CALL TO ACTION FOR GENDER PARITY ON BOARDSA GENDER POLICY
1. ADOPT
Board diversity promotes healthier conversations, better decision-making

and eliminates groupthink. A company-wide gender policy is an effective
way of clearly communicating the company’s strategy to achieving diversity,inclusion, and gender equality, including on boards. The policy should beintersectional in nature to ensure recruitment and retention of womenfrom diverse backgrounds, abilities and identities. A focus on eliminating
gender biases and stereotypes signals that the board values women’sequal representation and contributions. An effective gender policy requires
clear targets and strategies for implementation, monitoring and evaluation.

CARRY OUT REGULAR BOARD EVALUATIONS
2. Regularly
reviewing board culture, composition, effectiveness andperformance can offer insights on how the board can improve by identifying
gaps in diversity and inclusion. Appointing a diversity manager or board
focal point to monitor progress can help the company stay on track andensure that women are equally represented and valued on boards.

SKILLS-BUILDING, MENTORSHIP,
3. PROVIDEAND OPPORTUNITIESGlass ceilings and walls in workplaces hinder women’s ability to climb thecorporate ladder, therefore limiting the pool of eligible women for board
positions. Collecting gender data with strong attention to intersectionality

can help identify where barriers exist along the corporate pipeline.
This can inform gaps in women’s access to skill-building, leadership training,
mentorship opportunities, and access to ‘hot projects’ that would allow
them to grow and be part of initiatives that launch their company forward.

AGE AND TERM LIMITS
4. INSTITUTEBoards must balance the need to bring fresh perspectives, skills andexperiences, while retaining institutional memory and knowledge.
Putting in place age and term limits will not only help to continuously
refresh the board composition but also increase opportunities for women.
Adding seats at the table for qualified women and underrepresented
groups is a quick win.

NEW METHODS AND AVENUES
5. EXPLORE
OF RECRUITMENT

Candidates tend to be drawn from the same familiar networks, contributingto narrow and homogenous groups of candidates. Built-in biases within
recruitment and hiring practices tend to prioritize men over women,
for example requiring previous board director experience, rather than valuing
skills that make a board member truly effective. New evaluation matrices
and networks should be explored to broaden the pool of possible talent andto help identify suitable women candidates.

Equality
Means
Business
Sign the Women’s Empowerment Principles
and say #WeCommit to advancing genderequality in the workplace, marketplace andcommunity. Make today your signature
moment at weps.org

WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT PRINCIPLESPrinciple 1

Establish high-level corporate
leadership for gender equality.

Principle 2

Treat all women and men fairly at work
– respect and support human rights
and nondiscrimination.

Principle 3

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

Principle 4

Promote education, training andprofessional 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
progress to achieve gender equality.

The work on WEPs and equal pay for work of equal value is fundedby the European Union through the WE EMPOWER – G7 programme,
implemented in collaboration with the ILO (2018-2020).