Study on non-legislative initiatives for companies to promote gender ...

66 Gender equality initiatives
The “Audit berufundfamilie”, the best know initiative of its kind in Germany and with
over 600 labelled companies highly successful, is designed as a dynamic process
leading to sustainable improvements of the work-life balance in the audited company/
organisation. The auditing process starts with a half-day strategy-workshop with the top
management, followed by a daylong auditing workshop with employee representatives
to capture the status quo as well as to develop concrete goals and activities to further
improve the situation. The process finally leads to a written agreement signed by the
top management, entailing specific activities and measures to further improve the worklife
balance.
Basis for the discussions in the auditing process is a comprehensive list of around 150
criteria grouped into eight main themes. For a positive evaluation, the quantity of the
offered measures is not of importance in the first place. Above all, the responsiveness
of the management to identified problem areas and the corporate culture within the firm
are assessed. The main themes are as follows: 1) working time: e.g. flexible working
hours, adaptation of working hours to life stages, sabbaticals; 2) work organisation: e.g.
team work, quality control, absence regulations; 3) work place: e.g. tele-working
arrangements, job-ticket; 4) information and communication policy: e.g. internal
communication policies, contact persons, family day; 5) management competences:
e.g. evaluation principles, coaching, part-time management positions; 6) human resource
development: e.g. individual development plans, support for re-entry after
maternity or care leaves, maternity leave for fathers; 7) wage components and payments
in kind: e.g. subsidies for child care, consideration of maternity leave; 8) services
for families: e.g. child care, elderly care, child-friendly atmosphere.
Annual reporting and a re-audit every three years support the sustainable approach of
the instrument. Outcome of the re-audit is a new set of goals and activities leading to
an updated written agreement, which is reviewed at the end of the second three-year
period. Once a year the audited companies are awarded in a formal ceremony.
In Latvia the label “Dzimumu līdztiesības logotips” (the logo of gender equality) has
been implemented in 2007. The companies applying for the label must submit required
documents to a commission which evaluates the company’s activities with a view to the
following criteria: facilities for children, internal security, employees’ involvement in
organisational development, availability of products and services to different customer’s
groups, consideration of customer’s rights, support for events for children and families,
measures for reconciliation of work and family life). The evaluation assesses the
measures implemented in the different fields and if a minimum of points is achieved,
the company is labelled. The status is assigned for two years and can be renewed by
undergoing a new evaluation.
Labels created in the framework of EQUAL
Sometimes labels were initiated in the framework of EQUAL-projects. In Cyprus
“Κανάλια Πρόσβασης“ (channels of access) focuses on women living in rural areas and
aims at fostering flexible forms of employment for unemployed women. The certificate
was awarded to companies after having gone through a process of self-assessment
covering various issues such as policies and implementation of flexible forms of
employment, benefits provided to employees, training of women, and working time
arrangements. The labelled enterprises received consulting and a re-design of their
employment procedures. A regional EQUAL-project in Slovakia “Šanca na rovnosť”
(chance for equality) audited companies based on a survey among its employees and a
management training concerning the implementation of gender equality policy, avoiding