A recent study by Equileap, a nonprofit that tracks corporate gender equality, looked at America's S&P 100 companies to figure out who’s excelling in the equality rink. The average mark was 45 percent (that’s a C-; yikes at both the grade and the sad grading curve), but GM, Bank of America, and Johnson & Johnson deserve a round of applause for their successful efforts in amping up gender equality in the office. They earned the highest grades across the 19 criteria like gender representation among higher-ups, pay gaps, parental leave policies, and more.
GM received the highest score—71 percent. GM was the only company with a gender pay gap less than 3 percent and one of four companies on the list with a gender-balanced board. Bank of America and Johnson & Johnson both scored 68 percent, since women are fairly well represented in in the C-suite. Both of the companies have proposed strategies to close their gender pay gap and enhance parental leave policies. The study’s list is incredibly important and eye-opening for investors looking for proactive companies to work with. Equileap CEO Diana van Maasdijk said, "The first thing that I hope is that every CEO on that list will look at their grades and will talk to their execs and ask them, 'Why are we getting this grade, what do we need to to improve?'"
