Creating an inclusive environment for women in the workplace is essential to improving reproductive health and reducing absenteeism. A new policy paper by the UNFPA highlights the importance of investing in women’s reproductive health and offers a scorecard of indicators for companies to monitor key social issues such as maternity leave, fertility treatments, and sexual harassment protocols.
By promoting sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), companies can experience benefits such as increased workplace productivity, reduced absenteeism, and lower staff turnover. The paper emphasizes that promoting SRHR is crucial in creating safe, healthy, and fair workplaces, especially since employees spend a significant portion of their reproductive years at work.
The UNFPA’s scorecard provides companies with tools to assess their current maturity and progress, identify priority focus areas, and enhance corporate accountability through a set of SRHR-centric indicators. By implementing these measures, companies can improve the well-being of their female employees and make positive changes in their supply chains.
