By James A. Loyola SM Investments Corporation (SMIC), one of the country’s top conglomerates, has made it as one of 325 companies across 50 industries included in the 2020 Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index (GEI). The GEI represents 42 countries and regions, including firms headquartered in the Philippines for the first time. “Being included in the 2020 Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index (GEI) is a milestone and an honor for us,” said SMIC President and CEO Frederic DyBuncio. He noted that, “We put importance in fostering an inclusive work environment across our businesses, in our supply chain and in the communities we serve. The inaugural inclusion of SMIC indicates our commitment to gender equality through measurement and data transparency.” The GEI tracks the financial performance of public companies committed to supporting gender equality through policy development, representation, and transparency. The reference index measures gender equality across five pillars: Female leadership and talent pipeline, equal pay and gender pay parity, inclusive culture, sexual harassment policies, and pro-women brand. This year, Bloomberg expanded the eligibility for inclusion in the index to nearly 6,000 companies across 84 countries and regions. "SM Investments Corporation and 324 other companies included in the 2020 GEI have shown their commitment to transparency and demonstrated leadership in gender-related data reporting," said Bloomberg Chairman Peter T. Grauer. He added that, "Disclosure of company statistics and practices is an important first step in supporting gender equality globally." Through disclosure of gender-related metrics using the GEI framework, the firms included in the 2020 GEI have provided a comprehensive look at their investment in workplace gender equality and the communities in which they operate. SMIC was included in this year’s index for scoring at or above a global threshold established by Bloomberg to reflect a high level of disclosure and overall performance across the framework’s five pillars.