L’Oréal Russia has become the first company in Russia to gain workplace gender equality certification using global assessment methodology, EDGE (Economic Dividends for Gender Equality).

Developed by the EDGE Certified Foundation, EDGE assessment methodology aims to provide a universally-applicable gold standard for gender equality. Since it launched at the World Economic Forum in January 2011, more than 100 companies in 30 countries, and 17 industries have used the EDGE assessment methodology and certification process to create a balanced workplace for both men and women.

The methodology and standard enables a company to accurately assess how it performs both at a country and a global level. EDGE Certification was granted to L’Oréal Russia after an independent verification of the findings by a third-party auditor.

Certification recognises a company’s commitment measured in terms of equal pay for equivalent work, recruitment and promotion, leadership development training & mentoring, flexible working and company culture.

L’Oreal Russia has a workforce of 1,500 employees. As part of the evaluation, the company surveyed more than 43% of employees on gender equality.

Valentina Rumyantseva, L’Oréal Russia Diversity Champion, commented, “Gender equality is a strong attribute to the mission of L’Oréal Russia and one of the important elements of our Corporate Social Responsibility. We are proud to be the first company in Russia certified by EDGE. Gender equality is one of the top local priorities in our Diversity action plan together with Disability and Social and Ethnic origins. We create innovative solutions and manage this with transparency which is extremely important for our employees.”

Aniela Unguresan, Co-Founder of EDGE Certified Foundation, added, “By becoming EDGE Certified, L’Oréal Russia is adopting a holistic approach to workforce gender equality and is actively working towards building a gender-balanced talent pool at all levels of responsibility in the organization and an inclusive culture”,- says Aniela Unguresan, co-founder of EDGE Certified Foundation.

As a result of the certification, L’Oréal Russia created a customized roadmap towards continued progress in gender equality, which includes a broader adoption of flexible work arrangements and continued leadership development training and mentoring across both genders.