Collaboration Across Boarders

Four continents, six student researchers, more than a dozen reviewers and decades upon decades of combined experience across diverse fields and sectors.

For iSAW, international Strategic Accelerator for Women, casting a wide net that incorporated as many perspectives as possible into its recent report, Gender Equality: A Catalyst for Accelerating ESG and Beyond, was critical to developing a final product that was relevant and inclusive. 

Embarking on a report of this magnitude, with implications that carried the potential to create major waves within the corporate world’s approach to both gender equity and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) policies, iSAW soon recognized it required a global approach.

The findings needed to resonate not just with those based in North America and the United Kingdom, iSAW’s two headquarters. Real credibility and legitimacy meant the report’s creators needed to solicit the expertise, input and feedback from a range of voices from across the world who could ensure that the conclusions and the report’s ambitious call to action were both realistic and meaningful. 

“We were all very keen to make sure that we had perspectives from people around the world to validate this report,” says iSAW Founder and CEO Nancy Speidel. “I wanted a report that was real and relevant for places everywhere.”

iSAW partnered with Ascent Growth Partners Pte and the University of Arizona (UofA) W.A. Franke Honors College along with experts including people on almost every continent and across sectors, from academics focused on gender and equity, to lawyers, to professional consultants and advisors specializing in ESG, along with experts in diversity, equity and inclusion. 

“So many people gave their time and attention and expertise,” adds Speidel. “This report was bigger than any one of us. We all added our contributions in a valuable way.”

While that cross-border collaboration extended the timelines to complete the report, it helped to create a more thorough final product with deeper analysis and broader insights.

“It was really important for us to reach out and have those different geographical perspectives, because that diversity of thinking is key. We ultimately had about 15 to 20 reviewers and we asked them to be challenging,” says Martin Elliot, iSAW Chief Strategy Officer. “It was fantastic to see how different people come at these topics so differently and what's really beautiful about this process is that at the end of the day your audience is going to do the same.”

To read more: ESG Gender Equality Report