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What Does EDGE Certification Measure?

The EDGE and EDGEplus Global Standards, assessment methodology and certification system are built on four pillars that define success in gender and intersectional equity, namely:

  • Representation
  • Pay equity
  • Effectiveness of policies and practices to ensure equitable career flows
  • Inclusiveness of the culture

Gender and intersectional equity are measured by looking at qualitative and quantitative processes and outcomes from three different sources: statistical data, policies and practices, employee survey. These are all used to determine the EDGE Certification level attained by a certifying organization

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Representation

Representation

Representation supports both diversity of experience and improvements in decision-making.

The EDGE and EDGEplus Global Standards require organizations to measure representation along the pipeline, across different types of jobs and different levels of responsibility.

Pay equity

Pay Equity

Pay equity is a necessary condition for a fair workplace. As part of the EDGE Empower® assessment, pay equity can be measured via a triangulation of:

  • Statistical data on the differences in overall pay between men and women
  • Information on the policies and practices in place to ensure pay equity
  • A qualitative assessment of employees’ own evaluation of pay equity within their organization

Tackling gender pay inequality requires conscious action from organizations. The process of obtaining EDGE Certification encourages gender pay gap reporting, helps organizations identify where their disparities in remuneration lie, and guides them towards progressively closing their gender pay gap.

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Effectiveness

EDGE Certification includes a thorough assessment of organizations’ policies and practices, seeking to analyse if they are effective in promoting equitable career flows.

Organizations can achieve equity in the workforce by ensuring pay equity, fairness in recruitment and promotion practices, opportunities for training and career development, access to flexible working, and fostering a fair, safe and inclusive organizational culture.

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Inclusiveness

A key element of an organization’s journey to EDGE Certification is taking an inventory of its employees’ experiences and understanding how their perceptions compare to implemented policies and practices and to the statistical evaluation of its representation and pay equity data.

The perceived inclusivity of a workplace is analysed on the basis of the lived experiences of the employees, captured through an employee survey that records their perceptions of:

  • Recruitment and promotion practices
  • Pay equity
  • Opportunities for development and growth
  • Flexible working
  • Their organization’s commitment to practically implementing a diverse and inclusive workplace
edge standards framework

Passing the EDGE (gender-binary) Standard requires quantitative data and qualitative information from three different sources about an organization’s approach to, and implementation and employees’ rating of, gender equity in the workplace for a given 12-month reference period:

  • Organizational statistics disaggregated by gender and level of responsibility. There are 11 data tables.
  • A questionnaire including 31 questions directed at Human Resources or Diversity & Inclusion professionals assessing the level of implementation of a series of policies and practices that are known to foster equal opportunities for women and men.
  • An employee survey comprising of 24 mandatory questions – a declaration of consent, three (3) personal characteristics questions, and 20 thematic questions on recruitment and promotion; equal pay for equivalent work; leadership, development, training and mentoring; flexible working; and organizational culture.

Data and information from the organization, for the relevant reference period, will have been inputted to the EDGE Empower® software by the client, usually after guidance or help from EDGE Strategy or from one of EDGE Strategy’s Licensing Partners.
The Certification Body shall verify the inputs to the EDGE Empower® software, basing performance ratings and findings on objective evidence. It is the combination of the data and information, organized as indicators against the four pillars, which shall determine how well a client meets the EDGE Standards.

Passing the EDGEplus Standard requires certifying organizations to include information for one, two, or all three sources of information, for the specific diversity dimension(s) that they are choosing to measure:

  • Data Tables – Organizational statistics disaggregated by gender and by the relevant selected intersectional dimension(s).
  • Policies and Practices Questionnaire – If an organization has chosen to include Policies and Practices in the analysis, it is mandatory to answer all the additional EDGEplus questions related to the chosen intersectional dimension(s).
  • Employee Survey – If an organization has chosen to include the Employee Survey in the analysis, the organization shall include all the survey questions that are relevant to the intersectional dimension(s) included in the analysis.