Women's Empowerment Observatory

What is the Women Empowerment Observatory?

It is an independent multi-partner platform launched by TEHA Group that monitors progress in women's empowerment and maps key public policies on the issue. It was established in 2022 to address the lack of measurement and evaluation mechanisms on an international scale. The Observatory works on two parallel levels: on the one hand, through high-level discussions (Advisory Boards), and on the other, through operational discussions on specific topics (Workshops).

It has developed two rankings, updated annually, of G20 and EU countries:

• The Women's Empowerment Progress Index (WEPI) measures the degree of progress in women's empowerment in key areas such as economic participation, political representation, access to education, health, and quality of life.
• The EU SheWorks Index focuses specifically on the inclusion of women in the labor market and in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) careers, key sectors for the future of employment and innovation.

Given the nature and purpose of the WEPI, the Index has been audited by the Joint Research Center (JRC) through the European Commission's Centre on Composite Indicators and Scoreboards (COIN). The audit provided by the JRC highlights the quality, reliability, and conceptual soundness of the framework adopted for the development of the WEPI.

This initiative extends the Observatory's scope to South Africa, responding to the global need for reliable, disaggregated data and monitoring systems on women's empowerment.

Some of its results were presented on October 31, 2025, at the 4th G20 Empowerment of Women Working Group Meeting in Johannesburg, highlighting key priorities for global action:

• Care economy
• Financial inclusion of women
• Fighting gender-based violence and femicide
• Inclusive development for women and persons with disabilities.

According to TEHA's Women's Empowerment Progress Index, South Africa stands out - together with Australia - as one of the best-performing non-EU G20 countries, particularly in two areas:

• Politics: over 40% of parliamentary seats are held by women, thanks to constitutional commitments, strong civil society engagement, and the effective use of voluntary party quotas
• Entrepreneurship: women hold 8% of CEO positions in the top 100 publicly listed companies, well above the G20 average of 4.5%

The International Advisory Board is supported by Roche Diagnostics, Lucchini SA, Weir Minerals, and SAP.

The results of the 2024/2025 edition

The 4th edition of the Observatory focused on three strategic areas for businesses and institutions: economic and financial empowerment, work-life balance and new ways of working, and new generations.

The results were discussed during a Round Table in Rome (September 18, 2025), to share evidence, visions and concrete paths for change.

In short:

• the data show that making gender equality a reality is not only a matter of rights, but also an economic opportunity worth $11.6 trillion for G20 countries. For Italy, this represents a potential positive impact of +9% on its national GDP
• today, in G20 countries, women are 1.7 times more likely to become a NEET (not in education, employment or training) than their male peers. When they enter the labour market, they do so with high educational qualifications, but their career paths are full of obstacles and access to managerial positions is made to be unattractive.
• only 29.9% of managerial positions are held by women, and women in senior management positions are still few. Alongside structural reforms, 'intentional alliances' are essential, with the involvement of men in leadership roles, which can decisively accelerate female representation and careers.



The Observatory over the years


2021

For the first time in G20's history, in 2021, during the Italian Presidency of the summit, a conference entirely dedicated to female empowerment was held in Rome. In such occasion, the TEHA Club launched and coordinated a Business Advisory Board, under the guidance of the Italian Minister of Equal Opportunities and Family, Elena Bonetti.

The analysis and recommendations developed were shared with the Department for Equal Opportunities and Family of the Office of the Prime Minister, which expressed its intention to formulate social welfare policies in line with the suggestions received. The results and the TEHA Club's proposals were presented at the G20 Conference on Women's Empowerment, on August 26, 2021, with a Manifesto signed by the Advisory Board's members.



2022

In continuity with our commitment, in 2022 TEHA launched a permanent and independent Observatory on Women's Empowerment, with a focus on G20 countries plus Spain (included as a permanent guest of the G20) – in partnership with A2A, ABB, British American Tobacco (BAT), Invesco, Gruppo Mondadori, Oracle, and Gruppo Pictet; with the contribution of Special Advisors Arancha González Laya (Rector of Sciences Po's School of International Affairs in Paris) and Minouche Shafik (Rector of the London School of Economics and Political Science).

The first results of the Observatory were presented by Arancha González Laya to the audience of the 48th Cernobbio Forum, during the session dedicated to the fight against inequalities, on September 2, 2022.

The study highlighted how achieving gender equality and advancing Women’s Empowerment is not just a matter of rights, but also a fundamental step in the path towards the achievement of sustainable development – in terms of social equality as well as economic growth and country competitiveness..

2023

For the second edition, the Observatory kept measuring the international progress on women's empowerment, and recording best practices, based on the principles of  accountability and measurement of social, economic and cultural impacts.

On the basis of this work, we have developed two composite Indexes: the Women's Empowerment Progress Index (WEPI) and the EU SheWorks Index. The results of the second edition of the permanent Observatory on Women’s Empowerment were presented by Arancha González Laya during the 49th edition of TEHA Group's annual Forum in Cernobbio.

2024

The Observatory further developed the two indexes presented in 2023 and published a preview of the third Report at the 50th TEHA Forum in Cernobbio. 

The corporate best practices included in the Report show how many companies are already attentive and prepared on women empowerment issues. The hope is that these experiences can nurture a virtuous circle of inspiration, exchange and sharing, encouraging other companies to realise that it is possible to take concrete action and that, above all, change starts with the choices and actions of each individual.