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

84 Gender equality initiatives
In some countries, such as Austria, Portugal, Denmark and Germany, there are special
prizes / awards for gender equality issues. Companies listed as “Best Workplaces” are
additionally awarded when they show outstanding commitment concerning the promotion
of gender equality in their workplaces.
In the process of identifying “Best Workplaces”, there are two instruments used for the
evaluation of applying companies in each country:
• The Trust Index© is an employee survey tool that measures the level of credibility,
respect, fairness, pride, and camaraderie within the workplace, i.e. the
five dimensions that correspond with the Great Place to Work model. Employee
responses to this instrument comprise the majority of an organisation's score for
the Best Workplaces lists.
• The Culture Audit© is a management questionnaire that is utilised to gain a
better sense of the overall culture of the organisation. It also includes a series of
open-ended essay questions designed to show the distinctive, unique or
unusual aspects of the company’s workplace and culture. This part also includes
a specific question on gender equality. Applicants are asked to present
the way in which gender equality is supported in the context of payment,
professional development of women and work-life-balance.
The company selection process is primarily based on the employees' responses to the
Trust Index©. In addition, support materials submitted by the company are evaluated,
including the company's response to the Culture Audit©, as well as information
gathered from other reputable sources such as media stories about the company.
In Austria and Portugal there are special prizes awarding companies that are great
workplaces for women: In Austria this special prize is called “Bester Arbeitgeber für
Frauen” (best employer for women).
In Portugal, there is the prize “Melhor Empresa para Trabalhar para Mulheres” (the
best company to work for women). As already mentioned, it is part of the broader
initiative “Best Workplaces in Portugal” in the frame of the Great Place to Work®
listings. The latter started in 2000 when the originator of the initiative in the USA
decided to extend it to Europe. Actually, Portugal was the first European country to
inaugurate the initiative, followed by Denmark, the UK and Italy in 2001 and the other
western countries in the following years.
In Portugal, a list of 30 “Best Workplaces” is organised each year. Since 2006, within
the listed companies, a special prize for the “Best Company to Work for Women” has
been established. The application process is open to all companies and registration is
available on the internet. The organisations submit their application spontaneously or
after being recommended by one of their employees. Each year, eligibility criteria are
checked and registration is formally accepted for a maximum of 100 organisations. The
selection process is primarily based on the employees' responses to the survey
mentioned above. In addition, support materials submitted by the company are also
evaluated, including the company's response to the Culture Audit©, as well as information
gathered from other reputable sources such as media stories about the company.
The level of trust, pride, and camaraderie within the workplace is measured on the
basis of the survey tool and a score is given to each of the participating companies.
This score is used to rank the companies. Every company participating in “Best
workplace in Portugal” automatically also participates in “Best workplace for women”,
as the questionnaire includes special questions regarding gender equality.