New elements in the 2023 Global Report

Reproductive justice in the workplace

In recent years we have seen a regression of women’s sexual and reproductive rights around the world. Most notably the roll back of access to safe abortions in the US, Poland, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Honduras jeopardises women’s dignity, equal opportunities, health and lives. Women’s rights to sexual freedoms and bodily autonomy are a central component of the work of many global health organisations. Do organisations active in global health also recognise, protect and promote these rights for their employees?

With this question in mind, GH5050 is adding a new element to our biennial review of workplace policies. This year the Global Health 50/50 Report will review and assess the availability of workplace policies that promote reproductive health, rights and justice in the workplace alongside other workplace policies. This will include an assessment of the availability of publicly-available policy language on leave or other forms of benefits for life events such as menstruation, abortion, stillbirths, miscarriage, fertility treatment, antenatal visits, adoption, surrogacy, menopause, and caring responsibilities.

Building organisational cultures of respect, equity and inclusion 

We’re also adding a new element to gain insight into organisational culture. The Centre for Global Inclusion defines organisational culture “as a system of shared beliefs, values, norms, habits, and assumptions that impact the organisation’s environment and influence how people behave within it.” Addressing organisational culture change is integral to the articulation, implementation and tracking of any GDI-related policies and their success. If an organisation’s beliefs, assumptions, and values conflict with its policies gender equity, inclusion and diversity goals will remain unachievable. Yet as a system that is both shared and personal, formal and informal, and not fixed but constantly changing, organisational culture is particularly challenging to measure – particularly by an external, independent mechanism like Global Health 50/50. Yet we have been encouraged and inspired by feedback from global health organisations to explore variables that give insights into what organisations are doing to understand and possibly change their own cultures.

Measuring organisational culture is challenging and for the first iteration of this variable we will focus on gender, diversity and inclusion (GDI). GH5050 is assessing 1) whether organisations have a clear understanding or definition of equity, diversity and inclusion in the context of their own workplace and thus what GDI strategies are striving to achieve, 2) whether organisations have any voluntary, employee-led groups that aim to foster diverse and inclusive workplaces, and 3) whether organisations regularly survey and respond to employee experiences, perceptions and sentiment. Organisations will have the opportunity to self-report on these variables.

2023 Global Report Timeline

For the first time, Global Health 50/50 will be launching the 2023 Global Report and Gender & Health Index at the scene-setting WomenDeliver conference in Kigali, Rwanda in July. We’re thrilled to be showcasing the latest evidence on the state of gender equality in global health and contributing to the conversations on sustainable solutions at one of the largest conferences on advancing gender equality.

In preparation for the July launch we will be sharing the data we have collected with organisations to validate. Below is the timeline for finalising the data for the 2023 Global Report. All 200 organisations assessed in the report will have an opportunity to validate their data on two occasions. Please get in contact if you do not receive any communication from us- info@globalhealth5050.org.

If you’d like to know more about the 2023 Global Report you can view a recording of a webinar explaining these new variables in more detail or download the presentation from that webinar.

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While we have added two new elements, our main objective remains the same. Our goal is to monitor progress on gender equality to improve health equity around the world. Each year Global Health 50/50 reports on the state of gender equality in some 200 organisations active in global health in our Gender and Health Index. We have developed a rigorous methodology that is consistent with established systematic review research methods. Every year we measure a set of core variables, which is described in detail here.