Previous findings Gender Benchmark

2021 Gender Benchmark

The 2021 Gender Benchmark assesses and ranks 35 key apparel companies on their contribution to Sustainable Development Goal 5: gender equality and women’s empowerment. The benchmark methodology was developed by the World Benchmarking Alliance in consultation with a wide range of stakeholders, and looks at companies’ entire value chains. Our assessment shows that the apparel industry is not on track to meaningfully contribute to Sustainable Development Goal 5. Although some companies demonstrate leading practices, most are yet to take transformative action to drive gender equality and women’s empowerment. To adequately address the needs of 50% of the population, companies need to be more explicit about how women are impacted by their actions and what they are doing to address those impacts.

Key findings

5 items

Measurement area findings

7 items

Gender Benchmark Baseline Assessment 2020

In 2020 the World Benchmarking Alliance intended to conduct its first-ever Gender Benchmark, with a focus on businesses in the apparel sector. However, given the COVID-19 pandemic and associated pressures on the fashion industry, we decided not to rank or score the chosen companies. Instead, we conducted a baseline assessment, focusing on the gender data disclosures of the 36 most influential apparel companies globally.

Key findings

3 items

Measurement area findings

7 items

Further reading

  • See all of our Gender Benchmark publications

    Explore the 2020 Methodology, Scoping Report and other publications related to the Gender Benchmark.

    See all publications