90 notable companies leading the way to gender parity in 2021

Bloomberg recently revealed that 380 companies headquartered across 44 countries and regions made the list for the 2021 Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index (GEI).

According to a press release, this included firms domiciled in Indonesia and Bermuda that are reporting gender-related data for the first time.

Peter T. Grauer, Chairman of Bloomberg, noted: "The companies included in this year’s Gender-Equality Index are committed to providing an inclusive work environment, supporting work-life balance and flexible work arrangements to retain a talented workforce and create a competitive advantage in this changing business environment."

Flexible work environments

• 87% of companies included in the GEI provide flexible working hours.
• 85% offer flexible working locations, a benefit that has become more important amidst the Covid-19 pandemic.

Closing the gap

• GEI members’ boards are comprised of 29% women.
• 61% have a Chief Diversity Officer or an executive with the primary responsibility of diversity & inclusion.
• The companies have an average of 39% of women in revenue-producing roles.
• 52% of them require a gender diverse slate of candidates for management positions.

Culture of inclusion

• Index member companies are hiring more women than they are losing.
• 69% of which have a strategy for recruiting women.
• 59% conduct a global gender-based compensation review.
• On average, 85% of employees returning after parental leave remain with their company.
• 65% of companies offer on-site lactation rooms and 46% provide childcare subsidies or other financial support.

To top it off, the data revealed that communities are also benefiting from inclusive corporate policies. For instance, 60% of index member companies sponsor financial education programs for women and 64% sponsor programs dedicated to educating women in STEM.

Companies in the 2021 Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index include:

1. Accenture PLC
2. Adobe Inc
3. Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.
4. Allianz
5. American Express Co
6. Aviva PLC
7. AXA SA
8. Bank of America Corp
9. Barclays
10. Bayer AG
11. BNP PARIBAS
12. BNY Mellon
13. Burberry Group PLC
14. Bursa Malaysia Berhad
15. Campbell Soup Co
16. CBRE
17. Citigroup Inc
18. City Developments Limited
19. Credit Suisse
20. DANONE
21. DBS Group Holdings Ltd
22. Diageo PLC
23. DiGi.Com Bhd
24. Dow
25. DuPont
26. Estée Lauder Companies
27. Ford Motor Company
28. General Motors
29. Genting Singapore Limited
30. Hewlett Packard Enterprise
31. ING
32. Intel Corp
33. JLL
34. JPMorgan Chase & CO
35. Kao
36. Kering
37. Linde PLC
38. L’Oréal
39. lululemon
40. Malayan Banking Berhad
41. Manulife
42. Marriott International, Inc.
43. Marsh & McLennan Companies
44. Mastercard
45. Merck
46. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc.
47. Mizuho Financial Group
48. NatWest Group
49. Nestlé S.A.
50. Nielsen
51. NIKE Inc
52. Nokia
53. Nomura Holdings Inc
54. Novartis
55. NVIDIA
56. Pan Pacific International Holdings Corporation (PPIH)
57. PayPal Holdings, Inc.
58. Philip Morris Products S.A
59. Procter & Gamble
60. Prudential PLC
61. PT Mitra Keluarga Karyasehat Tbk
62. QBE Insurance Group Ltd
63. Robert Half
64. S&P Global Inc
65. SAP SE
66. Schneider Electric
67. Schroder Investment Management
68. Semirara Mining and Power Corporation
69. Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy
70. Singapore Exchange Limited
71. Singtel
72. SOCIETE GENERALE
73. SODEXO
74. Standard Chartered PLC
75. Standard Life Aberdeen
76. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group
77. Swiss Re AG
78. The Coca-Cola Company
79. UBS
80. Unilever PLC
81. UOB Group
82. Vodafone Group
83. Western Union
84. Willis Towers Watson
85. Wipro Ltd
86. WPP
87. Xero
88. Yum! Brands, Inc.
89. Zurich Insurance Group AG
90. Zynga Inc.

The GEI brings transparency to gender-related practices and policies at publicly-listed companies, increasing the breadth of environmental, social, governance (ESG) data available to investors. 

“As we continue to grapple with the pandemic, we’ve seen companies put increased emphasis on the ‘S’ in ESG,” said Grauer. 

Despite raising the threshold for inclusion in the 2021 index, a record number of companies disclosed their data, and the quality of disclosure continues to improve.

This year, GEI companies had a 94% disclosure score on average. While the average disclosure score was high, the average data excellence score was 55%, making it evident there is still work that needs to be done. The data excellence score is broken down into scores across five pillars: female leadership and talent pipeline, equal pay and gender pay parity, inclusive culture, sexual harassment policies, and pro-women brand.

The index is not ranked. The firms included in this year’s index scored at or above a global threshold established by Bloomberg to reflect a high level of disclosure and overall performance across the framework’s five pillars.

“As businesses strive to maintain strong corporate cultures in today’s virtual world, business leaders have the opportunity to drive progress on gender equality for years to come,” said Patricia Torres, Global Head of Sustainable Finance Solutions at Bloomberg. “This progress can begin with the GEI framework, which helps companies assess where they are on the path to gender parity relative to their peers, and hold themselves accountable to their goals. In turn, the GEI data gives investors a comprehensive view into how these practices are driving increased employee engagement and productivity, bringing higher market value to companies, and creating positive change in local communities.”

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