“Women’s’ exclusion from the digital world has shaved $1 trillion from the GDP of low and middle-income countries in the last decade.” - UN Women Australia
This year’s International Women’s Day (IWD) theme was ‘Cracking the Code: Innovation for a gender equal future’. Giving women equal access to digital technology can help improve their safety, support them to escape family violence and provide employment opportunities - contributing to a robust economy.
The digital divide is not only detrimental to community well-being, but it has a direct effect on global economies. And corporate Australia can’t afford not to address gender equity.
Corporate Australia has a role to play
The recent World Economic Forum (Davos 2023) confirmed that ‘businesses will only thrive if communities prosper’. The trend of considered purchasing is here to stay. And the companies that are responding to socially conscious stakeholders aren’t just doing so from a place of good will. They are doing it to keep up with their competitors.
“There is growing evidence that companies that take their environmental and social responsibilities seriously, perform better financially.” -World Economic Forum
Consumers, employees and even investors are paying attention to the brands that contribute above and beyond the bottom line. But if you want to position your organisation as contributing to the greater good – it can’t be done in halves.
Are you meeting gender equity halfway?
Many business and government organisations are already addressing gender-based challenges through internal diversity and inclusion initiatives. From reviewing policies, to evaluating gender pay gaps and elevating deserving women into leadership positions.
These are all important strategies to support a more inclusive and equitable workforce. However, they exist to serve the women that have already managed to get their foot in the ‘corporate’ door (so to speak).
If your organisation has made it this far, it means you're only halfway there.
As well as looking within, businesses now need to take a broader lens to support equality and inclusion. ESG has the potential to elevate your market position - if the ‘S’ is harnessed to its full potential. It can serve as a tool to help you invest in gender equity both within your organisation and across the communities in which you operate.
How does the ‘S’ in ESG, leverage gender equity?
Environmental (E), Social (S), Governance (G) presents corporate Australia with an adaptive challenge. It’s no longer ‘nice to have’ or an extra page to your company website. Good ESG provides a unique competitive advantage to any business operating today. And the key to best practice lies beyond the existing skills and resources within most companies.
Success in ESG means flipping your view to the external. And the ‘Social’ component is your license to unlock the gender divide.
“You might not know it, but there’s an entire sector that’s road-tested the ‘S’ in business globally, for decades. They’re social enterprises, and we can show you how to leverage their successful ‘S’ business models”. - Tara Anderson, CEO, Social Traders.
Social enterprises are businesses for good, already creating meaningful social and environmental impacts. A number of them are actively contributing to gender equality and equity, within some of Australia’s most marginalised communities.
A complete ‘S’ solution taps into the potential of these businesses for good. It means supporting gender equity across the community, to complement your existing corporate inclusion strategy. It’s a solution that is both measurable and scalable.
There are several ways you can embed social enterprise into your ESG. The first step is to buy from these innovative businesses. Social procurement is a tangible way you can use the money you’re already spending today, to contribute to a better tomorrow.
Another way is to develop an all-encompassing ESG strategy, which capitalises on the opportunity of the ‘S’. This means going beyond ticking the box and entrenching the ‘S’ into your core business practices.
Cracking the code needs innovation
It requires innovation if we are to crack the code and bridge the gender divide. Business and government leaders are now presented with a unique challenge; to create tangible solutions to social inequality.
Yet, a complete ESG output involves an innovative mindset. It requires looking outside operational know-how and internal expertise. If the ‘S’ is scaled to support broader social inclusion, companies can create a compelling competitive advantage. The organisations that aren’t leveraging ESG to its potential - are already getting left behind.
Innovation takes daring. You'll need adaptive leadership skills, deep change management expertise and the vision to know what success looks like. Innovative business and governments are already winning the hearts, minds and wallets of their stakeholders.
Delivering the ‘S’ has the potential to support gender equity at a systems change level. Are you ready to lead the charge?
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Social Traders is Australia's leader in social enterprise procurement and have the industry capability to achieve your version of ESG best practice. We tailor ESG to meet your business goals, create a competitive advantage for your brand and embed sustainable solutions.