About the data
The WBA Gender Benchmark measures and ranks the world's most influential companies on their efforts to advance gender equality and women's empowerment, tracking how companies integrate gender across their governance and strategy, promote fair representation at all levels of leadership, close the gender pay gap, support workers' health and well-being, prevent violence and harassment, and drive gender equality through their supply chains and communities. The 2026 edition assessed 105 companies across two sectors identified as having a particularly significant impact on gender equality: apparel, and food and agriculture. Companies were scored on 91 elements across six measurement areas: governance and strategy, representation, compensation and benefits, health and well-being, violence and harassment, and marketplace and community. The benchmark is designed to incentivise companies to move beyond policy commitments and take concrete, measurable action to respect and promote gender equality throughout their full value chains, keeping women workers' rights and human rights at its core. More information can be found here.
Methodology
A company committed to gender equality and actively seeks to address pay inequalities
across its own operations. It measures and publishes its gender pay gap, even if this is not mandated
by law, and takes concrete steps to address its root causes. It is expected to collect sex-disaggregated
pay data by different pay bands and occupational functions and include other financial benefits in its
analysis at least annually. It can also use a third-party to undertake or verify its gender pay gap
analysis.
Research Guidance
1\.The company discloses the ratio of the basic salary and remuneration of women to men in its total direct operations workforce for each employee category, by all locations of operation.
2\.The company can refer to 'employees' or 'workers' instead of 'total direct operations workforce'.
3\.'Employee category' refers to seniority or function:
a.'Function' can be defined in the company's own terms e.g. technician, production, administrative.
b.'Seniority' can be defined in the company's own terms e.g. junior, senior management, middle management.
4\. 'Locations of operation' must include all countries of operation.
across its own operations. It measures and publishes its gender pay gap, even if this is not mandated
by law, and takes concrete steps to address its root causes. It is expected to collect sex-disaggregated
pay data by different pay bands and occupational functions and include other financial benefits in its
analysis at least annually. It can also use a third-party to undertake or verify its gender pay gap
analysis.
Research Guidance
1\.The company discloses the ratio of the basic salary and remuneration of women to men in its total direct operations workforce for each employee category, by all locations of operation.
2\.The company can refer to 'employees' or 'workers' instead of 'total direct operations workforce'.
3\.'Employee category' refers to seniority or function:
a.'Function' can be defined in the company's own terms e.g. technician, production, administrative.
b.'Seniority' can be defined in the company's own terms e.g. junior, senior management, middle management.
4\. 'Locations of operation' must include all countries of operation.
License
Topics
Framework Mappings
Value Type
Category
Options
Yes
No
Assessment
Steward Assessed
Report Type
Aggregate Data Report