A gender audit informs companies on how to reduce the gender gap. Gender auditing in generale promotes women’s participation in the labour market and opportunities for economic growth. Fostering gender audits help in strengthening women’s empowerment as a collective process, acting on the whole system of relations in which women are embedded: family, community, business, society in general.
The Inclusive Development Unit offers consultancy services to conduct gender audits thanks to the expertise of certified auditors.
Gender Audit, a definition
Gender audits are voluntary tools to assess compliance to gender equality policies and check the institutionalisation of gender equality into organisations. As a method for gender mainstreaming, gender audits help organisations identify and understand gender patterns within their composition, structures, processes, organisational culture and management of human resources, and in the design and delivery of policies and services.
Gender Audit is based on a series of criteria that assess multiple aspects of the organisation including corporate culture, governance, pay equity, and work-life balance.
Gender audits establish a baseline against which progress can be measured over time, identifying critical gender gaps and challenges, and making recommendations of how they can be addressed through improvements and innovations.
Why is it important for organisations to engage in this process?
- It is a strategic movethat prepares companies for future challenges. Gender equality, together with non-financial reporting, will become increasingly crucial in maintaining competitiveness particularly in the European market;
- Companies can benefit from tax reductions and bonuses, two measure that can lighten the burden and foster access to public funding for investment;
- Improvement in the productivity and motivationof workers, thus contributing positively to the company’s economic performance;
- Demonstrating a commitment to gender equality can enhance a company’s reputation, making it more attractive to human resources and customers sensitive to these issues.