Gavi’s commitment to gender equality wins praise

Global Health 50/50 Index places Gavi among the top 5% of organisations that are active in global health.

  • 9 March 2021
  • 2 min read
  • by Linda Geddes
Gavi/2014/Duncan Graham Rowe
Gavi/2014/Duncan Graham Rowe

 

Gavi’s commitment to gender equality and social justice has been recognised in an annual report that ranks global organisations’ progress towards creating a more equal workplace for people of all genders.

Although Gavi has ranked among the ‘high scoring’ organisations since the Index’s launch, this is the second time it has achieved the highest rating.

The Global Health 50/50 (GH5050) Gender and Health Index ranked Gavi as one of 12 ‘very high scoring’ organisations, placing it among the top 5% of the 201 organisations that were assessed in the report.

"Gender balance is essential for change," says Anuradha Gupta, Gavi's Deputy CEO. "If we really want to see change in how we do things we need to see gender balance in our governance, in our leadership structures. This is what we have done at Gavi and we have seen the results of that, with our new focus on equity and gender. I'm delighted this work has been recognised by GH5050."

Now in its fourth year, the GH5050 report and index reviews how organisations that are active in global health are working to maintain their commitments to gender equality and social justice through the implementation of gender-related policies and practices. This is particularly important during the Covid-19 pandemic, where inequalities have played a clear role in determining health and well-being, as well as career security and progression for employees.

“We hope that [organisations] can use these findings to turn the dial from gender-blind to gender-transformative, actively addressing harmful gender norms, systems and structures and fostering gender equality,” says Jagnoor Jagnoor, GH5050 Collective Member and Senior Research Fellow at The George Institute for Global Health.

Although Gavi has ranked among the ‘high scoring’ organisations since the Index’s launch, this is the second time it has achieved the highest rating. It is also one of 37 organisations to receive a “best practice” score across all four elements of a comprehensive sexual harassment policy, covering a commitment to zero tolerance of this issue; confidentiality and non-retaliation for complainants; mandatory training for all staff, and transparency around reporting and accountability.