Robinsons Retail Is Leveling the Gender Equality Playing Field

RRHI joins Bloomberg’s Gender-Equality Index for the second year running

Robinsons Retail Holdings, the retail arm of the Gokongwei Group, has been included in Bloomberg’s 2023 Gender-Equality Index (GEI). This marks the second year in a row in which the company has made it to Bloomberg’s GEI, a modified market capitalization-weighted index that tracks the performance of publicly traded companies committed to transparency in gender data reporting across five key pillars: leadership and talent pipeline, equal pay and gender pay parity, inclusive culture, anti-sexual harassment policies, and external brand.

“Our inclusion in the GEI is an affirmation of our continued efforts in nurturing diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace. We remain committed to ensuring that our culture of meritocracy and collaborative action is anchored on the different strengths, experiences, and perspectives of our workforce towards creating shared growth and value for all,” said Robina Gokongwei-Pe, Robinsons Retail President and CEO.

Robinsons Retail is one of only four Philippine companies, and one of 484 companies in the world, included in this year’s GEI. It is also among the 41 companies in the GEI that have a woman CEO.

In its 2023 GEI report, Bloomberg said that the included firms have “led the way in publicly disclosing information on their efforts to develop employee-friendly policies and benefits, improve gender representation across business lines, increase opportunities for pipeline development, and enhance the roles and career paths for women within their firms.”

Highlighting the importance of female representation in the highest rungs of the corporate ladder, the report suggested that the gender pay gap is lower when there is a woman CEO. “On average, the mean gender pay gap is 50% lower for companies with women CEOs. The data also shows that corporations with more women executives are more likely to conduct a gender-based compensation review to understand the gender gap in pay,” read an excerpt from the 2023 GEI Report.

Apart from the CEO position, Robinsons Retail boasts having a remarkable number of women among its senior officers, including Mylene Kasiban, Chief Financial Officer; Atty. Rosalinda F. Rivera, Corporate Secretary; Graciela Banatao, Treasurer; and Gina Dipaling, Head of Corporate Planning, Investor Relations, and Sustainability.

Today, as the public continues to take the ESG (environmental, social, and governance) stance of companies into greater consideration, the GEI – now on its eighth reporting cycle – presents companies with the opportunity to attract new capital and diversify their investor base.

By advocating for the five pillars laid down in the GEI framework, companies can demonstrate to stakeholders, including employees, investors, and regulators, their commitment to treating employees fairly and how their products and services contribute to the betterment of society. Once a company participates in the GEI framework, the collected data is added to that company’s investment profile on the Bloomberg Terminal, one of the most popular tools for real-time financial information with 325,000 subscribers around the world.

“We believe the GEI framework is an important tool companies can use to mark their progress in inclusion, unite as a corporate community, and drive social change,” said Bloomberg Chairman Peter T. Grauer.

For more information on Robinsons Retail, visit robinsonsretailholdings.com.ph