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February 1, 2008
The Coca-Cola Concentrate Plant in Costa Rica received a gender
equity certification by the Government of Costa Rica. This certification
makes Coca-Cola the first company to join the Central American
Gender Equity Management System (SIGEG, according to the Spanish
acronym) developed by the National Institute of Women (INAMU,
according to the Spanish acronym).
INAMU's mission is to promote women's rights and the construction
of a society that guarantees gender equity. It encourages women
and disadvantaged people's empowerment and autonomy; interpersonal
relationships based on mutual respect and assertive communication;
and female and male employees' labor rights.
This certification recognizes private and public organizations
from Costa Rica that develop a Gender Equity Management System
(SIGEG). The initiative was originated to provide an incentive
that fosters a change in management and corporate attitude that
"allows making the distance between male and female employees
evident, in addition to the implications gender represents in
the generation of opportunities and the integral development
of disadvantaged people."
SIGEG supports innovative actions within organizations, which
go beyond law regulations and additionally offer other benefits
that improve women's work conditions. The aim is to "give
a new social and economic value to the qualities and singular
character of female work," in addition to "transforming
this aggregate value into a competitive advantage while increasing
women's productivity."
Organizations participate by implementing the instrument in
their operations and executing an internal auditing process
that certifies its application. The recognition allows certified
companies to use the SIGEG logo on its products, which contributes
by guiding sensible consumers' purchasing decisions. All of
this is done thanks to an approach based on competitive advantage
and social value.
The SIGEG certification evaluates human resources management,
including recruitment, selection, promotions and performance
evaluation. Other categories are gender equity training; gender
barrier elimination; focus on human resources; women's participation
in the decision-making process; family and work co-responsibility;
conflict negotiation and resolution; corrective and preventive
actions; employee satisfaction; responsibility and authority;
and actions follow-up, among others.
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