Standards And Certification

EDGE Certification are the leading standards for
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DE&I), centred on a workplace gender and intersectional equity approach.

Women and men placed on geometric shapes

What Is EDGE Certification?

EDGE Certification is an effective instrument for sustainable progress based on objective, measurable evidence of an organization’s current status and progress; with clear standards of performance that create transparency and accountability for change in relation to workplace gender and intersectional equity.

EDGE Certification brings internal and external credibility to an organization’s DE&I progress through independently verified certification conducted by a third-party auditor.

EDGE Certified Seal

Organizations that achieve EDGE Certification are awarded an EDGE Certified Seal. This seal gives visible recognition that the organization chooses to hold itself to the highest standards in workplace gender and intersectional equity at one of the EDGE Certification levels: Assess, Move or Lead.

What Are The EDGE Global Standards?

The EDGE Global Standards – EDGE (gender-binary) and EDGEplus (gender and intersectionality) – offer a holistic framework against which organizations can measure where they stand in terms of gender and intersectional equity. The framework consists of requirements and specifications against which conformance is audited.

The EDGE Global Standards are built on four pillars that define success in gender and intersectional equity:

Representation

Pay equity

Effectiveness of policies and practices to ensure equitable career flows

Inclusiveness of the culture

Edge

EDGE (gender-binary) looks at men and women as two homogeneous groups.

EDGE Certified organizations are independently verified against the highest global standards in gender equity.

A diagram showing gender

EDGEplus

EDGEplus (gender and intersectionality) looks at women and men as diversified groups and measures the intersectionality of gender and other aspects of diversity, such as race/ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, working with a disability or nationality.

EDGEplus allows organizations to undertake a highly personalized assessment that is specific to their context priorities.

EDGEplus Certified organizations are independently verified against the highest global standards in diversity, equity and inclusion.

A diagram showing gender and intersectionality

What Is The Role Of The EDGE Certified Foundation?

The EDGE Certified Foundation is the guardian of the EDGE Certification Global Standards and assessment methodology, and oversees the EDGE Certification process.

Through its Global Standards, EDGE Certified Foundation, helps to:

Create a fairer place to work for employees

Attract, develop, motivate and retain higher performing, diverse talent and teams

Deliver genuine value to the ESG investor community

The EDGE Certified Foundation approves appropriately qualified independent, third-party certification bodies to perform audits and certify organizations against the EDGE Global Standards. To ensure the highest quality, consistency and robustness of outcomes, the EDGE Certified Foundation monitors the performance of approved certification bodies and their trained auditors.

The EDGE Certified Foundation oversees the use of the EDGE Certified Seals by EDGE Certified organizations.