ESA Obtains EDGE Certification On Gender Equality
ESA Chief Diversity Officer and ESA Head of the Human Resources Department are pleased to announce that in March 2021 the European Space Agency has been certified by an independent auditor as complying with the EDGE (Economic Dividends for Gender Equality) standards for gender equality.
ESA has obtained the EDGE (Economic Dividends for Gender Equality) “Assess level” Certification, recognising the commitment and efforts undertaken to ensure gender equality at the workplace.
Over the last years, ESA has put a renewed focus on striving to enhance the innovative perspectives brought in by a diverse and gender-balanced pool of talents. Aiming at having a more structured approach towards internal measures supporting gender balance in the organisation, the Agency has therefore decided to undertake the EDGE Assessment and Certification process to evaluate and certify its commitment and results with respect to gender equality.
EDGE Certification is the leading global assessment methodology and business certification standard for gender equality and has been designed to help organisations create an optimal workplace for women and men and benefit from it. Launched in 2011, EDGE Certification’s diverse customer base consists of about 200 large organisations in 44 countries across five continents, representing 29 different industries and encompassing more than 2.4 million employees.
The EDGE Certification process included a comprehensive review of statistical data, ESA’s policies and practices, as well as an analysis of an organisation-wide survey aiming at assessing gender differences in staff perception on opportunities at the Agency (such as in recruitment, career progression and development).
"An Agency can only be as strong as its people, and drawing on a diversity of perspectives is key for fostering innovation”, ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher said only a few days ago on the occasion of the International Day of Women’s Rights.
The EDGE assessment has allowed ESA to take a closer look into its policies and practices supporting gender equality at the Agency, while also taking action to further reinforce its engagement in creating and ensuring a diverse and gender-equal workplace. In fact, as part of the exercise, ESA has also committed to defining and implementing a detailed action plan in order to boost progress towards gender balance within the organisation.
Providing a valuable guide in prioritising actions towards gender equality, the EDGE Certification has therefore represented for ESA a key milestone in its work to foster a balanced gender representation, by allowing to measure where the Agency stands against objective criteria, benchmark its initiatives against other organisations and be able to report on progress in a consistent, transparent and structured fashion.
As a result of this first assessment, ESA will continue strengthening its engagement in ensuring workplace gender equality, aiming at moving to the next EDGE Certification level in two years.
