MEDIOBANCA SELECTED FOR 2019 BLOOMBERG GENDER-EQUALITY INDEX, RECOGNIZING COMMITMENT TO ADVANCING WOMEN IN THE WORKPLACE

The 2019 Gender-Equality Index highlights 230 firms that are trailblazers in their commitment to transparency in workplace gender reporting

New York, 16 January 2019 – Mediobanca today announced that it is one of 230 companies selected for the 2019 Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index (GEI) which distinguishes companies committed to transparency in gender reporting and advancing women’s equality. The index doubled in size from 2018 and includes firms from 10 sectors headquartered across 36 countries and regions. Collectively, these firms have a combined market capitalization of USD9 trillion and employ more than 15 million people, of which 7 million are women, around the world. Thirteen markets are represented for the first time this year and include Argentina, China, Israel and South Africa.

“As far as we are concerned diversity is a value, which is why we will continue to work to improve our female employment indicators in all business areas. Though we are in line with the statistics for the banking sector as a whole, we are looking to support growth in the working population by introducing the appropriate training programmes” says Mediobanca’s CEO Alberto Nagel. The Group, which currently has a headcount of around 4,600 staff with women accounting for more than 40% of the professionals, has been providing additional support to employees on maternity leave since 2012.

“We intend to cover all issues relating to female employment in our annual non-financial reporting. With this in mind, it is important for us to initiate accurate monitoring of women in our workplace to further improve our performance in terms of gender inequality indicators”.

Bloomberg’s standardized reporting framework offers public companies the opportunity to disclose information on how they promote gender equality across four separate areas – company statistics, policies, community engagement and products and services. Reporting companies that score above a globally-established threshold, based on the extent of disclosures and the achievement of best-in-class statistics and policies, are included in the GEI. Demand for products and services using ESG data has seen a significant increase over the last years, as a growing number of investors are looking to incorporate environmental, social and governance data into their investment decisions. Still, currently only 10% of eligible companies are disclosing their workplace gender policies and practices.

“We applaud Mediobanca and the other 229 firms tracked by the index for their action to measure gender equality through the Bloomberg GEI framework,” said Peter T. Grauer, Chairman of Bloomberg and Founding Chairman of the U.S. 30% Club. “Mediobanca’s GEI inclusion is a strong indicator to its employees, investors and industry peers alike that it is leading by example to advance ongoing efforts for a truly inclusive workplace.”

Disclosures from firms included in the 2019 GEI provide a wide-ranging and comprehensive look at how companies around the world are investing in women. According to GEI data: 

  • Women had a 40% increase in executive level positions between fiscal years 2014-2017.
  • 60% of firms conduct compensation reviews to identify gender-based variations in pay to close their average 20% pay gap (18% on average in the Americas, Europe, Africa and Middle East regions and 26% in Asia-Pacific).
  • 34% have programs in place to recruit women looking to return to work after a career break.
  • For U.S. employees, the average number of weeks of fully paid primary leave offered is 13 weeks, and the average number of weeks of fully paid secondary leave offered is 5 weeks.
  • 43% of firms cover gender reassignment services in health insurance plans.
  • 68% of firms evaluate all advertising and marketing content for gender biases prior to publication.

The Bloomberg gender reporting framework is voluntary and has no associated costs. The GEI is a reference index. All public companies can submit data to Bloomberg. Those with a security listed on a U.S. exchange and a market capitalization of USD1 billion or greater are eligible for index inclusion. For more information on the GEI and how to submit information for next year's index visit: 

https://www.bloomberg.com/professional/solution/gender-equality-index/

 

 

Mediobanca Group