Compliance is the act of complying with a command, desire, wish, order, or rule. It can also mean adhering to laws, regulations, requirements and industry standards.

In a Company usually this translates into a set of internal rules addressed to ensure that all employees and significant stakeholders “do the right thing”.

However, in order for a compliance framework to be effective and not just a nice set of documents and/or training materials, it is essential that the company’s organization and structure doesn’t foster discrimination and disparity. Unfortunately, this is often the case especially when it comes to gender balance.

So how can a Company be credible in implementing a compliance program which -most likely- will include a part on “discrimination at the workplace” when discrimination is, in fact, rooted in the way it is structured?

That’s why it is essential to start talking about compliance only when a Company has carefully analyzed its organization and worked to effectively eliminate any “organizational noncompliance” with general principle of equality, fairness and nondiscrimination.

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