Embedding gender in sustainability reporting : a practitioner's guide

Abstract

This gender resource document, made possible through a fruitful collaboration between the Global Reporting Initiative and International Finance Corporation (IFC), will be valuable for companies and other organizations, planning to embed all material aspects of gender in their sustainability reports. The case for promoting gender equality and integrating gender into sustainability reports is multi-faceted. Gender equality has long been enshrined in the international legal and policy frameworks ratified by governments around the world, yet inequality is still shamefully present throughout societies. This report highlights some of the existing and emerging business drivers for improving practices and reporting on material gender issues. These are further to the legal and ethical imperatives for reporting on gender issues (as, for example, set out in international human rights legal and policy frameworks), which are also discussed. In turn it offers practical steps on how to integrate gender in sustainability reporting. It can, for example, help organizations benefit from emerging best practices in sustainability reporting, achieve bottom-line benefits, and create new opportunities for women in the private sector by better understanding and managing gender perspectives in their businesses. Adding a gender perspective to existing non-financial reporting frameworks may also help private companies win recognition by workers, investors and consumers.