The focus on creating a gender-balanced workforce has been an ever-increasing priority for organisations across the board. A vital component of the growing focus on ESG goals, better, more equitable gender workplace policies are essential to modern talent strategies. And a recent report by Bloomberg pointed out that an ever-growing number of companies today focus on building impactful gender-equitable workplaces. 

In its recent report, the 2023 Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index (GEI) identified over 434 companies that made its Gender-equality Index. The global report assessed companies across five pillars—leadership and talent pipeline, equal pay and gender pay parity, inclusive culture, anti-sexual harassment policies, and external brand—and noted a significant rise in efforts to tackle gender imbalances in the workforce from last year. 

Nine companies from India, including Wipro, Tech Mahindra, Hero Motocorp, and Dr. Reddy's, made the cut and, based on the different parameters, were part of the 2023 Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index. 

In addition to finding the companies that have put in holistic efforts like revamping talent pipelines, addressing leadership biases, and creating an inclusive and safe workplace for all genders, the Bloomberg index reported a significant rise in how effectively companies tackle gender imbalances.  

A rise in gender-balanced workplace efforts

The GEI reported that over 64% of GEI members were reported to have implemented diversity and inclusion goals for managers in performance reviews. This was an 8-point increase from last year. Additionally, 86% of members offer unconscious bias training, with 74% of those companies tracking manager completion. Additionally, 70% conducted an equal pay audit.

These efforts were reported to play a significant role in improving the overall number of women leaders. And its impact could be felt on other dimensions of building a gender-equitable workplace. 

Representation, noted the report, mattered when it came to creating more  For example, the index reported that out of its members, companies led by women had a higher representation of women at all levels. “Those with greater than 30% women representation on the board have, on average, 27% of women executives within the corporation, as compared to 20% of women executives in firms with less than 30% of women on the board,”  the report noted. 

Reflecting the growing demand for flexible work, 93% of companies reported providing employees with work-from-home and flextime options. 

Building a holistic picture

To expand its purview and look at other related factors like race and sexual orientation, gender identity and ethnicity, GEI looked at other ‘exploratory questions’. Not part of the five pillars, these questions were included in the Framework to build a more holistic picture of how companies address DE&I issues today. The GEI reported that questions of this nature were surveyed but not scored and were necessary to push beyond the boundaries of what constituted a gender-equitable workplace.

GEI also noted a significant portion of companies taking part in the assessment were willing to disclose important talent information around DE&I.

“This year, GEI members’ disclosure for exploratory questions averaged at 92%, demonstrating collective interest in extending beyond gender inclusion metrics,” said Patricia Torres, Global Head of Bloomberg Sustainable Finance Solutions at Bloomberg, in a statement released by Bloomberg. “The GEI continues to identify areas of impact for companies, helping to facilitate meaningful change that, ultimately, will contribute to more innovation, creativity, and higher performance.”