Transparency and Gender Equality in Sustainability Reporting: Comparative insights from the GRI and ESRS frameworks

This thesis seeks to understand how gender equality is addressed in sustainability reporting by comparing two leading frameworks: the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS). We consider that corporate transparency plays a vital role in advancing the Sustainable Development Agenda, tackling pressing social issues such as workplace gender equality. Using a qualitative and inductive approach, the study applies Qualitative Document Analysis (QDA) to evaluate how each framework incorporates gender-relevant disclosures across five thematic areas: workforce composition, pay equity, training and capacity building, work-life balance, and governance-level diversity. The findings show that both frameworks demonstrate a commitment to gender-disaggregated data, while the potential for substantive change lies in a gender mainstreaming approach, with the integration of gender equality policies and strategy in the reporting. Moving forward from the voluntary and descriptive characteristics of the GRI framework, the ESRS, adopted in the context of the CSRD establishes more robust and policy-aligned disclosures.