Edelman’s Global Women’s Equality Network (GWEN) is an internal initiative with a mission to continue to foster an environment where women of all backgrounds can enjoy equal opportunities to grow, lead and succeed in and beyond Edelman.
Since inception in 2011, our goal has been to achieve gender parity within our firm’s most senior levels. In 2020, we achieved this milestone and are committed to maintaining these levels within the Edelman network. As we move forward, GWEN will continue to represent the evolving landscape for women within the industry and will form and achieve new goals that support our mission.
GWEN stands for a community that is passionate about, and committed to, ensuring women feel motivated and empowered to strive for, and become, company and industry leaders. GWEN teams drive initiatives and develop programming to support women – globally and locally to support the unique and diverse needs of each market. All Edelman employees are encouraged to stay connected through regular and ongoing communications, social media channels, global webinars and guest speaker series, local office events, and more.
With GWEN, we continue to push for progress and aim to provide business and cultural value through – and by measuring the impact of – a variety of efforts:
- We track representation globally and regionally to ensure we achieve and maintain gender parity in leadership roles. In addition, we conduct a global pay analysis in partnership with an external data analysis firm every alternate year to ensure equal pay for equal work.
- We focus on region-specific goals as well as specific areas that need attention, including mentorship and sponsorship, networking and collaboration, education and training, career pathing, and learning and growth opportunities.
- We continue to make enhancements to employee recruitment, retainment and succession efforts, such as ensuring gender balance among interviewers for all roles, increasing awareness of internal career opportunities, and developing essential resources for recruiters.
- We encourage mentorship and sponsorship throughout the network and facilitate opportunities to connect employees with leaders.
- We strive to make an impact in our communities through women empowerment partnerships and support to local and regional initiatives.
- We provide strategic client counsel through our Women @ Work offering, comprised of a multi-disciplinary Edelman team, to help organizations and brands with how they lead and communicate with women.
