Gavi named amongst highest scorers in gender equality report

Geneva, 8 March 2018 – Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance has been praised for its commitment to gender equality in a new report released today by Global Health 50/50.

The review measures 140 organisations working in global health on indicators such as the existence of a gender strategy for programmes, the collection of disaggregated data and the gender parity of senior management.

Gavi joined nine other organisations, including BRAC, Global Fund for Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and UNICEF, on the ‘highest scorers’ list. Ten further organisations, including WHO and the European Commission, were named as ‘high scorers’.

“We will never succeed in our mission to build a healthier, more prosperous world if half the population is left underrepresented, unempowered and underserved,” said Dr Seth Berkley, CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. “At Gavi we are working hard to make both our programmes and our Secretariat inclusive and equitable. While we know that there is more to do to tear down the gender barriers that stop people getting the healthcare they need, it’s an honour to be recognised for this progress by GH50/50.”

While Gavi scored highly in the report, the global health sector as a whole showed mixed results. As well as finding that only one in three organisations have publically stated a commitment to gender equality to benefit the health of all people, the report found that:

• Fewer than one-third of organisations define gender in a manner that is consistent with global norms;
• Only 40% of organisations mention gender in their programme and strategy documents;
• Two-thirds of organisations do not disaggregate their programme data by sex;
• 43 organisations (30%) make no reference to workplace gender equality;
• 20% of organisations have achieved gender parity on their boards;
• A quarter (25%) of organisations have achieved gender parity at the level of senior management;
• 69% of organisations are headed by men and 80% of board chairs are men.

The Global Health 50/50 Initiative seeks to advance action and accountability for gender equality in global health and is guided by an advisory board including UN, government and NGO representatives, journalists and activists. Data used in the report was gathered from several sources including from publicly-available content and verified through direct communication with the organisations involved. Each organisation was assessed against a coding system based on seven variables.

Geneva, 8 March 2018 – Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance has been praised for its commitment to gender equality in a new report released today by Global Health 50/50.

The review measures 140 organisations working in global health on indicators such as the existence of a gender strategy for programmes, the collection of disaggregated data and the gender parity of senior management.

Gavi joined nine other organisations, including BRAC, Global Fund for Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and UNICEF, on the ‘highest scorers’ list. Ten further organisations, including WHO and the European Commission, were named as ‘high scorers’.

“We will never succeed in our mission to build a healthier, more prosperous world if half the population is left underrepresented, unempowered and underserved,” said Dr Seth Berkley, CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. “At Gavi we are working hard to make both our programmes and our Secretariat inclusive and equitable. While we know that there is more to do to tear down the gender barriers that stop people getting the healthcare they need, it’s an honour to be recognised for this progress by GH50/50.”

While Gavi scored highly in the report, the global health sector as a whole showed mixed results. As well as finding that only one in three organisations have publically stated a commitment to gender equality to benefit the health of all people, the report found that:

• Fewer than one-third of organisations define gender in a manner that is consistent with global norms;
• Only 40% of organisations mention gender in their programme and strategy documents;
• Two-thirds of organisations do not disaggregate their programme data by sex;
• 43 organisations (30%) make no reference to workplace gender equality;
• 20% of organisations have achieved gender parity on their boards;
• A quarter (25%) of organisations have achieved gender parity at the level of senior management;
• 69% of organisations are headed by men and 80% of board chairs are men.

The Global Health 50/50 Initiative seeks to advance action and accountability for gender equality in global health and is guided by an advisory board including UN, government and NGO representatives, journalists and activists. Data used in the report was gathered from several sources including from publicly-available content and verified through direct communication with the organisations involved. Each organisation was assessed against a coding system based on seven variables.