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Frequently Asked Questions

Discover how your company is contributing to advancing gender equality and identify what further action can be taken.

Questions about Non-discrimination and Equality

Why use the WEPs Tool - What is the benefit to my company?

While many companies have one-off policies and programmes to advance gender equality within their company, very few companies are taking advantage of the full spectrum of ways in which they can have positive impacts on women and girls. This tool aims to help your company set your direction on gender equality by identifying strengths, gaps, and opportunities in existing gender equality policies and programmes across your workplace, marketplace, and community. By completing the assessment you will learn good practices on advancing gender equality from around the world, have the opportunity to measure progress over time, benchmark against peers and industry standards, and leverage gender equality resources for continuous improvement.

The results will provide you with a good understanding of how you can take your gender equality policies and programmes to the next level!

Is this an auditing or certification tool?

The WEPs Tool is a self-assessment for businesses to identify strengths, opportunities, and areas for improvement in existing gender equality policies, programmes and initiatives. The voluntary tool will help companies of all sectors and sizes to implement the Women’s Empowerment Principles and identify areas where further action can be taken. The tool is based on self-reporting and meant to be a learning platform. The data is not third party validated and thus does not serve as a reporting mechanism, auditing tool, or certification.

How was the WEPs Tool developed?

Development of the WEPs Tool involved 12 regional consultations with over 285 participants representing more than 170 companies. The regional corporate consultations were accompanied by a series of expert interviews and consultations with more than 40 gender equality and corporate sustainability experts. 20 companies from around the world piloted the tool before its public launch in 2017.

Is this tool for MNCs or subsidiaries?

We recognize every company structure is different, so we leave it to your company to decide how best to utilize the WEPs Tool with your country subsidiaries. However, we do note that gender equality is contextual, thus you might find it beneficial for subsidiaries to take at the country level so they can accurately reflect their current country context.

Are the questions in the self-assessment relevant for small and medium sized enterprises?

Yes we encourage all companies of all sizes to take the assessment. While we recognize SMEs may have fewer resources and/or capacity to immediately address all the areas in which they can have maximum impacts, the assessment can help identify a plan of action and priority areas.

Are WEPs signatories required to take the Self-Assessment?

No company is required to take the assessment; however, we hope that all companies, especially those that commit to the WEPs, find the tool useful in measuring implementation of the 7 Principles.

Is this assessment only for business? What can other stakeholders do?

The WEPs Tool was developed for the business community, as the main objective is to help companies close the gender gap in their workplaces, marketplaces, and communities. Only companies will be able to register and complete the assessment. However, other stakeholders including civil society, international organizations, and governments are invited to promote the tool to the companies in their networks.

What information will I need to complete the self-assessment / to whom should I speak within the company about this?

The tool includes questions about your company’s policies and practices on gender equality across business functions. You many want to consult the following departments: Procurement; Human Resources; Diversity and Inclusion; Corporate Social Responsibility; Marketing; Product and Research Development; and Community or Government Relations. Pilot companies reported an average of 2-3 hours to complete the assessment.

How frequently should my company take the self-assessment?

We encourage companies to take the assessment on an annual basis to measure progress over time. In order to keep aggregate data trends consistent, we ask companies to refrain from submitting multiple assessments within one year, unless there have been major developments in gender equality policies or programmes.

What is the methodology behind the results?

The WEPs Gender Gap Analysis Tool is comprised of 18 multiple choice questions spread across 4 themes: Leadership, Workplace, Marketplace, and Community. Each question assesses a key approach to women’s empowerment within those 4 themes, such as non-discriminatory recruitment in the Workplace and responsible marketing in the Marketplace. During consultations conducted throughout the creation of this Tool, experts and companies identified more questions and practices related to the Workplace, and thus Workplace approaches account for over half of the 18 questions.

The questions have multiple responses and a user is asked to "select all that apply" to their company. The multiple choice options indicate specific practices across 4 management stages: Commitment, Implementation, Measurement, and Accountability. The number of practices varies by question.

Additional weight is given to practices enshrined in international conventions, such as ILO core conventions, that are considered minimum obligations to respect women’s rights.

Each question is weighted equally and the score is given in a percentage. This question score is calculated based on weights assigned to the four management stages as follows:

Your overall score, is an average of the 18 questions. If you answer 'not applicable', the points assigned to that question are not included in the overall score. The highest possible overall score is 100%.

The methodology for the WEPs Gender Gap Analysis Tool will continue to evolve as the Tool is regularly reviewed and as learnings on effective approaches to women’s empowerment emerge.

Questions about the Tool

Is there a fee to use the tool? What are the resources needed?

This tool is a public good and meant to help companies close the gender equality gap. There are no fees associated with this tool. Pilot companies reported an average of 2-3 hours to complete the assessment. With respect to human resources, pilot companies reported an average of 2-3 hours to complete the assessment.

Can the self-assessment be completed in sections? May I save as I go?

Yes you may save as you go. The assessment will be automatically saved every 5 minutes or you have the option to save and complete later.

Why should I complete the optional Outcome Indicators section?

Data on women and girls is limited. The collection and use of sex-disaggregated data (WEPs Principle 7) is critical to measuring progress and determining if your company’s policies and practices are successful. The majority of outcome indicators are drawn from international reporting frameworks, such as Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and EDGE Certification. We encourage companies to quantify the success of their policies and programmes as well as measure progress over time by reporting quantitative data. This data will also help you understand how you measure compared to your peers at the aggregate level.

I've completed the self-assessment, what happens next?

Congratulations for completing the assessment. Celebrate and share your strengths internally and externally and determine an action plan, based on the resources provided, to address areas in need of improvement. We encourage you to share results with senior leaders at your company to both communicate the company’s strengths as well as highlight the opportunities for further improvement.

Kindly note, the listed areas of improvement are for your company’s knowledge. No required action is necessary, but we encourage you to take the results into consideration when developing your next gender equality plan of action.

I don't understand a question or I am having technical difficulties. Who should I reach out to for assistance?

If you are having trouble with any of the questions in the survey or are unsure of anything, please reach out to weps-gapanalysis@unglobalcompact.org with any inquiries.

Questions about Privacy and Security

Will my company’s information remain private?

Protecting your privacy is a top priority. All data entered into the self-assessment is strictly confidential. Results will never be attributed to individual companies or disclosed publicly. Data will only be used in aggregated form to identify broader trends in workplace non-discrimination and equality practices, and to inform areas where additional support and resources may be needed.

Additionally, all data is stored on a modern and fully secured server. All user interactions and data sent to the self-assessment are encrypted using TLS connections that are comparable to online banking encryption. This ensures the complete privacy of all user data entered into the site during the self-assessment.

By using the tool, you will not only benefit from gaining a better understanding of your company’s progress on ensuring workplace non-discrimination and equality, but you will also contribute to the collection of valuable data at the aggregate level that will inform future work on workplace non-discrimination and equality.

While not mandatory, companies are encouraged to voluntarily share their results with stakeholders to promote dialogue and drive action towards strengthening workplace non-discrimination and equality.

How do I view the scores of my peers?

Unless a company makes their results public on their own website, all company results are confidential. Once the tool generates enough data, you will be able to benchmark your company at the aggregate level against companies by sector, region, country, and size.

Are there any risks to taking the WEPs Tool?

No. There are no risks to participating in this assessment. It is merely a learning platform to advance gender equality.

Contact Us

Feel free to contact us with any questions, concerns or suggestions at the following email:
weps-gapanalysis@unglobalcompact.org