Sustainability

Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index Doubles in Size, Recognizing 230 Companies Committed to Advancing Women in the Workplace

January 16, 2019

2019 GEI companies disclose higher levels of female representation at the executive level, in addition to providing best-in-class policies and benefits to support gender equality

New York, 16 January 2019 – Bloomberg announced the launch of its 2019 Gender-Equality Index (GEI), which this year selected 230 companies committed to transparency in gender reporting and advancing women’s equality in the workplace. The index more than doubled in size from 2018 and includes firms from 10 sectors headquartered across 36 countries and regions. Collectively, these firms have a combined market capitalization of USD9 trillion and employ more than 15 million people ­— including 7 million women — around the world. Argentina, mainland China, Israel and South Africa are among the 13 markets represented for the first time this year.

“Greater transparency around workplace inclusion helps firms demonstrate accountability to their employees, investors and communities,” said Peter T. Grauer, Chairman of Bloomberg. “Bloomberg’s standardized gender reporting framework serves as an underlying tool to guide disclosure, allowing companies to measure and manage gender equality across all their operations and businesses. It also provides these leading organizations an opportunity to inspire each other and develop best practices.”

Bloomberg’s reporting framework provides a comprehensive, standardized format for companies to voluntarily disclose information on how they promote gender equality across four distinct areas: company statistics, policies, community engagement and products and services. Reporting companies that score above a globally-established threshold, based on the extent of their disclosures and the achievement of best-in-class statistics and policies, are included in the GEI.

“Our inclusion in the Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index reflects our commitment to gender parity at all levels of the company,” said Susan Story, CEO of American Water. “I find that it makes us stronger. If you do not reflect your communities and the customers you serve, you are not optimizing your business performance. It is not only the right thing to do, but also the smart business strategy.”

GEI companies are leaders among publicly-listed firms in their willingness to report and the success of their inclusion initiatives. Currently, only 10% of eligible companies are disclosing their workplace gender policies and practices.

“Today’s investors increasingly incorporate environmental, social and governance data into their decision-making,” said Brian Moynihan, CEO of Bank of America. “Our research analysts have shown that companies that focus on ESG tend to perform well over time.”

Kiersten Barnet

Kiersten Barnet, Manager, Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index. Photographer: Lori Hoffman/Bloomberg

“As the investment community places greater value on gender equality, the Bloomberg GEI identifies the companies that excel at driving inclusion,” said Kiersten Barnet, Manager of the Bloomberg GEI. “We are encouraged by the growth of the index within the past year, which demonstrates that across the world, more organizations are prioritizing transparency and equality in the workplace.”

Disclosures from firms included in the 2019 GEI provide a wide-ranging and comprehensive look at how companies around the world are investing in their female colleagues. According to GEI data:

  • Women had a 40% increase in executive level positions between fiscal years 2014-2017.
  • 60% of firms conduct compensation reviews to identify gender-based variations in pay to close their average 20% pay gap (18% on average in the Americas, Europe, Africa and Middle East regions and 26% in Asia-Pacific).
  • 34% have programs in place to recruit women looking to return to work after a career break.
  • For U.S. employees, the average number of weeks of fully paid primary leave offered is 13 weeks, and the average number of weeks of fully paid secondary leave offered is 5 weeks.
  • 43% of firms cover gender reassignment services in health insurance plans.
  • 68% of firms evaluate all advertising and marketing content for gender biases prior to publication.

Forty perfect increase executive level positions

The Bloomberg gender reporting framework is voluntary and has no associated costs. The GEI is a reference index. All public companies can submit data to Bloomberg. Those with a security listed on a U.S. exchange and a market capitalization of USD1 billion or greater are eligible for index inclusion. For more information on the GEI and how to submit information for next year’s index visit: https://www.bloomberg.com/professional/solution/gender-equality-index/

Bloomberg subscribers can access the GEI at {BGEI Index DES <GO>}. The data is also available to clients of Bloomberg’s Enterprise Data business. All users will have access to the fully updated data on Friday, January 18, 2019.

Companies included in the 2019 Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index:
A.P. Møller-Mærsk A/S
AB InBev
Accenture
adidas
Adobe
ADP
Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.
Aetna, Inc.
AGNC Investment Corp.
AIA Group Limited
Air Products & Chemicals, Inc.
Alcoa Corporation
Alliance Data
Alliant Energy
Allianz
Alpha Bank
American Electric Power
American Express
American Water
AMN Healthcare Services, Inc.
Anglo American
Annaly Capital Management, Inc.
Apollo Global Management, LLC
ArcelorMittal
AstraZeneca
AT&T
AU Optronics
Avon Products, Inc.
BAE Systems PLC
Banco Bradesco S/A
Banco Santander
Bank of America
Bank of Montreal
Bank of Queensland
Barclays
BB Seguridade Participações S.A.
BBVA
BNP Paribas
BNY Mellon
Boston Scientific Corporation
BT Group PLC
BYD Company Limited
CAE
CaixaBank
Campbell Soup Company
CAPCOM Co. Ltd.
Capital One Financial Corporation
Centene Corporation
Charles River Laboratories International, Inc.
CIBC
Cie de Saint-Gobain
Cisco
Citi
City Developments Limited
The Clorox Company
The Coca-Cola Company
Coca-Cola FEMSA
Commercial International Bank, Egypt (CIB)
Commonwealth Bank of Australia
Core Laboratories
CVS Health
Dai Nippon Printing Co. Ltd.
Daiwa House Industry Co. Ltd.
Daiwa Securities Group Inc.
Danone
Danske Bank A/S
DaVita, Inc.
DBS Group Holdings Ltd.
Deutsche Post DHL Group
Deutsche Telekom AG
Diageo PLC
Dominion Energy
Don Quijote Holdings Co. Ltd.
Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd.
DuPont
Enagás S.A.
Enbridge
Erste Group Bank AG
The Estée Lauder Companies
Etsy
Euronav NV
Eversource Energy
Evertec
Fifth Third Bancorp
First Data Corp.
First Horizon National Corporation
First Pacific Company Limited
FirstEnergy
Ford Motor Company
Fortescue Metals Group Ltd.
Franklin Templeton Investments
Galp
Gap, Inc.
General Motors
Gold Fields
Goldman Sachs
Grupo Financiero Banorte
Grupo Televisa, S.A.B.
Harmony Gold Mining Company Limited
The Hartford
Horace Mann
IAMGOLD Corporation
Iberdrola
ICL
Illumina
Incitec Pivot Limited
ING
Ingredion Incorporated
Intesa Sanpaolo
Itaú Unibanco
Janus Henderson Group PLC
JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Just Eat
Kao Corporation
KASIKORNBANK PCL
KB Financial Group, Inc.
Kering
Legal & General Group PLC
Leidos Holdings, Inc.
LendingClub
Lenovo
Lionsgate
Lloyds Banking Group
L’Oréal
lululemon
Manulife
Marsh & McLennan Companies
Mastercard
Maybank
Mediobanca
MetLife, Inc.
MINDBODY, Inc.
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group
Mizuho Financial Group, Inc.
Morgan Stanley
Morningstar, Inc.
Motorola Solutions
MS&AD Insurance Group Holdings, Inc.
National Australia Bank
National Bank of Canada
National Bank of Greece
Nestlé
Newmont Mining Corporation
Nidec Corporation
Nielsen
NiSource
NN Group
Nokia
Nordea Bank
Northern Trust Corp
NTT DOCOMO
NVIDIA
Old National Bancorp
Orange
Pampa Energía
Pearson
Pitney Bowes, Inc.
PNC Financial Services Group
Portland General Electric
Praxair, Inc.
Procter & Gamble
ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE
Prudential Financial
Prudential PLC
QBE Insurance Group Limited
Radian Group Inc.
Rapid7, Inc.
RBS
RELX Group
Robert Half
Rogers Communications, Inc.
Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC
Royal Bank of Canada
S&P Global
Sanderson Farms
SAP
Schneider Electric
Scholastic
Schroders
Scotiabank
Sempra Energy
Shinhan Financial Group
Signet Jewelers Limited
Silicon Valley Bank
Singtel
Sodexo
Sonova
SSE PLC
Standard Chartered Bank
Standard Life Aberdeen PLC
State Street Corporation
STMicroelectronics
Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group
Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings
Sun Life Financial
Swedbank
Swiss Re
Symantec
Tahoe Resources, Inc.
Taylor Morrison
TD Bank Group
Teck
Telefónica
Telia Company
Terna
Tokyo Electron Limited
TransCanada Corporation
Türkiye Garanti Bankası A.Ş.
UBS
Unilever
Unum Group
UOB Group
UPM-Kymmene Corporation
Visa, Inc.
Vodafone Group
Voya Financial, Inc.
Walmart
Walmart de México y Centroamérica
Wells Fargo & Company
Welltower
WESCO International, Inc.
Westpac Group
Weyerhaeuser
Willis Towers Watson
WPP
Yum China Holdings, Inc.
Yum! Brands, Inc.
Zillow Group, Inc.
Zurich Insurance
Zynga, Inc.

Media Contact 
Veronika Henze
Bloomberg LP
+1-646-324-1596
vhenze@bloomberg.net

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