Benchmarks

Benchmarks or baseline figures are measures against which the current level of gender equality in an organization, economic sector or population can be compared. Benchmarks may represent best practices or a desired level of gender equality, whereas baselines usually represent a previous level of performance achieved by an organization, sector or population. (Subject matter experts may know good sources of benchmarks.) Equipped with current and reliable benchmarks or baselines, auditors can determine to what extent selected organizations, programs, or processes are achieving gender equality compared with best practices, or determine whether an entity has improved its gender equality over time.

This exercise may pose important challenges to auditors. For example, the benchmarks or baselines need to be calculated using similar variables, otherwise they will not be easily comparable. In cases where the calculations were not made in a similar manner, auditors will likely need to make adjustments to either the auditee’s data or the benchmarks and baselines in order to ensure comparability.

Comparability of data may also be problematic when the only benchmarks available come from international organizations or other countries. Because international organizations may have different policies, cultural priorities, and objectives than national governments, it may not be fair or appropriate to use an international benchmark to assess the gender equality of a specific public organization or public service.

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