US: IMF reiterates commitment to gender equality in workplace

Écrit par Antoine Lawson | 04 Octobre 2017

WASHINGTON D.C., US, October 4 (Infosplusgabon) - The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has received the level of certification of Economic Dividends for Gender Equality (EDGE), which recognises the Fund’s commitment to and progress in monitoring, benchmarking, and achieving workplace gender equality.

EDGE is the leading business certification for gender equality in the workplace worldwide.

An IMF statement made available to Infosplusgabon on Wednesday said that receiving the certification level, called ASSESS, means the Fund has already achieved landmark progress in ensuring that diversity and equality are an integral part of its work and values.

“The IMF promotes the full participation of women in the workforce globally. This empowers women, and makes sound economic sense. The IMF believes it is equally important that women are fully represented in the institution’s own staffing.

“Benchmarks for women representation have been in place since 2003, and significant progress has been made with women now accounting for 44 percent of the IMF’s total staff and 28 percent of senior management.

“The IMF expects to accelerate this progress and has committed to specific actions to achieve this result. The IMF has also gone beyond gender and committed to apply the EDGE methodology to assess its staffing on a regional basis, with emphasis on underrepresented regions,” it said.

According to the statement, the IMF is the first institution to use the EDGE methodology on both  gender and regional basis. Commitment to the EDGE process will help the Fund validate its progress against important external benchmark.

“We are honoured to be credited for our commitment to diversity and inclusion at the IMF” said IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde.

“The diversity of our staff is inherent to who we are, and building inclusion is integral to what we do. We are proud of the progress we have made and we are determined to do more. We will continue to raise the bar on our performance, accountability and transparency in these important areas.

“The IMF, by becoming EDGE Certified, is sending a powerful message to not only its 189 member countries but also to the rest of the world, that gender equality is a global imperative for economic growth.”

Meanwhile, EDGE Certified Foundation’s Co-Founder, Aniela Unguresan, said: “EDGE congratulates IMF’s Managing Director, Christine Lagarde and the IMF on its commitment to gender equality and its important leadership in this area.”

Created in 1945, the IMF is governed by and accountable to the 189 countries that make up its near-global membership. It works to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world.

EDGE is the leading global assessment methodology and business certification standard for gender equality. EDGE Certification has been designed to help organizations not only create an optimal workplace for women and men, but also benefit from it.

EDGE works with more than 170 organizations in over 40 countries and 22 industries. Its assessment methodology was developed by the EDGE Certified Foundation and launched at the World Economic Forum in 2011.

FIN/INFOSPLUSGABON/IEA./IEC/GABON 2017

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