UNDP awarded EDGE MOVE Certificate for gender equality in the workplace
We are happy to announce that UNDP has gone through a comprehensive review by the Economic Dividends for Gender Equality (EDGE) and been awarded The EDGE MOVE Certificate.
Strengthening an open, respectful, non-discriminatory, and inclusive, work environment across the entire organization is a key focus area of the UNDP People for 2030 Strategy and is at the centre of the Gender Parity Strategy, 2018–2021. In accordance with these commitments, the organization undertook a comprehensive review process of the following areas as part of the certification process: representation, pay equity, policies and practices, and inclusivity. The assessment found that the organization scored highly across all measures!
About the EDGE certification
EDGE is a leading global assessment methodology and business certification standard for gender and intersectional equity. It measures where organizations stand in terms of representation, pay equity, effectiveness of policies and practices to ensure equitable career flows as well as inclusiveness of their culture.
The EDGE certification is divided into three categories, denoting commitments, progress, and leadership. UNDP has been certified as EDGE MOVE which signifies that the organization is experiencing significant progress and taking steps to shift across all focus areas towards setting high success and achievement standards in relation to gender equality. This is the second highest certification award issued by EDGE and UNDP is one of only two UN Agencies (alongside UNICEF) to achieve this distinction.
Findings from EDGE’s assessment of UNDP
This review included a survey of over 7,000 employees who shared their perceptions of work at UNDP. It was evident from the results that people across the organization consider gender diversity a priority which is backed by leadership commitment, policies, and actions. Specifically, the EDGE review established that effectiveness of policies and practices to ensure equitable career flows is above the EDGE Standard of 65% in 4 out of 5 areas:
To summarize, the assessment found that:
- There is significant leadership commitment to gender inclusivity across UNDP
- Strong commitments and practices exist which ensure gender pay equity
- UNDP has achieved excellent outcomes on gender diverse recruitment, promotion and succession planning
- There is good gender representation across all positions and levels
- Genuine support and dedicated resourcing are in place in order to ensure gender diversity and inclusion
While generally very positive, the assessment revealed some areas for further improvement which included providing more flexibility in work-life balance and parental benefits, especially for women. In addition, investments in leadership development and retention of women in senior management positions require dedicated attention.
UNDP’s commitment to gender equality — hearing from colleagues
UNDP is committed to making gender equality, which is a basic human right and a necessity for a sustainable world, a reality. Women’s empowerment and gender equality are vital to achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and UNDP reflects this in its work, both internally and externally.
In a previous blog, Dima Al-Khatib, UNDP Resident Representative in Moldova shared,
“UNDP provides a platform that not only empowers its own diverse teams to give, support and serve, but also inspires and enables the governments we work with to adopt our approaches. A sort-of ripple effect of impact.”
Colleagues across the organization continue to reveal a strong positive attitude towards equal opportunities provided at UNDP across genders. In another blog, we met Rehab Al-Sanabani, a Gender Analyst for UNDP in Yemen, who stated that what makes her proud to work at UNDP is that the organization empowers women and works towards gender equality.
Receiving this prestigious certification and these positive testimonials is just the beginning. While the EDGE MOVE Certificate sends a clear message of the organization’s commitment to gender equity, UNDP aims to make further progress and to focus on investing in all areas identified for improvement.
