Best Stocks for Gender Equality and Women's Rights (2026)
Gender equality in the corporate world is easy to market and hard to verify. Companies publish diversity reports, announce pay equity audits, and sponsor International Women's Day campaigns. But how many of them actually pay women fairly, maintain safe workplaces, and respect collective bargaining rights?
We scored thousands of companies on Fair Pay & Worker Respect -- one of 11 independent ethical dimensions in our methodology. This dimension measures pay equity ratios between men and women, living wage coverage, occupational safety, collective bargaining access, and labour-law violations. The data comes from court filings, regulatory actions, investigative journalism, and NGO reports. Not corporate press releases.
Here are the companies that score highest on the metrics that matter most for gender equality and women's rights in the workplace.
How We Measure Gender Equality
Our Fair Pay & Worker Respect dimension tracks 10 key performance indicators directly relevant to gender equality:
- Pay equity ratio: Median pay for women and minorities versus majority peers in comparable roles
- Living wage coverage: Share of global workforce paid at or above a locally defined living wage
- CEO-to-median pay ratio: A proxy for structural inequality within organisations
- Collective bargaining coverage: Whether workers have a voice in setting conditions
- Safety incident rate: Women in industrial roles are disproportionately affected by unsafe workplaces
- Labour-law violations: Discrimination lawsuits, harassment findings, and wage theft cases
A positive score on this dimension indicates that independent evidence -- not self-reporting -- supports a company's claims about treating workers fairly.
1. ANSYS (ANSS) -- Fair Pay Score: +30
ANSYS, the simulation software company, earns one of the highest Fair Pay & Worker Respect scores in our database.
| Dimension | Score |
|---|---|
| Honest & Fair Business | +40 |
| Fair Pay & Worker Respect | +30 |
| Safe & Smart Tech | +30 |
A score of +30 on our rubric corresponds to approximately 85% living-wage coverage, a pay equity ratio near 0.96-0.97, and low voluntary turnover. ANSYS operates in a specialist B2B software segment with a relatively small but well-compensated workforce. Its clean regulatory record on labour practices supports this score.
For investors seeking gender equality stocks with strong governance, ANSYS combines a +30 on worker respect with a +40 on corporate governance -- an uncommon pairing.
View ANSYS's full score breakdown -->
2. PTC (PTC) -- Fair Pay Score: +30
PTC, the industrial IoT and product lifecycle management company, matches ANSYS at the top of our ranking.
| Dimension | Score |
|---|---|
| Safe & Smart Tech | +40 |
| Fair Pay & Worker Respect | +30 |
| Honest & Fair Business | +10 |
| Planet-Friendly Business | +10 |
PTC's +30 reflects strong performance on worker treatment metrics including low incident rates and competitive compensation. The company's +40 on data privacy and cybersecurity is also notable -- indicating responsible technology governance alongside responsible labour practices.
View PTC's full score breakdown -->
3. SSE (SSE.LSE) -- Fair Pay Score: +30
SSE, the Scottish energy company focused on renewables and networks, is the only utility to score +30 on worker respect in our coverage.
| Dimension | Score |
|---|---|
| Fair Pay & Worker Respect | +30 |
| Planet-Friendly Business | +30 |
| Respect for Cultures & Communities | +25 |
| Fair Money & Economic Opportunity | +10 |
SSE's position is significant because utilities and energy companies employ large, diverse workforces across operational, engineering, and administrative roles. A +30 on Fair Pay for a company with this workforce scale and complexity is harder to achieve than for a software company with a few thousand employees.
SSE is also a Living Wage accredited employer in the UK, which aligns with the independent data in our scoring. Its community relations score of +25 reflects strong engagement with local populations near its infrastructure projects.
View SSE's full score breakdown -->
4. EPAM Systems (EPAM) -- Fair Pay Score: +20
EPAM, the global IT services company, scores +20 on worker respect -- notable for a company with over 50,000 employees across multiple countries.
| Dimension | Score |
|---|---|
| Safe & Smart Tech | +30 |
| Respect for Cultures & Communities | +25 |
| Better Health for All | +20 |
| Fair Pay & Worker Respect | +20 |
A +20 on our rubric corresponds to approximately 80% living-wage coverage, pay equity ratios of 0.94-0.96 with independent verification, and clean regulatory records. For a large-scale services firm with operations in Eastern Europe, Latin America, and Asia, maintaining these standards across jurisdictions is a meaningful achievement.
View EPAM's full score breakdown -->
5. Autodesk (ADSK) -- Fair Pay Score: +20
Autodesk, maker of design and engineering software, combines strong environmental performance with positive worker treatment metrics.
| Dimension | Score |
|---|---|
| Planet-Friendly Business | +50 |
| Zero Waste & Sustainable Products | +30 |
| Respect for Cultures & Communities | +25 |
| Fair Pay & Worker Respect | +20 |
Autodesk's +50 planet score -- the second-highest environmental score in our tech ranking -- indicates a company that takes operational responsibility seriously across multiple dimensions. Its +20 on Fair Pay suggests that this commitment extends to how it treats and compensates its workforce.
View Autodesk's full score breakdown -->
6. Workday (WDAY) -- Fair Pay Score: +20
Workday builds HR and finance software used by organisations worldwide. Its own worker respect score of +20 is consistent with a company whose product mission centres on workforce management.
| Dimension | Score |
|---|---|
| Honest & Fair Business | +60 |
| Planet-Friendly Business | +30 |
| Fair Pay & Worker Respect | +20 |
Workday ties with Salesforce for the highest governance score in our tech analysis at +60. When a company scores well on both governance and worker respect, it typically indicates institutional commitment rather than performative gestures. Governance structures create accountability; worker respect scores confirm the results.
For investors screening gender equality stocks, a company that builds workforce tools and scores positively on its own labour practices is a credibility signal worth noting.
View Workday's full score breakdown -->
7. Adobe (ADBE) -- Fair Pay Score: +10
Adobe scores +10 on Fair Pay & Worker Respect, reflecting a modestly positive position supported by independent evidence.
| Dimension | Score |
|---|---|
| Zero Waste & Sustainable Products | +70 |
| Safe & Smart Tech | +40 |
| Respect for Cultures & Communities | +25 |
| Fair Pay & Worker Respect | +10 |
| Fair Trade & Ethical Sourcing | +10 |
| Planet-Friendly Business | +10 |
Adobe leads our tech ranking with the highest overall average score among major tech companies. Its +10 on Fair Pay, while lower than the companies above, is positive in a sector where many major employers score zero or negative. Adobe's broad positive spread across 6 dimensions suggests a company that invests in ethical standards across the board rather than cherry-picking one dimension for marketing.
View Adobe's full score breakdown -->
8. Orsted (D2G.XETRA) -- Fair Pay Score: +10
Orsted, the Danish offshore wind leader, matches Adobe at +10 on worker respect.
| Dimension | Score |
|---|---|
| Planet-Friendly Business | +70 |
| Better Health for All | +10 |
| Fair Pay & Worker Respect | +10 |
Orsted's +70 on environmental performance is the highest environmental score in our green energy ranking. Its +10 on Fair Pay may appear modest, but it is notable in context: large infrastructure developers often score poorly on worker respect due to the complexity of managing contractors and subcontractors across offshore wind projects. A positive score indicates that independent evidence does not identify significant labour concerns.
Denmark's strong labour laws and collective bargaining culture provide structural support for worker rights at Danish companies, which Orsted benefits from.
View Orsted's full score breakdown -->
Why These Companies, Not Others?
This ranking is built on one principle: independently verifiable evidence. The companies above scored positively on Fair Pay & Worker Respect because court filings, regulatory records, and investigative reports support their labour practices. They did not make this list because of diversity awards, press releases, or corporate sustainability reports.
Many companies that market themselves aggressively on gender equality do not appear here. That is the point.
Notable Absences
Several high-profile companies that are frequently cited in gender equality discussions scored poorly on our analysis:
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Apple (AAPL) -- Fair Pay Score: -30. Apple scores positively on environment (+40) and sustainability (+50), but its -30 on Fair Pay & Worker Respect is driven by supply chain labour findings documented in public reports. Manufacturing partners in Apple's supply chain have faced repeated investigations into working conditions and labour rights.
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Tesla (TSLA) -- Fair Pay Score: -50. Tesla's score reflects 77 labour-related incidents since 2008 documented in public records, with the majority being OSHA citations. Ongoing disputes around unionization and worker organizing rights contribute to one of the lowest Fair Pay scores among major employers.
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BYD (1211.HK) -- Fair Pay Score: -30. A 2024 incident in Brazil revealed conditions described in public reports as forced labour among workers at a BYD factory construction site, with allegations of withheld wages and inhumane living conditions.
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Meta (META) -- Fair Pay Score: -30. Meta scores -30 on worker respect based on regulatory findings and employment-related legal proceedings. Combined with -50 on data privacy and -40 on governance, Meta's overall ethical profile is among the weakest in our tech coverage.
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Oracle (ORCL) -- Fair Pay Score: -40. Oracle's worker respect score of -40 is based on regulatory findings and employment-related legal proceedings. The company also scores -50 on data privacy.
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Iberdrola (IBE1.XETRA) -- Fair Pay Score: -20. Despite being one of the world's largest wind energy producers with a +40 on environmental performance, Iberdrola scores -20 on worker respect based on independent data identifying labour concerns.
These absences illustrate a pattern: companies can score well on environment, technology, or governance while scoring poorly on how they treat workers. Gender equality claims are only as credible as the evidence behind them.
The Pay Equity Gap Is Measurable
Our Fair Pay & Worker Respect dimension includes an explicit pay equity ratio indicator: the median pay for women and minorities divided by the median pay for men and majority peers in comparable roles.
At the +30 level, companies typically maintain pay equity ratios of 0.96-0.97 -- approaching parity. At +10, ratios sit around 0.92-0.94 with active gap-closure initiatives. At -30 (Apple, BYD), ratios drop to 0.70-0.75, indicating persistent pay imbalances.
These are not self-reported numbers. They are derived from workforce DEI pay-gap filings, UK Gender Pay Gap portal data, company ESG datasets, and third-party verification.
Learn how we score companies -->
What This Means for Your Portfolio
If you hold index funds, several companies with negative Fair Pay scores are likely in your portfolio. The S&P 500 includes companies scoring as low as -50 on worker respect.
Gender equality investing is not just about buying companies with good PR. It requires verifying claims against independent evidence -- the kind of evidence most ESG providers do not use.
You can check where your holdings stand in under 60 seconds.