KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 22): United States’ financial, software, data, and media company, Bloomberg, has included Bursa Malaysia Bhd and Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) into the 2020 Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index (GEI).

The index distinguishes companies committed to transparency in gender reporting and advancing women’s equality.

Bloomberg chairman Peter T Grauer said through disclosure of gender-related metrics using the GEI framework, the firms included in the 2020 GEI had provided a comprehensive look at their investment in workplace gender equality and the communities in which they operate.

“Bursa Malaysia and Maybank were included in this year’s index for scoring at or above a global threshold established by Bloomberg to reflect a high level of disclosure and overall performance across the framework’s five pillars,” he said in a statement today.

Bursa Malaysia was included in the GEI for the first time, while Maybank has been in the index since 2018.

The index for 2020 includes 325 companies headquartered across 42 countries and regions with a combined market capitalisation of US$12 trillion as compared to 230 companies from 36 countries and regions with a combined market capitalisation of US$9 trillion in 2019.

This year, Bloomberg expanded the eligibility for inclusion in the index to nearly 6,000 companies across 84 countries and regions.