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16.01.2019

 

Erste Group among global leaders selected for 2019 Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index

  • Bloomberg’s Gender-Equality Index (GEI) highlights firms with best-in-class practices in promoting gender equality through measurement and transparency
  • Erste Group is the first Austrian company ever to be selected for the Bloomberg GEI, whose data is increasingly being incorporated by investors into their decision-making
  • The 2019 index comprises 230 firms from 10 sectors headquartered across 36 countries and regions around the globe

Erste Group Bank AG 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. Erste Group is the first Austrian company to be selected for inclusion in the index, which includes firms from 10 sectors headquartered across 36 countries and regions, among them 13 markets represented for the first time in 2019. Collectively, these firms have a combined market capitalization of USD 9 trillion and employ more than 15 million people, of which 7 million are women, around the world.

“Currently, over 30 percent of the top management positions within Erste Group are held by women and it is our aim to raise that figure to 35 percent by the end of this year. Our transparent and clear commitment to achieving greater gender equality through concrete measures has helped Erste Group to join Bloomberg’s prestigious Gender-Equality Index – as the very first company from Austria and among the few whose focus is on the CEE region,” said Markus Posch, Head of Group HR at Erste Group. “Erste’s founding in 1819 was driven by the inclusive principle of extending banking services to all people. Two centuries later, we continue to see diversity and inclusion as a vital part of our business strategy, both in terms of satisfying our customers and for attracting the best and brightest talent to our workforce.”

GEI: A global standard for measuring best-in-class gender equality measures and policies

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. Erste Group’s GEI scoring (76.20) placed it above the overall average for the 2019 GEI and inline with the average for the 96 financial sector companies listed on this year’s index.

Demand for products and services using environmental, social and governance (ESG) data has seen a significant increase over the last years, as a growing number of investors are looking to incorporate ESG data into their investment decisions.

“We applaud Erste Group 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. “Erste Group’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.”


Gender equality at Erste Group: principles in action

Erste Group’s diversity and inclusion principles are reflected both in its Statement of Purpose and its Code of Conduct, which emphasise a work environment free of discrimination and harassment and values the work and worth of each and every person regardless of gender, age, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, skin colour, religious or political affiliation, ethnic background, nationality or any other aspect unrelated to their employment.

Erste Group set a group-wide internal target of having at least 35% of positions in top management and on supervisory boards filled by women by the end of 2019. This target applies to the group’s large local bank subsidiaries in Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Croatia and Serbia (excluding other subsidiaries or the savings banks in Austria). As of the end of 2017, 31% of positions in top management (Board and Board-1) were filled by women and the share of female supervisory board members of these banks already stood at 36%. The share of female employees across Erste Group as a whole stood at 63% at the end of 2017. To increase the number of women in senior management positions, Erste Group plans to increase the share of women in its international talent pool from 39% in 2017 to 50% over the coming years.

As part of its group-wide Sustainability Initiative of which Diversity is a part, Erste Group has implemented a variety of initiatives to support the development of female leadership. In Austria, for instance, the Erste Women’s Hub employee resource group has promoted such key initiatives as the WoMentoring programme, financial education for women, networking events for female employees and customers and focused on encouraging more men to take parental leave options and flexible work hours. Other examples include the new initiative Women in IT (“Erste WIT”), which strives to encourage more women to pursue careers in IT, and the decision by Erste Bank Hungary to sign the Hungarian Diversity Charter and launch Erste Nő (“Erste Women Club”), which focuses on promoting a family-friendly organisation, the work-life balance of working women and supporting mothers returning from maternity leave.