UniCredit obtains EDGE certification across three countries – recognising the Bank as the only EDGE-certified organisation in the European banking industry
- The Group remains committed to fostering gender equity and inclusion in the workplace
- EDGE is the leading global assessment and business certification for gender and intersectional equity
UniCredit, the pan-European Commercial Bank has obtained EDGE certifications1 in Austria, Germany and Italy, demonstrating its commitment to fostering gender equity and inclusion in the workplace.
EDGE is the leading global assessment and business certification for gender and intersectional equity. The certification process involves a rigorous third-party review of representation across the pipeline, pay equity, effectiveness of policies and practices, and inclusiveness of an organization's culture. As an integral part of the assessment, statistical data is analysed, policies and practices are reviewed, and employees receive a comprehensive survey to assess perceptions of career development opportunities in the workplace.
The UniCredit banks in Austria, Germany and Italy are currently the only EDGE-certified organisation in Europe in the banking industry. In each of the EDGE-certified entities1, both men and women perceive flexible working as allowing them to balance professional and personal life. And all five have policies that explicitly mention: non-discriminatory recruitment and promotion practices that include gender; non-discrimination with regards to professional development, which also includes gender; plus, the value of diversity and inclusion. Those policies are showcasing a strong commitment to DE&I as a driver of sustainable business success and a platform for future progress towards inclusion.
As part of its EDGE action plan, all UniCredit entities commit to continue progressing towards achieving gender balance. Moving forward, all organizations are encouraged to focus on the representation of women at the middle, upper, and top management levels, as well as men's and women's perceptions about equal opportunities for promotion and equal pay for equivalent work. UniCredit intends to ensure equal access to career-critical assignments for all employees by setting up a mentoring program for both males and females and measuring its effectiveness in terms of broad growth opportunities. This development path will help to strengthen women’s presence in the leadership pipeline and build a more inclusive workplace where all talent can flourish and grow. For men, there is the opportunity to encourage more take-up of paternity leave, and all organizations can be more proactive in managing pay equity.
“We are proud to share that UniCredit has obtained EDGE Assess and Move certifications1 in Italy, Germany, and Austria – recognising the three banks in each country as the only EDGE certified organizations in the banking industry in Europe. This further highlights our efforts in fostering a more diverse and sustainable professional place to work. UniCredit remains strongly committed to championing gender diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace, so our people can continue to deliver incredible results and thrive in an equitable and inclusive environment,” commented Siobhan McDonagh, Head of Group People & Culture at UniCredit.
“We are very proud to be among the EDGE-certified UniCredit organizations, the only companies in the banking industry in Europe to have achieved such certification”, emphasizes Georgiana Lazar, Head of People & Culture at UniCredit Bank Austria. “This is an important and rewarding international recognition that shows that our ongoing efforts are successful and that we are on the right way to fostering gender equality and inclusive culture.”
Aniela Unguresan, Founder of EDGE Certified Foundation, says: “By obtaining the EDGE Assess and Move certifications UniCredit has made a clear commitment to achieving gender equity. It also reinforces UniCredit’s commitment to a broader ESG agenda as a crucial component of their business success. It is also important to point out that across all organizations, at every level, more women were identified as high performers than men. This high-quality, talented pool of women can anchor and accelerate progress toward a more gender-balanced workplace in the future.”
Enquiries:
UniCredit Bank Austria Media Relations
Matthias Raftl, Tel.: +43 (0) 5 05 05-52809;
E-Mail: matthias.raftl@unicreditgroup.at
About the EDGE-certification
EDGE is the leading global assessment and business certification for gender and intersectional equity. EDGE Certification involves a rigorous third-party review of representation across the pipeline, pay equity, effectiveness of policies and practices, and inclusiveness of an organization's culture. As an integral part of the assessment, statistical data is analysed, policies and practices are reviewed and employees' experiences of career development opportunities in the current workplace are accounted for. Depending on the specific results of each organization, an action plan is formulated, and firm commitments towards its implementation.
EDGE Certification meets organizations where they are in their gender balance journey (EDGE) and in their intersectional equity journey (EDGEplus) through its three levels of certification: Assess, Move and Lead. A certification at the EDGE Assess level recognizes commitment, one at the EDGE Move level showcases progress and a certification at the EDGE Lead level celebrates success in fostering gender equitable workplaces. An EDGEplus certification further recognizing its commitment to analysing intersectional issues between gender and one or several of the following additional dimensions: gender identity, race/ethnicity, LGBTQI+, working with a disability, nationality, and age.
EDGE Certification is built around the independent third-party certification of data and information and is distinguished by its rigour and focus on impact granted by one of the EDGE accredited independent third-party certification bodies – SGS, Intertek or FloCert, it remains valid for a period of two years. EDGE's current customer base consists of over 200 large organizations in 50 countries across five continents, representing 30 different industries.
About UniCredit
UniCredit is a pan-European commercial bank with a unique service offering in Italy, Germany, Central and Eastern Europe. Purpose is to empower communities to progress, delivering the best-in-class for all stakeholders, unlocking the potential of our clients and our people across Europe. We serve over 15 million customers worldwide. They are at the heart of what we do in all our markets. UniCredit is organized in four core regions and two product factories, Corporate and Individual Solutions. This allows us to be close to our clients and use the scale of the entire Group for developing and offering the best products across all our markets. Digitalisation and our commitment to ESG principles are key enablers for our service. They help us deliver excellence to our stakeholders and creating a sustainable future for our clients, communities and people.
1 EDGE Assess Certification in UniCredit Italy, UniCredit Bank Austria AG, UniCredit Services GmbH Austria and UniCredit SpA Branch Germany, and EDGE Move Certification in UniCredit Bank AG Germany.