Gender Reporting by JSE Listed Companies Award

The Gender Reporting of JSE-Listed Companies Award celebrates JSE-listed companies that have demonstrated exemplary compliance with the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) listing requirement, effective January 2017, mandating a policy on the promotion of gender diversity at board level.
Eight years since the introduction of this regulation, this award recognises companies that have not only met the technical requirements but have embraced the spirit of the rule by fostering meaningful gender diversity at board level and transparently reporting on their efforts. The award also acknowledges organisations that report on pipeline development to ensure a sustainable supply of female talent for board roles and those that consistently reference gender or gender policies in their annual reports.
As gender diversity reporting has matured since 2017, the criteria for this award in 2025 reflect higher expectations for transparency, accountability, and impact. However, the award acknowledges that organisations are at different stages of their gender diversity journey and evaluates entries relative to their progress and commitment to continuous improvement.
Criteria for entries
To ensure entries align with the award’s objectives, submissions should provide detailed, evidence-based information addressing the following criteria:
- Compliance with JSE gender diversity reporting requirements
- Provide evidence of the company’s gender diversity policy for board-level appointments, as required by the JSE since January 2017.
- Detail how the board or nomination committee has applied this policy in the nomination and appointment of directors, with specific examples from the past 3–5 years.
- Include excerpts from the company’s annual reports (2020–2024) demonstrating consistent and transparent reporting on gender diversity considerations.
- Progress against voluntary gender diversity targets
- Specify any voluntary gender diversity targets set for board representation (e.g., percentage of women on the board) and provide data on progress achieved.
- Include baseline and current figures for female board representation, highlighting improvements over time and any challenges overcome.
- Explain how these targets are monitored, evaluated, and adjusted to ensure continuous progress.
- Pipeline development for female board talent
- Describe initiatives to build a pipeline of female talent for future board roles, ensuring sustainable gender mainstreaming.
- Examples may include leadership development programmes, mentorship or sponsorship for women, or partnerships with organisations promoting women in governance.
- Provide measurable outcomes, such as the number of women prepared for board roles, appointments made from the pipeline, or specific success stories.
- Guidance for strong entries
- Be evidence-based: Use quantifiable data (e.g., percentage of women on the board, pipeline metrics, reporting frequency) and direct references to annual reports to demonstrate compliance and impact. Avoid vague or unsubstantiated claims.
- Emphasise transparency and impact: Highlight how reporting goes beyond compliance to reflect genuine commitment to gender mainstreaming, with clear links to board outcomes.
- Show progress over time: Provide a narrative of the company’s gender diversity journey since 2017, including milestones, challenges, and lessons learned.
Scorecard
Aspects Adjudicated Upon | Weighting | What Information Needs to be Furnished | Criteria being applied in measurement |
Design and Innovation | 30 | Detailed Overview of the manner in which the policy was formulated. | Was there a policy in place prior to the JSE listing requirements? Who was consulted in the formulation of the policy? What external factors influenced the policy? |
Management | 10 | How is the policy and the reporting criteria going to be managed in the future? | Who is involved in the implementation of the policy and the subsequent reporting? Who is ultimately responsible for the policy and subsequent reporting? |
Communication | 10 | How is the policy conveyed? | Which medium is going to be used to report the policy? How detailed is the reporting? Is the policy going to be communicated more often than annually? |
Return on Investment / Business (Economic) Impact | 30 | What is the expected impact of the policy and subsequent reporting? | How does the company perceive the contribution that the reporting will have on the sustainability and efficiency of the company? |
Gender Targets (Broad Base) | 10 | Who the beneficiaries of the policy and subsequent reporting, both short and long term? | Number of people that the policy and subsequent reporting will impact on. |
Individual
Nominate an Individual for a Gender Mainstreaming Awards category.
Company
Nominate a company for a Gender Mainstreaming Awards category.