The road to achieving gender equality is still long: in the world there are too many differences between men and women at work, in terms of wages, assistance and pensions, in management positions and in participation in political and institutional life. Always sensitive and attentive to these issues, ISOIL Industria is actively working to achieve the UNI PdR 125 Certification and to implement Whistleblowing: two concrete actions to guarantee an inclusive and respectful work environment.
Gender gap: the global situation
The World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2024, which analyzed 146 economies reveals that, despite a slight improvement in 2024 compared to the previous year, globally we are progressing too slowly towards gender equality: it would take 134 years to reach the goal.
Excellent results have been achieved by the Nordic countries (Iceland is in first place, followed by Finland and Norway) and Italy, with a declining score, shows substantial stagnation in the reduction of gender inequalities and is ranked 87th in the world. Further efforts are necessary to close the existing gaps and one of the priority actions is the implementation of effective inclusion and diversity policies in companies.
Achieving, improving and documenting gender equality with UNI PdR 125 Certification
To incorporate the gender equality paradigm into the DNA of organizations and produce sustainable and long-lasting change over time, the UNI PdR 125 regulation was introduced, which encourages companies to create a more inclusive environment by following specific guidelines and best practices.
Published on March 16, 2022, the Reference Practice for gender equality provides for the adoption of specific Key Performance Indicators in relation to 6 evaluation areas for the following variables: Culture and strategy, Governance, Human Resources processes, Growth opportunities and inclusion of women in the company, Equitable remuneration by gender, Protection of parenthood and work-life balance. A percentage weight is assigned to each of these areas and to obtain the certification, which is valid for three years and is subject to annual monitoring, the minimum score is 60%.
A matter of culture
Companies that achieve UNI PdR 125 certification obtain business advantages: the McKinsey data on equality between men and women highlight that companies that actively engage in this type of program obtain economically measurable benefits.
Gender equality is also included in the Sustainable Development Goals defined by the UN and companies that actively engage in the field of Social Sustainability obtain a positive reputational return.
ISOIL Industria firmly believes that the importance of the UNI PdR 125 Certification is not limited to the sum of the advantages listed above: it represents a real method that helps companies to orient themselves on which programs to carry out to rebalance the genders in terms not only of presence but also of culture.
Embarking on the path towards Certification allows you to take a snapshot of the situation relating to gender equality in the company through an initial evaluation of numbers and equality indicators, to build a strong sponsorship through an equality policy that must be defined by the top management; it then allows you to outline a plan with clear and measurable objectives and with performance indicators and to assign clear ownership to guide the plan and monitor its indicators.
Whistleblowing: a further step towards equity and inclusion
Another important initiative to combat gender discrimination but also illicit, fraudulent or dangerous behaviors that could occur within the organization is Whistleblowing (in reference to someone who “reports” someone else’s illicit behavior to someone).
The goal is to promptly and appropriately apply measures to protect employees, self-employed workers, freelancers, consultants, collaborators, volunteers and trainees, shareholders and people with administrative, management, control, supervisory or representative roles, colleagues and people in the same work context.
All companies that have adopted the organizational and management models provided for by Legislative Decree 231/2001 must equip themselves with an IT channel for Whistleblowing and we are taking action on this front.
Building a fair and inclusive future depends on all of us and follow us on our social profiles in this journey towards continuous improvement!