-
The Euronext Equileap Gender Equality Eurozone 100 and Euronext Equileap Gender Equality France 40 indices offer exposure to companies with strong gender equality performance
-
Euronext Equileap Gender Equality France 40 is the first national gender index
Amsterdam, Brussels, Dublin, Lisbon, Milan, Oslo and Paris – 29 November 2022 – Euronext today announced the launch of the Euronext Equileap Gender Equality Eurozone 100[1] and Euronext Equileap Gender Equality France 40[2] indices. These gender equality indices are the first pillars of a broader family of indices addressing challenges around gender balance in the workplace.
In response to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) #5 “Gender Equality”, these indices have been developed by Euronext leveraging on Equileap’s Scorecard and Alarm Bell list to help market participants invest in listed companies committed to improving gender diversity and to respond to the increasing demand for Social thematic investments. The index methodology also applies activity-based exclusions, UNGC compliance and controversial activities exclusion.
The companies included in the indices are selected based on their gender equality score across four different categories:
- gender balance in leadership and workforce
- equal compensation and work-life balance
- policies promoting gender equality
- commitment, transparency and accountability.
The gender equality score provider for these indices, Equileap, assesses each company’s commitment to gender equality from its boardroom to its supply chain, and is inspired by the UN Women’s Empowerment principles. Euronext is one of the leading ESG index providers in Europe. Since 2021, Euronext has launched over 30 new ESG indices covering new categories to invest in, including broad ESG considerations, specific themes such as PAB, CTB, Biodiversity, Hydrogen, Water and Social as well as launching ESG versions of our national benchmark indices, the AEX ESG in Amsterdam and the OBX ESG in Oslo, following the successful launch of the MIB ESG in Milan and the CAC 40 ESG in Paris.
As an official partner of the Sustainable Stock Exchanges Initiative, Euronext firmly commits to the UN’s “2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development” and thereby to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (“SDGs”). Euronext has selected the SDGs that are most relevant to its impact areas, including SDG 5 Gender Equality, in its strategy.
Camille Leca, Head of ESG at Euronext, commented: “The launch of these indices is representative of Euronext’s corporate culture and values. Our company is diverse and inclusive by nature, and we see all forms of diversity as a key success factor of our federal model. We constantly innovate in our products and services offering to meet investors’ strong demand and need to carry out their ESG transition. As a market infrastructure, our role is to propose products for direct investment in ESG projects and, in this case, companies leading the way in gender equality performance.”
Diana van Maasdijk, CEO at Equileap, said: “We are proud to partner with Euronext to create indices that allow investors to align their portfolios with their values by tracking companies that meet both gender equality and ESG criteria. It appears that high-performing companies with the drive to do the right thing when it comes to addressing gender equality at work apply the same ethos to other key ESG criteria. Investors looking to create a better society with equal opportunities for women at work can now use these indices to back high-quality, high-performing companies.”