What is the Gender Equality Certification?

The Gender Equality Certification is a formal recognition that assesses an organization’s commitment to ensuring equal opportunities for women and men in the workplace.

It looks at several dimensions: access to employment, career growth, pay equity, leadership opportunities, work-life balance and parental support. In this sense, the certification is not just a symbolic recognition, but a structured tool to help companies reduce the gender gap and build fairer, more inclusive working environments.

In Italy, the certification is based on UNI/PdR 125:2022, introduced in 2022 to provide companies with a shared, measurable and verifiable methodology. Companies can refer to the official national portal for the Gender Equality Certification, while the certification process is connected to accredited conformity assessment bodies listed through Accredia.

The topic is fully part of the Social dimension of ESG. It is also connected to broader European policies and to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, especially SDG 5 on gender equality, which focuses on achieving gender equality and empowering women and girls.

For companies, working on gender equality is no longer only a matter of internal culture. It is becoming increasingly relevant for employer branding, ESG reporting, public tenders, investor expectations and stakeholder trust.

Regulatory framework and incentives

Although the Gender Equality Certification is not mandatory, the Italian regulatory framework has introduced several incentives to encourage companies to adopt it.

Certified companies may benefit from:

• a social security contribution relief equal to 1% of employer contributions, up to a maximum of €50,000 per year;

• additional scores in public procurement procedures;

• a 20% reduction in guarantee deposits required for public tenders;

• access to public funding to support the certification process, especially for SMEs and micro-enterprises.

Beyond these economic incentives, the certification also creates reputational and competitive advantages.

A company that can demonstrate a structured commitment to gender equality strengthens its brand image, improves its ability to attract and retain talent, and aligns itself with international best practices on diversity, equity and inclusion.

This is particularly important in a context where ESG performance is increasingly evaluated not only through environmental data, but also through social indicators related to people, governance and workplace culture. For this reason, gender equality data can also become relevant in broader sustainability reporting, ESG ratings and supplier assessments.

How the UNI/PdR 125:2022 certification works

The UNI/PdR 125:2022 certification is based on a structured model built around six thematic areas:

1. Culture and strategy

2. Governance

3. HR processes

4. Growth opportunities and inclusion

5. Pay equity

6. Work-life balance and parenthood

Each area includes qualitative and quantitative indicators that are weighted according to a scoring system. To obtain the certification, an organization must reach at least 60% of the total score.

The process generally includes:

• an initial assessment of the company’s current situation;

• a gap analysis against the UNI/PdR 125:2022 requirements;

• the implementation of improvement actions;

• the collection of supporting documentation;

• an audit conducted by an accredited certification body.

The certification is valid for three years, but it is subject to annual surveillance audits to verify that the organization continues to meet the requirements over time.

This means that companies cannot treat gender equality as a one-off project. They need to build a continuous management system, monitor KPIs, update policies and demonstrate progress through evidence.

This logic is very similar to other ESG processes: data needs to be collected, validated, monitored and reused across different outputs, from internal dashboards to external reporting. Frameworks such as GRI Standards or VSME can also help companies structure social and governance information in a more consistent way.

Benefits for companies

Investing in gender equality can generate benefits across several areas of the business.

Stronger company culture

Inclusive workplaces help improve employee wellbeing, engagement and participation. When people perceive that career growth, pay and opportunities are managed fairly, the overall organizational climate improves.

This can also contribute to reducing turnover, absenteeism and internal conflict.

Better talent attraction and retention

Gender equality policies can make a company more attractive to qualified professionals, especially in competitive job markets.

Candidates increasingly evaluate employers not only based on salary or role, but also on values, inclusion, flexibility and career development opportunities.

Stronger ESG and sustainability positioning

The Gender Equality Certification can become an important asset in ESG communication and sustainability reporting.

It provides measurable evidence of the company’s commitment to the Social pillar of ESG, helping organizations communicate their actions in a more credible and structured way.

This is particularly relevant for companies that want to strengthen their ESG rating, prepare a sustainability report or respond to customer requests related to diversity, equity and inclusion.

Competitive and economic advantages

The certification can also support business development by improving the company’s position in public tenders and procurement processes.

For organizations working with large companies, public institutions or regulated sectors, having structured social and governance practices can become a relevant differentiator.

Avoiding superficial approaches

The real challenge is not simply obtaining the certification, but integrating gender equality into the company’s strategy and daily operations.

A superficial approach risks turning the certification into a communication exercise rather than a real transformation process. This can expose companies to accusations of diversity washing or pinkwashing, especially if external claims are not supported by concrete policies, data and measurable progress.

For this reason, companies should approach the certification as part of a broader ESG management system.

This means connecting gender equality policies with HR processes, governance structures, KPI monitoring, internal training, reporting and continuous improvement plans.

The same principle applies to sustainability communication more broadly: claims should be based on clear data, evidence and traceable methodologies. This is also becoming increasingly important in the context of the EU Anti-Greenwashing Directive, which is pushing companies toward more verifiable sustainability communication.

How Metrikflow can support the certification process

Metrikflow helps companies simplify and structure the path toward Gender Equality Certification through an integrated digital platform.

With Metrikflow, companies can:

• monitor the KPIs required by UNI/PdR 125:2022;

• collect and organize the necessary documentary evidence;

• identify gaps through clear dashboards;

• manage improvement plans with assigned and traceable tasks;

• centralize HR, governance and ESG data;

• integrate gender equality information into sustainability reports and ESG reporting workflows.

This makes the certification process more structured, measurable and easier to manage over time.

Instead of relying on scattered files, spreadsheets and manual follow-ups, companies can create a single source of truth for gender equality data and documentation.

With Metrikflow, gender equality becomes part of a broader ESG management process: easier to monitor, easier to improve and easier to communicate with confidence.

Conclusion

The Gender Equality Certification is more than a formal recognition. It is a practical framework that helps companies measure, improve and communicate their commitment to equal opportunities.

Based on UNI/PdR 125:2022, the certification gives organizations a structured methodology to assess culture, governance, HR processes, career opportunities, pay equity and work-life balance.

For companies, the benefits are both internal and external: stronger culture, better talent attraction, improved ESG positioning, access to incentives and greater competitiveness in tenders and procurement processes.

However, the real value of the certification depends on how it is implemented. To be credible, gender equality must be supported by data, policies, actions, KPIs and continuous monitoring.

A digital ESG platform like Metrikflow can help companies manage this process in a more efficient, structured and audit-ready way, turning gender equality from a compliance requirement into a measurable part of business strategy.