Two Philippine firms land in Bloomberg's gender-equality index

Two Philippine companies - DMCI Holdings, Inc. and Semirara Mining and Power Corporation (SMPC) - made it to Bloomberg's 2021 Gender-Equality Index (GEI) which included almost 400 companies from 44 countries that were cited for their gender-related practices and policies.

DMCI Holdings, a diversified engineering conglomerate, and SMPC were included in this year’s index for scoring at or above a global threshold established by Bloomberg to reflect a high level of disclosure and overall performance across the framework’s five pillars.

The five pillars include female leadership and talent pipeline, equal pay and gender pay parity, inclusive culture, sexual harassment policies, and pro-women brand

According to Bloomberg, the 380 companies included in the index earned an average overall GEI of 66 percent and an average disclosure score of 94 percent. Data excellence scores were widely distributed between 50 and 90 percent, it added.

“The companies included in the 2021 GEI are expanding the ESG data universe to include gender-related data that investors are demanding today,” said Peter Grauer, chairman of Bloomberg.

“Their commitment to disclosure is making the business case for inclusion, and driving transparency in the markets,” he added.

According to Bloomberg, the The GEI brings transparency to gender-related practices and policies at publicly listed companies increasing the breadth of environmental, social, governance data available to investors.

The comprehensive, transparent GEI scoring methodology allows investors to assess company performance and compare across industry peer groups.

“We recognize the value and contributions of women across the DMCI group of companies. They occupy key positions in our Board, management and workforce. With our companies’ inclusion in the GEI, we hope to provide more women with the opportunities and support they need to reach their full potential,” said DMCI Holdings and SMPC chair and CEO Isidro Consunji in a statement.

Through disclosure of gender-related metrics using the GEI framework, the firms included in the 2021 GEI have committed to provide a comprehensive look at their investment in workplace gender equality and the communities in which they operate, raising the bar of what should be expected from other companies within the same industry.

The index found that 23 companies have a female CEO or its equivalent, with "still much work to be done" with female executives comprising only an average 21 percent and board members accounting for 29% of the GEI firms' board members.

Based on the GEI, 79 percent of the firms evaluate advertising and marketing materials for gender biases; while 69 percent of them have a strategy for recruiting women. -MDM, GMA News