Number of paid full-time female management employees (managers) at the organization as of the end of the reporting period.
This metric has been updated.
Please click here to see the most up-to-date version and refer to Metric History for details on the changes.
Organizations should footnote how management levels are defined within their organization. See usage guidance for further information.
This metric is intended to capture the number of unique individual female managers employed by the organization in full-time roles at the point in time defined by the reporting end date. This metric excludes Temporary Employees (OI9028).
Organizations can refer to the glossary for additional guidance on defining management. The composition of management can vary based on an organization's stage and type. Generally, managers are responsible for setting objectives (setting goals for the group and deciding what work needs to be done to meet those goals), for organizing (dividing work into manageable activities and selecting the right people to accomplish the tasks), for motivating and communicating (creating a team from the individuals through decisions on pay, promotion, and communications with the team), for measuring (establishing targets, interpreting and analyzing performance), and for developing people.
Organizations are also encouraged to footnote if the number reported for this metric includes any female managers in the following positions: Chief Executive Officer/President, Chief Operating Officer, or Chief Financial Officer.
This metric is multi-dimensional in regards to the five dimensions of impact: it may help describe the WHO dimension when the stakeholder group represented by the metric is the stakeholder group targeted by the investment or organization. It may also help measure the HOW MUCH Scale dimension, which helps estimate the number of the targeted stakeholders experiencing the outcome. For more on the alignment of IRIS metrics to the five dimensions of impact, see specific guidance document. No single metric is sufficient to understand an impact; rather, metrics are selected as a set across all dimensions of impact. When possible, the selection of metrics to measure and describe the five dimensions should be based on best practice and evidence.
To report against 2X Challenge requirements, organizations must disaggregate by Senior Management level using the 2X definition: C-Suite or equivalent (e.g. Managing Directors, Partners). As titles may change depending on investees' size and status, some judgement is required.
This is a submetric of Full-time Employees: Total (OI3160), which has 7 other related submetrics.
Metrics identified as "cross-category" are those that are relevant to any IRIS+ Impact Category or Impact Theme (i.e., these metrics are not specific to any particular industry/category or theme).
Number of Women in Senior Management
January 2020 - IRIS+ v5.1 Released
No change.
May 2019 - IRIS+ v5.0 Released
No change.
March 2016 - IRIS+ v4.0 Released
No change.
March 2014 - IRIS+ v3.0 Released
Immaterial change. Minor revision to definition language for clarity.
November 2011 - IRIS+ v2.2 Released
No change.
February 2011 - IRIS+ v2.1 Released
No change.
September 2010 - IRIS+ v2.0 Released
Material change. Full-time Employees: Female Managers (OI1571) replaced Full-time: Skilled Employees - Female (OE5.1.1). Metric name and definition language modified to clarify desired occupational status of target employees.
September 2009 - IRIS+ v1.0 Released
New metric. Full-time: Skilled Employees - Female (OES1.1) developed via Original IRIS Working Group.
IRIS Metrics Work Better in Sets
To use IRIS metrics—and the resulting data—to understand impact performance, IRIS metrics should be used and analyzed in generally accepted sets and according to well-defined objectives. IRIS+ gives you access to generally accepted Core Metrics Sets aligned to common Impact Themes and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
JII definition: Number of full-time equivalent (FTE) female employees in senior management roles working for the client company or project at the end of the reporting period. Senior management is generally a team of individuals at the highest level of organizational management (usually executive level positions) who have the day-to-day responsibilities of managing a company or corporation. They are often referred to as the “C-suite” and include positions such as Chief Executive Officer – CEO; Chief Financial Officer – CFO; Chief Marketing Officer – CMO; Chief Operations Officer – COO; Chief Information Officer – CIO; Chief Legal Counsel – CLC, etc. Within different corporations, they can also sometimes be referred to as executive management, top management, or upper management.
JII guidance: This metric is intended to capture female representation in Senior Management. Practitioners will need to collect "Total Number of Senior Managers" to get a percentage. Female Senior Managers may also hold ownership stakes or Board or Investment Committee positions in the enterprise. As such, Practitioners should avoid double-counting women who fill multiple roles within an organization by not aggregating HIPSO's "Number of Women in Senior Management" with "Number of Women on the Board", "Number of Investment Committee members who are female", or "Female Direct Jobs Supported (Operations and Maintenance)". Practitioners may also refer to sector-specific gender leadership benchmarks and application guidance as needed, such as those specified by the 2X Challenge (www.2xchallenge.org). Applicability: All clients, where applicable. Practitioners may also use this metric for Investees of Investment Funds, where applicable, but it may be difficult to apply to beneficiaries of other intermediated structures, such as onlending through financial intermediaries (e.g. commercial banks).