Gender Equality and the Corporate Sector

This paper focuses on how the commitment of businesses to promote gender equality within their organisations can be strengthened. A dual approach of encouraging voluntary measures and corporate social responsibility for gender equality on the one hand, and regulating and enforcing change through legislative reforms on the other hand are reviewed, focusing mainly on the European region. There are arguments for a business case for gender equality in terms of better financial performance and competitiveness, improved recruitment, and retention of talent. Nevertheless gender inequalities in employment prevail. Focusing on the areas women in management and decision-making, gender pay gap and work-family reconciliation, the paper reviews innovative policy measures undertaken in the European region assessing the merits of encouragement versus regulation. The paper concludes that employers cannot solve persisting gender inequalities in the corporate sector on their own. A mix of encouraging, enabling, and obliging measures is needed to advance gender equality in the corporate sector.