100 points to know about...
Inclusive project management

A global EU strategy for gender inclusion

The EU strategy for gender inclusion responds to the commitment of the Von der Leyen Commission to achieve a Union of equality. It sets out objectives and actions to make significant progress towards a gender-sensitive Europe by 2025. The aim is to achieve a Union where women and men, girls and boys, in all their diversity, are free to follow their chosen path in life, have equal opportunities to lead successful lives and where they can participate in and lead our European society as equals.

Inclusion and sustainability, same fight, same impact

Although long invisibilised in the various intergovernmental treaties on sustainable development, gender equality is now recognised as a prerequisite for achieving sustainable development and is integrated into all the goals and targets of the UN 2030 Agenda. Equal access to education, decent work and representation in political and economic decision-making processes is the basis for equitable societies. Investing in gender equality and the empowerment of all women supports progress on all 17 SDGs, including contributing to poverty eradication, climate change mitigation and adaptation, biodiversity protection and sustainable economic growth.

A company that takes gender inclusion into account will therefore have significant sustainability impacts.

The benefits of gender inclusion for a company

The focus on diversity and inclusion brings real benefits to business such as:

• Being eligible for new business and therefore having the opportunity to boost performance
• Comply with the legislative framework, as contributing to equality is a legal obligation for every company
• Increasing its positive impact on society
• Encourage creativity, which can enable companies to move away from 'one size fits all' thinking
• Attracting better talent by being a more open-minded company and thus combining the attractiveness factor with the productivity factor
• Have complementary profiles and thus promote cohesion within the team
• Strengthen its brand image: consumers, customers, suppliers or candidates favour brands that support inclusion and diversity.

Finally, according to a report by the International Labour Organisation in 2019, more than 57% of organisations say that gender diversity initiatives have improved their results. 75% of companies that pay attention to gender diversity in leadership positions see an increase in profits of up to 20%.

It is therefore in a company's interest to engage in gender inclusion. In the next grain, we will look at some advice on how to do this.