Gender data is still invisible

In 2020, our Gender Baseline Report looked at publicly available information and found that companies were disclosing just a fragment of what stakeholders expect to be able to see regarding gender equality and women’s empowerment. Nearly a year later, despite inviting companies to submit additional information, there are still massive data gaps.

In the workplace, seven companies (20%) collect gender data on the gender balance of its workforce by at least three occupational functions. Only six companies (17%) collect gender data on percentage of employees promoted. Regarding the annual turnover of employees, merely five companies (14%) collect data disaggregated by gender, and only Inditex tracks this data annually. However, not a single company collects gender data on the absenteeism levels of employees. In terms of the gender pay gap, only Adidas and Inditex disclose the difference between women and men’s earnings across their operations globally.

In the supply chain, Walmart is the only company that collects data on the total procurement spend directed to women-owned businesses. Adidas is also the only company that collects gender data on the injury rates of supply chain workers.

No companies collect gender data on the remediation of violence and harassment grievances in the workplace, or require their suppliers to collect gender data on the remediation of violence and harassment grievances reported by their workers.

If we are to adequately address the needs of 50 percent of the population, companies need to be much more explicit about how women are impacted by their actions, and what they are doing to address those impacts. Apparel companies need to be held accountable; a key step is to ask them for robust gender data.