equileap.

Offer both paid primary (14w) andsecondary caregiver (2w) leave
Offers a minimum of 14 weeks of paid primary caregiver leave oroffers a minimum of 2 weeks of paid secondary caregiver leave
Do not offer any leave

Offer both paid primary (14w) andsecondary caregiver (2w) leave
Offers a minimum of 14 weeks of paid primary caregiver leave oroffers a minimum of 2 weeks of paid secondary caregiver leave
Do not offer any leave

96

WEPs signatory

50.7 per cent of WEPs signatories
offer leave to both primary andsecondary caregivers paid at
two-thirds salary or more forprimary and secondary caregiver(2 weeks) leave compared to 37.6
per cent of non-WEPs signatories

Non-WEPs signatory

$

Total

CanadaFranceGermany

Italy

Japan

UnitedKingdom

UnitedStates

50.7%

0.0%

100.0%

0.0%

22.2%

100.0%

40.0%

37.5%

36.6%

25.0%

0.0%

100.0%

77.8%

0.0%

10.0%

50.0%

12.7%

75.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

50.0%

12.5%

37.6%

6.5%

100.0%

0.0%

2.4%

100.0%

25.0%

42.9%

33.7%

4.3%

0.0%

100.0%

97.6%

0.0%

10.0%

26.2%

28.7%

89.1%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

65.0%

31.0%

97

Women’s Empowerment Principles A snapshot of 350 companies in G7 countries

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3

Principle 3
Employee health, well-being and safety
Principle 3 is about ensuring employees’ health, well-being and safety, including throughsafe working conditions, health insurance and protection against violence and harassment.
Employers play a key role in preserving and promoting the physical and emotional health,safety and well-being of their women and men employees. Sexual harassment and violence
signify high costs to women in terms of lost earnings, missed promotions and overall well-being.
Companies are impacted in the form of employee absenteeism and productivity losses.

Safety at work
Most of the 350 companies demonstrate their commitment to the safety of employees in
the workplace, in travel to and from the workplace, and on company-related business andensure the safety of vendors in the workplace, but results may vary, as shown in Figure 24.

$

98

98.6 per cent of WEPs companies
have an employee health andsafety policy (compared to 95.0
per cent of non-WEPs signatories)$

Only 1.4 per cent of the WEPs companies
have no employee health and safety
policy compared to 5 per cent for
non-WEPs companies.

99

Women’s Empowerment Principles A snapshot of 350 companies in G7 countries

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WEPs signatories with policy
WEPs signatories without policy

Figure 24:
Health and safety policies.
Source:UN Women calculation
using data from Equileap.

Non-WEPs signatories with policy
Non-WEPs signatories without policy

1.4%
98.6%

3.2%

5.0%
100%
95.0%

8.7%

100%

96.8%

91.3%

4.8%
100%

5.4%

100%

100%

94.6%

12.5%

95.2%

5.0%
100%

100%
95.0%

7.1%

– 100%

92.9%

87.5%

– 80%
– 60%
– 40%
– 20%

G7 Total
100

CanadaFranceGermany

Italy

Japan

United Kingdom

United States

– 0%

101

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3

Violence and harassment
Public policies on violence and harassment
Violence and harassment, including sexual harassment, are human rights violations. They areforms of gender-based discrimination embedded in gender stereotypes and systemic
inequalities between women and men. In addition to physical and psychological health effects
from violence, women pay high costs in terms of to women in terms of lost earnings, missed
promotions and overall well-being. In turn, companies are affected by absenteeism and a lossof productivity.

ILO Convention No. 190
The ILO Convention No. 190 (C190) is the first international treaty torecognize everyone’s right to a world of work free from violence andharassment, including gender-based violence and harassment.184 Adopted
in June 2019 by the ILO, it came into force on 25 June 2021.185 It requires
governments that ratify C190 to put in place necessary laws and policy
measures to address and prevent violence and harassment in a world ofwork.186 C190 is an historic opportunity to shape a future of work basedon dignity and respect for all.187

According to Women, Business and the Law, all of the G7 countries except for Japan havesome legislation on sexual harassment at work. As seen in Table 8, in Germany, Italy, Japan,
the United Kingdom and the United States there are no criminal penalties but there are civil
remedies for sexual harassment in the workplace.
In Japan, there are no stand-alone legislation on sexual harassment in employment, however,provisions pertaining to sexual harassment and the so-called “maternity harassment” areestablished in the Equal Employment Opportunities Act (EEOA) and cross referenced in otherlaws such as the Comprehensive Labor Policy Promotion Act and the Child Care and Family
Care Leave Act. These provisions oblige employers to put in place systems to prevent andaddress harassment.183

Table 8:Legislation on sexual harassment.
Source:
Women, Business and the Law,
World Bank 2020 and 2021.
WBL only considers legislation when
there is mention of sexual harassment.

Yes
No

CanadaFranceGermany

Italy

Japan

UnitedKingdom

UnitedStatesIs there legislation on sexual harassment
in employment?
Are there criminal penalties or civil remedies
for sexual harassment in employment?
Criminal penalties
Civil remedies

102

103

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Company policies on violence and harassment at work
Employers have a key role in preserving and promoting employees’ physical and emotional
health, safety and well-being.188, 189

Figure 25:
Presence of policies on violence, abuse
and sexual harassment at work.

This indicator measures if companies prohibit all forms of violence in the workplace, including
verbal, physical and sexual harassment. Figure 25 shows that approximately 64.8 per centof companies that are WEPs signatories and 64.9 per cent of non-WEPs signatories have ananti-sexual harassment/anti-violence policy or equivalent.

Source:UN Women calculation
using data from Equileap.

WEPs signatories with policy
WEPs signatories without policy
Non-WEPs signatories with policy
Non-WEPs signatories without policy– 100%
10.5%

12.5%

89.5%
28.3%
35.2%
64.8%

33.3%

35.1%

71.7%

64.9%

66.7%

45.2%
50.0%
50.0%

87.5%

23.8%

54.8%

53.8%
46.2%

29.3%

76.2%

23.8%

– 80%

76.2%

70.7%

– 60%

45.0%
50.0%
55.0%

56.8%
62.5%

43.2%

50.0%

– 40%

37.5%

– 20%

G7 Total
104

CanadaFranceGermany

Italy

Japan

United Kingdom

United States

– 0%

105

Women’s Empowerment Principles A snapshot of 350 companies in G7 countries

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3

Flexible work options
Although this is not captured in the data, COVID-19 may have a large impact on provisionsof flexible work hours and location.

The EU Work–life Balance Directive for parents and carers allows flexible working arrangements to caregivers and working parents of children up to eight years old. The duration of
the flexible working arrangements may be limited, and the workers have the right to returnto the original working pattern at the end of the flexible working arrangements period.190
According to French employment law, organizations may implement working from homepolicies, subject to the agreement of the employer and the employee.191 France also allows
provisions for part-time work.192 Italy and the United Kingdom193 are in the process of introducing flexible working arrangements to tackle unemployment rates as well as offering
employees flexible work options to control and/or vary the start and end times of theworkday and/or vary the location from which they work to allow them to meet some of
their care responsibilities.

Table 9:Companies in G7 offering flexible
work hours and locations or both.
Source:UN Women calculation
using data from Equileap.

Table 9 shows that:$28.2 per cent of WEPs signatories
offer either flexible work hours or
flexible work locations, while 28.7
per cent of non-WEPs signatories
offer either option$

11.3 per cent of WEPs signatories and 33
per cent of non-WEPs signatories do notoffer any flexible work hours or locations.

Offer flexible work hours and locations

Offer flexible work hours or locations

Do not offer flexible work hours and locations

Offer flexible work hours and locations

Offer flexible work hours or locations

Do not offer flexible work hours and locations

106

WEPs signatory

60.6 per cent of WEPs signatories
and 38 per cent of non-WEPs
signatories offer flexible work
hours and locations

Non-WEPs signatory

$

Total

CanadaFranceGermany

Italy

Japan

UnitedKingdom

UnitedStates

60.6%

75.0%

57.9%

84.6%

66.7%

62.5%

40.0%

37.5%

28.2%

0.0%

36.8%

15.4%

11.1%

37.5%

50.0%

25.0%

11.3%

25.0%

5.3%

0.0%

22.2%

0.0%

10.0%

37.5%

37.6%

15.2%

35.5%

78.4%

22.0%

54.8%

35.0%

28.6%

28.7%

23.9%

32.3%

10.8%

34.1%

23.8%

42.5%

33.3%

33.7%

60.9%

32.3%

10.8%

43.9%

21.4%

22.5%

38.1%

107

Women’s Empowerment Principles A snapshot of 350 companies in G7 countries

Company performance by Women’s Empowerment Principle

3This indicator measures the commitment to ensure equal access to training and careerdevelopment.
Most of the 350 companies recognize the importance of having equal access to training andcareer development for women and men. Figure 26 shows that approximately 98.6 per centof the WEPs signatories have employee training policies, compared to 92.5 per cent for
non-WEPs signatories.

WEPs Learn
Principle 4
Education and training for career advancement
Effective programmes supporting women’s professional development include educationand training that are complemented by networking and mentoring programmes. It is
important to have a professional development strategy that ensures that women andmen from diverse backgrounds can access equal career opportunities. Investing in
employees, including women, increases productivity, organizational effectiveness andreturn on investment.194

WEPs Learn, a virtual platform, aims to provide women with new skills,
capacities and characteristics to succeed in the workplace. Some learning
modules are designed to give women more confidence in job interviews
and the ability to assess new job opportunities, and therefore grow theircareers more effectively. Other learning modules help both women andmen to lead gender equality initiatives within their organizations.
The platform also offers learning opportunities for WEPs signatories todeepen their WEPs implementation.197 One module guides signatories
through the development of a WEPs gender action plan.

Some companies are developing programmes and initiatives to promote opportunities for
women’s professional development. They are choosing mentoring programmes to provide
staff with learning opportunities at work which subsequently increases their morale and job
satisfaction leading to reduced turnover. Long-term employees can transfer relevant skills
to newer staff and the company saves time in solving recurrent issues.
An effective way to promote women’s training and professional development is throughmentoring. A study shows that businesses with mentoring programmes see an increase inrevenue by 106 per cent, or an average of US$47,000 compared to companies without
mentoring programmes that only see an increase in revenue by US$6,000 or 14 per cent.195
In another study, 92 per cent of small business owners recognize the impact of mentors on
their business growth and survival.196

108

109

Women’s Empowerment Principles A snapshot of 350 companies in G7 countries

Company performance by Women’s Empowerment Principle

Non-WEPs signatories with policy

WEPs signatories with policy
WEPs signatories without policy

Figure 26:
Career and training development policy.

3

Non-WEPs signatories without policy

Source:UN Women calculation
using data from Equileap.

3.2%

1.4%
98.6%

7.5%
92.5%

100%

13.0%

100%

96.8%

2.7%
100%

97.3%

2.5%
11.1%
88.9%

87.0%

7.3%

100%

100%

92.7%

100%

97.5%

– 100%

100%
21.4%

– 80%

78.6%

– 60%
– 40%
– 20%

G7 Total
110

CanadaFranceGermany

Italy

Japan

United Kingdom

United States

– 0%

111

Women’s Empowerment Principles A snapshot of 350 companies in G7 countries

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3

Principle 5Enterprise development, supply chain and marketing practices
Principle 5 is about establishing supplier diversity programmes that actively seek to expand
business relationships with women-owned enterprises, systematically sourcing goods andservices from other companies that align with the WEPs, appointing women to top positionsin procurement departments and designing gender-sensitive solutions to women’s barriersin accessing financial products and services. It calls on companies and organizations torequire business partners, contractors and suppliers to adopt the WEPs.
The Principle is also about removing harmful gender-based stereotypes in all media andcompany materials and advertising, by systematically respecting women and men’s dignityand depicting them as empowered actors with progressive, intelligent and multi-dimensional
personalities.

The supply chain
Social risks in the supply chain
Commitment from top-level management is critical in removing social risks in the supply chain
and making it a central element of a company’s culture and business practices.

112

113

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3This indicator shows the percentage of companies that have implemented initiatives to reducesocial risks in their supply chains, such as forbidding business-related activities that condone,
support or otherwise participate in slavery, human trafficking, forced labour and child labour.
As shown in Figure 27, among companies that are WEPs signatories 98.6 per cent have
implemented such initiatives compared to 90.0 per cent non-WEPs signatories.

Figure 27:
Protecting workers in supply chains.

WEPs signatories with policy

Non-WEPs signatories with policy

WEPs signatories without policy

Non-WEPs signatories without policy

3.2%

1.4%
98.6%

Source:UN Women calculation
using data from Equileap.

10.0%

100%

100%

96.8%

2.7%
100%

97.3%

90.0%

4.8%
11.1%
88.9%

12.2%

100%

95.2%

2.5%
100%

97.5%

100%

7.1%

– 100%

92.9%

87.8%

– 80%

32.6%
67.4%

– 60%
– 40%
– 20%

G7 Total
114

CanadaFranceGermany

Italy

Japan

United Kingdom

United States

– 0%

115

Women’s Empowerment Principles A snapshot of 350 companies in G7 countries

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3

Gender-responsive procurement
The global procurement market is worth trillions of dollars,198 but women only access less than
1 per cent of the procurement spend by large corporations.199 Few procurement organizations
even in advanced economies have hired women in key positions such as chief procurement
officer, and in Fortune 500 companies they hold only 5 per cent of the top-level supply
chain positions.200 This leads to lost opportunities for women, businesses and economies.
Companies need to adopt gender-responsive procurement policies and practices, including
by selecting goods, services or civil works that consider the impact on gender equality andwomen’s empowerment. Founded on international standards, agreements and principles,
gender-responsive procurement could also help improve working conditions that uphold
women’s fundamental rights in the supply chain.
Companies practising gender-responsive procurement leverage purchasing policies andpractices to promote gender equality. This includes diversifying the supplier base byincreasing sourcing from gender-responsive companies and women-owned and womenled businesses. They also ensure that their practices reduce social risks in their supply chain.

116

Gender-Responsive Procurement
UN Women’s guidance note on implementing supply chain andmarketing practices that empower women supports WEPs signatories inprioritizing, establishing and implementing gender-responsive andethical procurement practices without compromising quality, efficiency,
cost savings and value for money. It builds on UN Women Corporate
Guide to Gender-Responsive Procurement of 2017201 The guidance noteoffers concrete strategies for companies on how to systematically source
goods and services from other enterprises that align with the WEPs
framework.202

117

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Supplier diversity
Overall, only 21.1 per cent of WEPs signatories and 19.7 per cent of non-WEPs signatories
have a supplier diversity programme (Figure 28). However, the numbers vary widely foreach country.

Figure 28:
Companies with supplier
diversity programmes.

The United States has the largest number of companies with a supplier diversity programme,
whether WEPs or non-WEPs, and Italy has the least. In the United States, the Women’s
Entrepreneurship and Economic Empowerment Act requires USAID work to be subject togender analysis, and ensures that gender equality is integral in its work.203

Source:UN Women calculation
using data from Equileap.

Non-WEPs signatories with policy

WEPs signatories with policy
WEPs signatories without policy

Non-WEPs signatories without policy– 100%

25.0%

12.5%

14.3%

87.5%

85.7%

– 80%

75.0%

– 60%
– 40%
73.9%
78.9%
21.1%

80.3%

26.1%
89.5%

19.7%

10.5%

G7 Total
118

Canada

97.3%

87.5%

2.7%

12.5%

90.0%

92.3%
100%

France7.7%

Germany

100%

100%

Italy

– 20%

85.0%
15.0%
100%

Japan

10.0%

United Kingdom

United States

– 0%

119

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Women’s access to credit
Table 10:Regulatory barriers.

There are no regulatory barriers preventing women from entering the market in most G7
countries. As shown in Table 10, women and men can sign a contract, register a business andopen a bank account in the same way in all G7 countries. However, all G7 countries, except forJapan, have laws that prohibit discrimination in terms of access to credit based on gender.

CanadaFranceGermany

Yes

Source:
Women, Business and theLaw, World Bank, 2020.

Italy

Japan

3

No

UnitedKingdom

UnitedStates

Does the law prohibit discrimination in access to credit based on gender?
Can a woman sign a contract in the same way as a man?
Can a woman register a business in the same way as a man?
Can a woman open a bank account in the same way as a man?

In terms of having secure access to formal financial services,204 Tables 10 and 11 show that
Canada, France, Germany, the United Kingdom and United States have laws where womenand men have the same rights to open a bank account and obtain credit at a formal financial
institution, without legal exceptions. While these countries have the regulatory oversight toensure that non-discrimination policies are enforced, few countries globally incorporate any
provisions for enforcement. In the United States the Equal Credit Opportunity Act prohibits
finance companies from discriminating against credit applicants on the basis of race, colour,
religion, sex, marital status and age among other factors.205

Table 11:
Secure access toformal financial services.

Source:SIGI.
Note:
0 stands for no discrimination and
1 for very high discrimination

According to SIGI, although laws give women and men the same rights as above, in Italy
and Japan some customary, religious or traditional practices or laws discriminate against
women’s legal rights.206
The percentage of women in the total number of people aged 15 years
and above who have an account at a financial institution (by themselves
or together with someone else) ranges across the countries from 49.3
per cent to 51.1 per cent. Given COVID-19 stimulus checks, the need foronline banking may have increased these figures while unemployment
may have pulled this trend in the opposite direction.

120

Law
Practice(% women > 15 years with an account)

CanadaFranceGermany

Italy

Japan

UnitedKingdom

UnitedStates

0

0

0

0.25

0.25

0

0

50.4%

49.3%

50.8%

50.1%

51.1%

50.5%

50.3%

121

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3

Advertising and marketing practices
Negative and diminished conceptions of women and girls are one of the greatest barriers
for gender equality. Advertising is a powerful driver to change perceptions and impact social
norms. Companies are recommended to remove harmful gender-based stereotypes in all
media and advertising and systematically depict women and men as empowered actors
with modern, authentic, intelligent and multi-dimensional personalities and roles.
In the United Kingdom rules were introduced by the Committee of Advertising Practice inJune 2019 to curb gender stereotypes in advertising. The advertising codes are based onstandards that are required by UK law, such as the UK Equality Act 2010 which prohibits
discrimination of “protected characteristics”, including sex, sexual orientation, gender
reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, race and religion.207
The Equileap data set does not currently include indicators on advertising and marketing
practices. However, the WEPs TAF208, 209 recommends that companies adopt a stand-alone
responsible marketing or communication policy (or a commitment embedded in a broader
corporate policy) that addresses the portrayal of gender stereotypes and promotes positive
portrayals of women and girls.

Principle 6
Community initiatives and advocacy
Principle 6 is about undertaking community consultations with local leaders – womenand men – to establish strong ties and programmes to eliminating discrimination andexploitation of women and girls. It is also about leading by example by showcasing concrete
actions to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment in local communities.

Unstereotype Alliance
The Unstereotype Alliance seeks to eradicate harmful stereotypes fromadvertising and media to help create a more equal world. Convened by
UN Women, the Alliance collectively acts to empower people in all theirdiversity (including gender, race, class, age, ability, ethnicity, religion, andsexuality) by using advertising as a force for good to drive positive change
all over the world.210
Companies are invited to become a member of the Unstereotype Allianceand help build a world without stereotypes.

122

Consumers increasingly prefer to buy from ethical, sustainable and gender-responsive
companies, and as a result companies are increasingly investing in community development
programmes to make valuable, effective and responsible contributions to gender equality
and women’s empowerment.
Currently, the Equileap data set does not contain indicators collected on community initiatives
and advocacy. However, the WEPs TAF 211, 212 recommends that companies integrate genderconsiderations into product design, safety testing and delivery to cater to women and girls’
needs along with those of men and boys. Another example is to conduct community-led
impact assessments, to understand from the community themselves how to respect theirrights – especially those of women.213
The TAF also encourages signatories to allocate a percentage of financial or pro bono support
for gender equality programmes, and to engage in philanthropy, advocacy and partnerships
in local communities.

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On 4 March 2021, the European Commission presented a draft Directive on Binding Pay
Transparency which is now with the European Parliament and the Council for approval.
The proposal sets out transparency measures in terms of pay, including pay information for
those seeking employment, a right to know the pay levels of workers doing the same workand reporting obligations for large companies on the gender pay gap.216
In France, the Freedom to Choose One’s Future Occupation law was enacted in September
2018, which requires companies to ensure equal pay for work of equal value. 217 The law
requires companies to assess their gender pay gap, and a Gender Equality Index has beendeveloped to enable this. The index has a set of standard indicators so companies canevaluate their systems on remuneration and rewards.
In Japan, the Act on the Promotion of Women’s Participation and Advancement in the
Workplace (April 2016) requires public and private sector companies to measure gender
diversity-related data, create action plans to address gaps, and disclose this information.
This has led to improved transparency about the status of women and men in the workplaceand enabled gender equality to be recognized as an important factor in evaluating acompany’s performance and values.218

Principle 7
Measurement and reporting
Transparency of the WEPs commitment, progress made and results achieved is paramountfor making progress on gender equality in the workplace, marketplace and community.
It requires strong measuring and reporting mechanisms, and fosters accountability andinformed decision-making within organizations.
Business leaders and stakeholders agree that while not everything of value can be counted,
it is difficult to change and manage something that is not measured.
However, while there are no comprehensive requirements for companies to report on genderequality results, efforts are being made by G7 countries to create standards or reporting
mechanisms to measure and track progress in the private sector. The following practices
illustrate how public standards can promote gender equality in the private sector and thereby
shape companies’ transparency and accountability to this agenda.
The EU is working on a proposal outlined in the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive,
introduced by the European Parliament in April 2021.214 It aims to improve sustainability
reporting in the European market.215

124

While not a G7 country, it might be worth noting that the Spanish Royal Decree Law 6/2019
promotes equal treatment and opportunities in working conditions and pay transparency.
This has gradually extended the obligation for companies with at least 50 employees to havegender equality action plans.219
Launched in March 2021, the WEPs reporting platform and the Transparency and Accountability Framework, currently rely on companies self-reported data against eight essential indicators.
As of 31 August 2021, 114 companies have reported on these indicators publicly.220, 221
By collecting and reporting this data, it is expected that these 100+ companies now havemore insights and take more informed decisions in regards to recruiting, retaining andpromoting more women, particularly in male-dominated sectors; paying women and men
equally for work of equal value; enabling both women and men to access a good work–lifebalance; sourcing more products and services from women entrepreneurs; and engaging
women and girls in local communities to understand their wants and needs.
Investors are already using this platform to inform their investment decisions. They havehighlighted that reported data, regardless of a company’s standing on gender equality,
is not meant to harm investment opportunities but rather to foster transparency anddetermine steps for improvement.

125

Women’s Empowerment Principles A snapshot of 350 companies in G7 countries

Company performance by Women’s Empowerment Principle

Figure 29 shows that, of the 350 companies, 85.9 per cent of WEPs and 98.6 per cent of
non-WEPs signatories have not received an independent gender audit certification. Only 14.1
per cent of the WEPs signatories have undergone a gender audit or taken a certification.

Source:UN Women calculation using data from Equileap.

To fill this gap and foster full transparency, companies need to be further assessed andaudited against the WEPs framework. It will help deepen WEPs signatories’ implementation,
recognize their efforts and celebrate their successes. UN Women and our partners – present
and future – will continue to advance this agenda and support the WEPs community withguidance and tools so that both women and men can thrive in the workplace, marketplaceand community.

The certifications considered in the data set are
EDGE Certification, GEEIS Label, EOCGE Citation.

3

Figure 29:
Percentage of companies that havereceived a gender audit certification.

WEPs signatories with certification
WEPs signatories without certification

14.1%

1.4%

0%

0%

47.4%

9.7%

7.7%

0%

0%

0%

0%

0%

0%

0%

0%

85.9%

98.6%

100%

100%

52.6%

90.3%

92.3%

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

G7 Total
126

CanadaFranceGermany

Italy

Japan

United Kingdom

2.4%
97.6%

Did not take any certification

Non-WEPs signatories without certification

Took a certification

Non-WEPs signatories with certification

United States
127

Women’s Empowerment Principles A snapshot of 350 companies in G7 countries

4
Annexes128

Women’s Empowerment Principles A snapshot of 350 companies in G7 countries

Annexes

4

ANNEX I

Description of the
350 companies
WEPs signatories

Table 12:Signatories by sector.
Source:Equileap data.

Yes

No

Total

Total number of companies

71

279

350

Communication services

3

26

29

Consumer discretionary

12

37

49

Consumer staples

12

19

29

Energy1

13

14Financials

18

45

63

Health care

7

26

33

Industrials

5

49

54

Information technology

5

27

32

Materials

5

14

19

Real estate

–

7

7

Utilities

5

16

21

SectorTable 12 shows that among the 11 sectors and 350 companies analysed WEPs signatories
were most frequently found in three sectors: Financial, Consumer discretionary andConsumer staples.

131

Women’s Empowerment Principles A snapshot of 350 companies in G7 countries

Annexes

4

Average company market capital in US$
The average company market capital or the worth of a company as determined by the stock
market222 was US$85 billion for WEPs signatories and US$69 billion for those which are not
WEPs signatories, as shown in Figure 30.223

Figure 30:
Average market capital (in billion US$).
Source:UN Women calculation using data from Equileap.

WEPs signatories

328.9

Non-WEPs signatories

288.4

294.9

Average

85.4
69.8

G7 Average
132

7.9

72.9

43.5

30.4

69.0

43.7

63.3

29.3

28.2

22.4

CanadaFranceGermany

49.9

33.0

23.3
Italy

10.6

49.9

51.8

48.1

49.9

47.1

Japan

United Kingdom

United States
133

Women’s Empowerment Principles A snapshot of 350 companies in G7 countries

Total

AnnexesFranceCanadaGermany

Italy

Japan

United Kingdom

United States

Yes

No

Total

Yes

No

Total

Yes

No

Total

Yes

No

Total

Yes

No

Total

Yes

No

Total

Yes

No

Total

Yes

No

Total

71

279

350

5

46

50

19

31

50

13

37

50

9

41

50

8

42

50

10

40

50

8

42

50

5

5

10

3

6

9

2

7

9

1

7

8
3

5

8

2

4

6

3

9

12

1

4

5

1

9

10

3

9

12

1

16

17

Consumer discretionary
Consumer staples
Financials

4

9

13

4

3

7

Health Care

2

Industrials

10

12

Materials

2

4

6

1

5

6

2

5

7

3

4

7

1

8

9

–

11

11

3

3

6

3

3

Utilities

11

14

9

6

Information technology
Other

0

37

37

8

13

21

2

While the financial industry may not have the highest level of WEPs signatories across all
countries, this is the sector where there are consistently WEPs signatories in all seven countries.
Table 13 shows that in Japan the industrial sector has the most companies, but none of themis a WEPs signatory. In Canada, the four WEPs signatories analysed in this study are in thefinancial sector.

11

13

1

4

17

18

1

WEPs signatories
Non-WEPs signatories

13

14

4

26

30

Table 13:
WEPs signatories per sector per country.
Source:Equileap data.

134

135

Women’s Empowerment Principles A snapshot of 350 companies in G7 countries

Annexes

4

ANNEX II

Matching the characteristics of the companies
Figure 31:
Propensity score matching of
WEPs companies andnon-WEPs companies.
Source:UN Women calculation
using data from Equileap.

WEPs signatories
Non-WEPs signatories

0
136

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8
137

Women’s Empowerment Principles A snapshot of 350 companies in G7 countries

Annexes

WEPs signatories

Figure 32:
Balance plots matching country, sector andpercentage of market capital for 350 companies.

Raw

MatchedDensity

Figure 32a:
Balance plot,
Country of Incorporation.

0.3 –

– 0.3

0.2 –

– 0.2

0.1 –

– 0.1

0

0
2

4

6

Density8Raw

0.15 –

0

2

4

6

8
DensityMatched– 0.15Figure 32b:
Balance plot,
Sector.

0.10 –– 0.100.05 –– 0.05

0

0
0

5

10

Density

15
Raw

0.4 –

Figure 32c:
Balance plot,
Percentage changeof market capital.

0

5

10

15
DensityMatched

– 0.4

0.2 –

– 0.2

0

0
20

138

Non-WEPs signatories

Source:UN Women calculation
using data from Equileap.

Density

0

22

4

24

26

28

20

22

24

26

28

139

Women’s Empowerment Principles A snapshot of 350 companies in G7 countries

Annexes

4

ANNEX III

Statistical significance of being a WEPs signatory

Table 14:
Statistical significance ofbeing a WEPs signatory.
Source:UN Women calculation
using data from Equileap.
(Standard errors in parentheses)*p<0.1140**p<0.05***p<0.01

WEPs Signatory

Constant

Observations

R-squared

Has a gender balance of at least 30 per cent on the board

0.189*** (0.0628)

0.614*** (0.0286)

343

0.026

Has a gender balance of at least 30 per centamong executives

0.165*** (0.0534)

0.173*** (0.0243)

343

0.027

Has a gender balance of at least 30 per cent in management

0.00896 (0.0646)

0.371*** (0.0294)

343

0.000

Has a gender balance of at least 30 per cent in the workforce

0.136** (0.0632)

0.625*** (0.0288)

343

0.013

Has a ratio of women in management to women employeesof at least 0.5-0.0596 (0.0620)

0.327*** (0.0282)

343

0.003

Has a living wage policy, or equivalent, for all employees

0.157*** (0.0460)

0.110*** (0.0209)

343

0.033

Commitment to provide comparable wages
for comparable work and to close the gender pay gap

0.133** (0.0647)

0.360*** (0.0294)

343

0.012

Offers either paid primary (14w)or secondary caregiver (2w) leave or both

0.167*** (0.0579)

0.706*** (0.0263)

343

0.024

Offers flexible work hours or locations or both0.226*** (0.0595)

0.662*** (0.0271)

343

0.040

Has an employee training policy to ensure careerdevelopment for all employees

0.0594* (0.0319)

0.926*** (0.0145)

343

0.010

Has an equal opportunity policy or equivalent
to ensure gender diversity

0.0748** (0.0375)

0.897*** (0.0171)

343

0.011

Has an anti-sexual harassment/anti-violence policy or equivalent-0.00285 (0.0637)

0.651*** (0.0290)

343

0.000

Has an employee health and safety policy

0.0337 (0.0264)

0.952*** (0.0120)

343

0.005

Has a human rights policy

0.0742** (0.0345)

0.912*** (0.0157)

343

0.013

Has implemented any initiative to reduce
the social risks in its supply chain

0.0889** (0.0369)

0.897*** (0.0168)

343

0.017

Has a supplier diversity programme

0.00906 (0.0539)

0.202*** (0.0245)

343

0.000

Undertaken and awarded an independent gender audit
certificate by an Equileap-recognized body

0.126*** (0.0255)

0.0147 (0.0116)

343

0.067

141

Women’s Empowerment Principles A snapshot of 350 companies in G7 countries

Endnotes
1.

World Economic Forum, Closing the Gender Gap
Accelerators <www.weforum.org/projects/closing-thegender-gap-accelerators>, accessed 5 July 2021.

3.

UN Women, ‘Gender equality experts recommend key
actions for COVID-19 response and recovery for G7
leaders’, press release, 12 May 2020, www.unwomen.org/
en/news/stories/2020/5/press-release-key-actionsfor-covid-19-response-and-recovery-for-g7-leaders.

4.

5.

potentially influence the likelihood that a company has
established a related policy. Given that the timelinesand data- collection methods are different, the data are
analysed and interpreted separately and placed within
the context of each principle.
15.

16.
17.
18.

Global Living Wage Coalition, ‘What is a living wage?’,www.globallivingwage.org/about/what-is-a-living-wage,
accessed 24 July 2021.

Equileap’s proprietary Gender Equality Scorecard™ isthe methodology used to holistically assess a company’s
gender equality performance, from the board to the supply
chain. It is based on various metrics including genderbalance across the workforce, the gender pay gap, paid
parental leave and anti-sexual harassment policies.
Equileap, ‘Gender Equality Data’, https://equileap.com/
data, accessed 24 July 2021.
Based on 2019 data as of the last quarter of 2020, fromcompanies incorporated in the G7.
UN Women and International Finance Corporation,‘Bridging the Gap: Emerging Private Sector Response
and Recovery Measures for Gender Equality amid
COVID_19’, 2020, www.weps.org/resource/bridginggap-emerging-private-sector-response-and-recoverymeasures-gender-equality-amid, accessed 24 July 2021.

6.

Ibid.

7.

Living Wage Foundation, ‘Who are we?’, www.livingwage.
org.uk/living-wage-foundation, accessed 24 July 2021.

8.

CNBC, ‘59% of workers who would benefit from a $15
minimum wage are women—here’s how it would affectthe pay gap’, 3 February 2021, www.cnbc.com/2021/02/03/what-15-minimum-wage-could-mean-for-womenand-the-pay-gap.html.

Intersectionality refers to the ways in which multiple
forms of inequality exacerbate one another to create
obstacles not often widely understood or visible withinconventional ways of thinking. Coined by Kimberlé
Crenshaw and Katie Steinmetz, see ‘She Coined theTerm “Intersectionality” Over 30 Years Ago. Here’s
What It Means to Her Today’, Time, 2018, https://time.
com/5786710/kimberle-crenshaw-intersectionality/.

UN Women, ‘The COVID-19 Shadow Pandemic: Domestic
Violence in the World of Work -A Call to Action for thePrivate Sector’, www.weps.org/resource/covid-19shadow-pandemic-domestic-violence-world-work-callaction-private-sector, accessed 6 August 2021.

20. Jason E. Piccone, ‘Improving the Quality of Evaluation
Research in The Use of Propensity Score Matching.’ Journalof Correctional Education (1974-) 66, no. 3 (2015): 28-46.
https://www.jstor.org/stable/26508010. Accessed 15
February 2021.

Women’s Empowerment Principles, ‘Progress Reports’,
www.weps.org/companies/reports, accessed 31 August2021.‘

21.

9.

10.

11.
12.

13.

14.

142

KFF, ‘Balancing on Shaky Ground: Women, Work andFamily Health’, Data note, 20 October 2014, www.kff.org/
womens-health-policy/issue-brief/data-note-balancingon-shaky-ground-women-work-and-family-health.

How advancing women’s equality can add $12 trillion to
global growth’.
World Economic Forum, Closing the Gender Gap
Accelerators www.weforum.org/projects/closing-thegender-gap-accelerators, accessed 5 July 2021.
UN Women, ‘Generation Equality Forum concludes in
Paris with announcement of revolutionary commitments
and Global Acceleration Plan to advance gender equality
by 2026’, Press release, 2 July 2021, www.unwomen.org/
en/news/stories/2021/7/press-release-generationequality-forum-concludes-with-commitments-andglobal-acceleration-plan.
The data at the country level is compared to existing
public policies through information collected from WomenBusiness and Law (WBL) and OECD’s SIGI that could

26.

Women, Business and the Law, https://wbl.worldbank.org.

27.

Social Institutions and Gender Index, ‘Methodology’,
www.genderindex.org/building/.

28. Social Institutions and Gender Index, ‘2019 results’,
www.genderindex.org/ranking, accessed 26 July 2021.

McKinsey & Company, ‘How advancing women’s equality
can add $12 trillion to global growth’, September 2015,<www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/employmentand-growth/how-advancing-womens-equality-canadd-12-trillion-to-global-growth>.

2.

Endnotes19.

29. Organisation for Economic Co-operation andDevelopment, ‘Gender, Institutions and Development
Database (GID-DB)’, OECD.Stat, 2019, https://stats.
oecd.org/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=GIDDB2019.
30. Women, Business and the Law has eight indicators:
Mobility, Workplace, Pay, Marriage, Parenthood,
Entrepreneurship, Assets and Pension. For this particular
report, only the indicators on Mobility, Workplace, Pay,
Parenthood, Entrepreneurship and Pension are counted.
31.

32.

Organisation for Economic Co-operation andDevelopment iLibrary, ‘Restricted access to productive
and financial resources’, www.oecd-ilibrary.org/
sites/8704122d-en/index.html?itemId=/content/
component/8704122d-en.
Ibid.

33. World Bank, ‘Women, business and the Law’, https://wbl.worldbank.org/en/wbl, accessed 25 July 2021.
34. Ibid.
35. ‘Methodology’, www.genderindex.org/methodology,
accessed 26 July 2021.
37.

United Nations General Assembly, Women indevelopment, Resolution adopted by the General
Assembly on 22 December 2015, https://www.un.org/
en/development/desa/population/migration/general
assembly/docs/globalcompact/A_RES_70_219.pdf.

38. G7, Leaders’ Declaration, G7 Summit, Schloss Elmau,
7-8 June 2015, https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/
content/documents/7320LEADERS%20STATEMENT_
FINAL_CLEAN.pdf.
39. Women20 Germany, ‘Women20 Germany 2017
Communiqué’, Berlin, April 2017, www.w20-germany.
org/the-w20/documents.

22. Ibid.
23.

41.

‘Improving the Quality of Evaluation Research in The Useof Propensity Score Matching.’

24. Empower women, ‘G7 Leaders’ Summit 2020:
Background Paper on Themes of G7 Leaders Summits(2012-2019)’, WE EMPOWER-G7 Programme, 2020.
www.empowerwomen.org/en/resources/documents/
2020/05/g7-leaders-summit-2020-background-paperon-themes-of-g7-leaders-summits-20122019?lang=en.
25. G7, ‘Carbis Bay G7 Summit Communique: Our Shared
Agenda for Global Action to Build Back Better’, Cornwall,
UK, 2021, www.g7uk.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/
Carbis-Bay-G7-Summit-Communique-PDF-430KB-25pages-3-1.pdf.

45. ‘The Power of Working Together: Emerging Practices
that Advance Women’s Economic Empowerment’.
46. UN Women, 2021. WEPs Toolkit, www.weps.org/resource/
weps-toolkit
47.

UN Women, 2021, “WEPs Transparency and Accountability
Framework – A Reference Guide, www.weps.org/resource/weps-transparency-and-accountability-frameworkreference-guide, accessed 10 August 2021.

42. UN Women, The Power of Working Together: Emerging
Practices that Advance Women’s Economic Empowerment, December 2020, www.weps.org/resource/
power-working-together-emerging-practices-advancewomens-economic-empowerment.
43. Equileap, ‘Gender equality in the US’, December 2020,
https://equileap.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/
Equileap_US_Report_2020.pdf

UN Women, 2021. Equality Means Business: WEPs
Brochure, www.weps.org/resource/equality-meansbusiness-weps-brochure

48. We Empower G7, ‘Promoting Economic Empowermentof Women at Work through Responsible BuisinessConduct in G7 Countries’ , January 2018, www.
empowerwomen.org/en/projects/we-empower-g7.
49. UN Women, 2020, The Power of Working Together:
Emerging Practices that Advance Women’s Economic
Empowerment, www.weps.org/resource/powerworking-together-emerging-practices-advancewomens-economic-empowerment
50. HeForShe, www.heforshe.org
51.

European Institute for Gender Equality, Economic
benefits of gender equality in the European Union:
Report on the empirical application of the model, 2017,
Luxembourg, Publications Office of the European Union.

52.

‘How advancing women’s equality can add $12 trillion to
global growth’.

53.

McKinsey Global Institute, ‘The power of parity: Advancing
women’s equality in the United States’, New York, 2016.

36. Ibid.

40. United Nations Development Programme, 23 May 2019.
‘Report of the Working Group on the issue of humanrights and transnational corporations and other businessenterprises to the Human Rights Council’, in Genderdimensions of the Guiding Principles on Business andHuman Rights, pp. 46–49, May 2019 www.undp.org/
publications/gender-dimensions-guiding-principlesbusiness-and-human-rights.

Paul R. Rosenbaum and Donald B. Rubin, ‘The central
role of the propensity score in observational studies forcausal effects’, Biometrika, Vol. 70, Issue 1, April 1983,
pp. 41–55, https://doi.org/10.1093/biomet/70.1.41

44. Empower women, ‘Gender equality and COVID-19 crisis
response and recovery: The G7’s role, High-level
Roundtable, 2020, www.empowerwomen.org/en/
community/eventsopportunities/2020/05/high-levelroundtable.

54. International Labour Organization, ‘A Quantum Leap for
Gender Equality’, ILO, Geneva, 2019, www.ilo.org/
wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---dcomm/--publ/documents/publication/wcms_674831.pdf.
55.

Catalyst, ‘Report: The Bottom Line: Connecting Corporate
Performance and Gender Diversity’ January 2004,
www.catalyst.org/research/the-bottom-line-connectingcorporate-performance-and-gender-diversity.

56. UN Women, ‘Building Inclusive Boards to Achieve Gender
Equality’, 2020, www.weps.org/resource/buildinginclusive-boards-achieve-gender-equality
57.

Ibid.

58. ‘A Quantum Leap for Gender Equality’.
59. Ibid.
60. Ibid.
61.

Ibid.

62. Ibid.
63. This was based on Scandinavian politics. See Sarah Childs
and Mona Lena Krook, ‘Critical Mass Theory and Women’s
Political Representation’, Political Studies, vol. 56, 2008,
pp. 725–736, <http://mlkrook.org/pdf/childs_krook_2008.pdf>.
64. Pamela Oliver, Gerald Marwell and Ruy Teixeira,‘A Theory of the Critical Mass. I. Interdependence,Group Heterogeneity, and the Production of Collective
Action’, The American Journal of Sociology, Vol. 91, No. 3,
pp. 522-556, www.jstor.org/stable/i329069

143

Women’s Empowerment Principles A snapshot of 350 companies in G7 countries

65. This was based on Scandinavian politics. See Sarah Childs
and Mona Lena Krook, ‘Critical Mass Theory and Women’s
Political Representation’, Political Studies, vol. 56, 2008,
pp. 725–736, <http://mlkrook.org/pdf/childs_krook_2008.pdf>.
66. In the European Union, data are from the largest 50
companies included in the CAC 40 in France, DAX in
Germany, FTSE-MIB in Italy or the FTSE 100 in the UK
while, in Canada and in the United States, data are fromthe largest companies included in the MSCI index, which
covers 85 per cent of the market capitalization.
67.

‘A Quantum Leap for Gender Equality’.

68. Ibid.
69. Ibid.
70. ‘Building Inclusive Boards to Achieve Gender Equality’.
71.

72.

The table is based on the Equileap dataset and theindicator measures the percentage of male and female
boards of directors. Where the company has asupervisory board and a management board, this refers
to the Supervisory Board.
Executives are as defined by the company or represent
those individuals that form the company Executive
Committee/Board or Management Committee/Boardor equivalent.

73. McKinsey & Company, ‘Women Matter: Ten years of
insights on gender diversity’, October 2017, <www.mc
kinsey.com/featured-insights/gender-equality/womenmatter-ten-years-of-insights-on-gender-diversity>.
74.

75.

David Rock and Heidi Grant, ‘Why Diverse Teams are
Smarter’, Harvard Business Review, November 2016<https://hbr.org/2016/11/why-diverse-teams-are-smarter>.
International Labour Organization, ‘Empowering Womenat Work, Company Policies and Practices for Gender
Equality’, ILO, Geneva, 2020.

86. Aviva Wittenberg-Cox, ‘France’s Gender Balance
Paradox’, Forbes, May 2019 <www.forbes.com/sites/
avivahwittenbergcox/2019/05/20/frances-genderbalance-paradox/#5051526f15ac>.
87.

‘Building Inclusive Boards to Achieve Gender Equality’.

88. International Labour Organization, ‘The Business Casefor Change’, ILO, Geneva, 2019 <www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/
groups/public/---dgreports/---dcomm/---publ/
documents/publication/wcms_700953.pdf>.
89. ‘Building Inclusive Boards to Achieve Gender Equality’.
90. Patrizia Pastore and Silvia Tommaso, ‘Women on corporateboards. The case of “gender quotas” in Italy’, Corporate
Ownership & Control, vol. 13, no. 4, 2016, pp. 132–155.
91.

Aviva Wittenberg-Cox, ‘France Unanimously Votes Gender
Quotas For Executive Leadership’, 15 May 2021, <www.
forbes.com/sites/avivahwittenbergcox/2021/05/15/
france-unanimously-votes-gender-quotas-for-executiveleadership/?sh=53f462552b8e>

92. Ibid.
93. Ibid.
94. A Crown corporation is a government organization,
specific form of state-owned enterprise, with a mixtureof commercial and public-policy objectives and ownedby the Crown.
95. ‘Building Inclusive Boards to Achieve Gender Equality’.
96. Library of Parliament, “Women’s Representation on
Corporate Boards in Canada,” Hill Notes (2015).
Available at https://hillnotes.ca/2015/03/05/womensrepresentation-on-corporate-boards-in-canada/
97.

‘Building Inclusive Boards to Achieve Gender Equality’.

76. European Commission, Gender Equality Strategy
2020-2025, March 2020.

98. Library of Parliament, “Women’s Representation on
Corporate Boards in Canada,” Hill Notes, LoP, Ottawa,
2015, <https://hillnotes.ca/2015/03/05/womensrepresentation-on-corporate-boards-in-canada>.

77.

99. ‘Building Inclusive Boards to Achieve Gender Equality’.

Lorna Hutchinson, ‘Women on Boards Directive must be
unblocked in Council, MEPs argue’, Parliament Magazine,
6 October 2020.

78. ‘Empowering Women at Work’.
79. European Commission, Proposal for a Directive of The
European Parliament and of the Council on Improving
the Gender Balance Among Non-Executive Directors ofCompanies Listed on Stock Exchanges and Related
Measures, Brussels, 2012.
80. Věra Jourová, ‘EU gender equality legislation key tobreaking the glass ceiling’, Parliament Magazine,
15 December 2014.
81.

‘A quantum leap for gender equality’.

82. International Labour Organization, ‘Women on Boards– Building the female talent pipeline’ Issues Brief from
Reflecting Global Change – ILO/IFC/CBI Conferenceon Women in Business and Management, London,
28 April 2015.
83. ‘A quantum leap for gender equality’.
84. See Law No. 120 of 2011 in Italy and Law No. 103 of 2011
in France.

144

85. ‘Building Inclusive Boards to Achieve Gender Equality’.

100. Canada, ‘Diversity disclosure for boards of directors andsenior management comes into force’, Ottawa, 2019,<https://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/cd-dgc.nsf/eng/
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101. Miura & Partners, ‘Japanese law update vol.2: Women in
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102. Financial Services Agency, ‘Revisions of Japan’s Corporate
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103. Ibid.
104. Keidanren, ‘Challenge Initiatives for 30% of Executives
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105. ‘Building Inclusive Boards to Achieve Gender Equality’.
106. Ibid.
107. Ibid.

Endnotes

108. Brooke E. Condran, ‘New California Law Imposing Gender
Diversity on Boards of Publicly Held Corporations Raises
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130. International Labour Organization, ‘Labor Standards
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109. World Bank, ‘Databank Gender Statistics’ <https://
databank.worldbank.org/source/gender-statistics>

131. Hatsuki Sato, ‘Japan to implement fair pay rule fortemporary workers’, Nikkei Asia, 17 July 2019, https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/Japan-to-implement-fair-payrule-for-temporary-workers.

110. Senior management is the group of individuals at thehighest level of day-to-day management of the company
as defined and reported within the company.

132. World Bank, ‘Women, Business and the Law 2021:
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111.

Global Living Wage Coalition, ‘What is a Living Wage?’,<www.globallivingwage.org/about/what-is-a-livingwage>, accessed 25 July 2021.

133. Canadian Human Rights Commission, Pay Equity –Employer Responsibilities, www.payequitychrc.ca/en/
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112. Partnership for Working Families, ‘Policy & Tools: Living
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134. Japan, Labor Standards Act, ‘Expectant or Nursing
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113. ‘What is a Living Wage?’135. UN Women, ‘Turning promises into action: Genderequality in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable
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114. Economic Policy Institute, ‘The Living Wage Movement–
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115. This is the percentage of companies with living wage
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149. International Labour Organization, Maternity Protection
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151. European Commission, ‘EU Work-life Balance Directive
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152. Ibid.
153. Ibid.
154. Ibid.
155. European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, ‘Directive
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156. UN Women, Spotlight on Public Policy – Parental Leave,
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157. Canada, Employment and Social Development Canada,‘EI maternity and parental benefits: What these benefits
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158. Ibid.
159. Ibid.
160. Canada, ‘Prime Minister announces measures toadvance gender equality worldwide’, 30 June 2021,<https://pm.gc.ca/en/news/news-releases/2021/06/30/prime-minister-announces-measures-advance-genderequality-worldwide>.
161. Ibid.
162. Ameli.fr, ‘La durée du congé maternité d’une salariée’,30 June 2021.
163. Danielle Boyer and Jeanne Fagnani, ‘France country note’,in Alison Koslowski et al. (eds.) 15th International Review
of Leave Policies and Related Research 2019, International
Network On Leave Policies And Research.
164. The Connexion, ‘Parental Leave Rules Explained’,
4 January 2011, <https://www.connexionfrance.com/
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165. Elian Peltier, ‘France Doubles Paid Paternity Leave to 28
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europe/france-paternity-leave.html>.
166. European Parliament, ‘Maternity and paternity leave in theEU’, 2019, www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/
ATAG/2019/635586/EPRS_ATA(2019)635586_EN.pdf.
167. Thordis Reimer et al., “Germany country note” in Alison
Koslowski et al., (eds.) 15th International Review of Leave
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168. Lena Reinschmidt, ‘Parental Allowance Plus andPartnership Bonus: Instruments to Foster Longterm
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presented at the EU Mutual Learning Programme in
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146

169. Ibid.
170. Arianna Santero, ‘Instruments to foster long-term paternal
involvement in family work in Italy’, paper presented at
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4-5 October 2018.
171. Tindara Addabbo et al., ‘Italy’, in Alison Koslowski et al.
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172. Ibid.
173. Japan, Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare,‘Introduction to the Revised Child Care and Family Care
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dl/05.pdf, accessed 26 July 2021.
174. KAVLI Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the
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175. ShieldGeo, ‘Paternity Leave in Japan: A Guide forOverseas Employers’, 20 May 2021, <https://shieldgeo.
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176. ‘Japan enacts law for flexible paternity leave soon afterchildbirth,’ Mainichi, 3 June 2021, <https://www.
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177. United Kingdom, Gov.UK, ‘Maternity Pay and Leave’.
178. Ibid.
179. US Department of Labor, 2020, National Compensation
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180. The White House, ‘Fact Sheet: The American Families Plan’,28 April 2021, www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/
statements-releases/2021/04/28/fact-sheet-theamerican-families-plan.
181. Ibid.
182. ‘Gender Equality Data’.
183. Japan, Ministry of Health Labour and Welfare, ‘To prevent
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184. International Labour Organization, ‘Eliminating Violenceand Harassment in the World of Work’, <www.ilo.org/
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Endnotes

190. European Union, ‘Directive (EU) 2019/1158 of theEuropean Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019
on work-life balance for parents and carers and repealing
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eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=uriserv:OJ.L_.2019.188.01.0079.01.ENG.
191. Judicaël Fouquet, Flexible working – achieving a work
life balance in France, Global Workplace Insider, Norton
Rose Fulbright, 19 September 2014, www.globalworkpla
ceinsider.com/2014/09/flexible-working-achieving-awork-life-balance-in-france
192. Ibid.
193. Personnel Today, ‘How flexible working arrangements
vary around the globe’, 1 May 2015, <www.personneltoday.
com/hr/flexible-working-arrangements-vary-around-globe>.
194. UN Women, ‘Mentoring in the Workplace,’ 2020, <www.
weps.org/resource/mentoring-workplace>
195. Sujan Patel, “Why Every Entrepreneur Needs a Mentor”,
Forbes, 12 November 2014. Available at www.forbes.com/
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196. Kate Harrison, “New Study Reveals Entrepreneurs Need
More Mentoring”, Forbes, 30 October 2018, <www.forbes.
com/sites/kateharrison/2018/10/30/new-study-revealsentrepreneurs-need-more-mentoring/>
197. Women’s Empowerment Principles, ‘WEPS Learning Hub– Your Pathway To Success’, www.weps.org/learn,
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198. UN Women, ‘Gender-Responsive Procurement’, 2020,
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accessed 8 August 2021.
199. Ibid.
200. Ibid.
201. UN Women, ‘The power of procurement: How to sourcefrom women-owned businesses.’ Available atwww.unwomen.org/-/media/headquarters/attachments/
sections/library/publications/2017/the-power-ofprocu
rementhow-to-source-from-womenownedbusinessesen.pdf?la=en&vs=237.
202. ‘Gender-Responsive Procurement’
203. UN Women, 2020, Spotlight on Public Policy: UnitedStates: The Women’s Entrepreneurship and Economic
Empowerment Act, www.weps.org/resource/united-states-womens-entrepreneurship-and-economicempowerment-act
204. This measures whether women and men have the samelegal rights to open a bank account and obtain credit ata formal financial institution.

186. Ibid.

205. United States of America, Department of Justice, ‘The
Equal Credit Opportunity Act’, 22 July 2020,<www.justice.gov/crt/equal-credit-opportunity-act-3>.

187. Ibid.

206. Social Institutions and Gender Index.

188. UN Women, ‘Tackling Sexual Harassment in the Worldof Work’ 2020, <www.weps.org/resource/tacklingsexual-harassment-world-work>.

207. UN Women, 2020, Spotlight on Public Policy, United
Kingdom: Committee of Advertising Practice Rules Against
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185. Ibid.

189. Women’s Empowerment Principles, ‘About’, <www.
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208. UN Women, ‘Equality Means Business’, WEPs brochure,2021.
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214. GreenbergTraurig, ‘The EU Non-Financial Reporting
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216. European Economic and Social Committee, ‘Pay
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219. UN Women, ‘Spotlight on Public Policy, Spain: Gender
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220. See www.weps.org/companies/reports
221. UN Women, 2021, “WEPs Transparency and Accountability
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222. Investopedia, ‘Market Capitalization’ www.investopedia.
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223. This refers to the market capital as of the last trading
day of 2019.

147

Endnotes

Equality
Means Business

The WEPs are a primary vehicle for corporate delivery
on gender equality dimensions of these Global Goals

1. Consider
Reactivate
6. Report

2. Sign

5. Sustain

3. Activate

4. Engage149

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