Scoring Criteria

Our Metrics

Gender Fair rates companies based on UN SDG#5: Gender Equality — internally and in the communities they serve.
Gender Fair rates companies on a 100-point index assessing five key areas:

We analyze a company's commitment to advancing equality in leadership throughout its organization. Questions include:

  • Does the company ensure equal access to training and development for men and women?
  • Is there gender balance on the company's board of directors?
  • Is there gender balance on the company's executive team?
  • Is there gender balance across the company's management?
  • Is there gender balance in the company's workforce?

Management figures are self-reported, and definitions may vary.

We analyze a company's ability to provide a supportive working environment for employees. Questions include:

  • Is the company committed to paying a living wage to all employees?
  • Does the company publish gender pay data and address any pay gaps?
  • Does the company have any of the following in regards to sexual harassment: a third party reporting hotline, ombuds, a non-forced arbitration policy?
  • Does the company have programs or policies that support employee wellbeing, such mental health & menopause support

  • Does the company provide paid parental leave to primary caregivers?
  • Does the company provide paid parental leave to secondary caregivers?
  • Does the company have programs or policies such as flexible work arrangements, back-up child/elder care,

Score provided by Advertising Benchmark Index, who developed the first-ever measurement for unconscious gender bias in advertising, which have been adopted by the ANA, AFE and #SeeHer as their Gender Equality Measure®.

Social Impact

  • Does the company track and report on racial and ethnic groups in its workforce?
  • Does the company support women- and minority-owned businesses in its supply chain?
  • Does the company have community-based programs that focus on gender equality specifically?

The Data We Use

The current iteration of public data was collected in 2024 from publicly available sources including annual reports, corporate social impact reports, sustainability reports, and company websites. Our ratings also incorporate credible, independent, third-party data from a number of sources, including the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as well as ABX, Equileap and Equilar. The data collection and evaluation timelines of these sources may differ from ours.

Due to the rigor of the validation process for Gender Fair Certified companies, evaluations of public companies are conducted once per year, and ratings are valid for one year from the date of validation, regardless of changes within Gender Fair or the rated organization.

If a foreign company has a U.S. division with its own executive committee and board, we will use the data for the U.S. division in our ratings. When rating foreign companies, we include their programs and policies in the U.S., and not in other markets.

We take every effort to ensure the accuracy of the data, and contact each company to give them the opportunity to confirm. Individuals and companies are invited to submit a request for correction for any information they believe is incorrect.

If you represent a publicly held company, and have questions about your company's rating, please contact us at research@genderfair.com.