Why Report

Principle 7 of the WEPs underscores that accountability and transparency go hand-in-hand. Companies that have signed the CEO Statement of Support have explicitly stated their intention to measure and publicly report on their progress towards gender equality in their workplace, marketplace and community. Business leaders and stakeholders agree that while not everything of value can be counted, it is difficult to manage what you do not measure.

There are many internal and external benefits of measuring and publicly reporting on a business’ efforts to implement the WEPs and the results. Businesses can build on existing management systems or tailor new ones to routinely gather gender-specific (sex-disaggregated) data and analyze, track and benchmark their performance over time. By setting up such management systems, a business can identify and replicate positive measurable impacts and results to further drive gender equality. There is added value in using a standardized set of parameters and indicators to measure progress as it allows businesses to compare their performance with peers and effectively communicate progress to stakeholders.

Benefits of measuring and reporting on progress include the following:

• Track progress against commitments

• Identify gaps in existing policies and procedures and develop a roadmap for action

• Identify high impact initiatives and practices for further replication

• Benchmark performance against competitors

• Demonstrate progress to key stakeholders - investors, NGOs, employees, labour unions, consumers and business partners among others – attract and maintain talent and gain public recognition