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Good practice Imported

Dominican Republic's 'Igualando RD' Gender Equality Seal for Employers

Dominican Republic · Santo Domingo · See the Dominican Republic profile · See the Santo Domingo profile

Evidence: Descriptive / self-reported Top 62% 56/100 · Ask Evidence Copilot about this practice

Since 2013, the Ministry of Women and UNDP have certified Dominican employers under the 'Igualando RD' gender-equality management seal, audited against national standard NORDOM 775. Over 61,600 employees across roughly 30 companies have been reached, 45% of them women.

61,600+ employees
Employees reached by certified companies (as of 2025)
45 %
Share of reached employees who are women (as of 2025)
~30 companies
Certified companies and institutions (as of 2025)
58,043 people across 32 companies people/companies
Earlier reach figure (prior cycle)
Dominican Republic's 'Igualando RD' Gender Equality Seal for Employers

Details

Maturity
Established
Promoter
Ministerio de la Mujer / UNDP Dominican Republic / INDOCAL
Period
2013-present
Keywords
private sector, workplace certification, gender equality management

Context

Launched in 2013 by the Dominican Republic's Ministry of Women, the Ministry of Labour and the National Competitiveness Council with technical support from UNDP, the 'Igualando RD' seal certifies employers that build a gender-equality management system into recruitment, pay, promotion and violence-prevention policies.

Objectives

Certification runs through four progressive tiers -- bronze, silver, gold and platinum -- and compliance is verified against the national quality standard NORDOM 775 by the Dominican Institute for Quality (INDOCAL), giving the seal independent, third-party audit backing rather than self-declaration alone.

Activities

Early adopters include Barrick Pueblo Viejo, Claro Dominicana, EGE Haina and Banco BHD, and INTEC became the first certified educational institution.

Results

According to the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and MSMEs, the programme has positively impacted more than 61,600 employees, 45% of them women, across roughly 30 certified companies and institutions, while earlier UNDP figures (58,043 people across 32 companies) show sustained participation for more than a decade.

Conclusions

As with comparable regional seals, published figures describe reach and certification tier rather than a verified reduction in the gender pay gap at certified firms, so the strongest evidence here is institutional durability and audited process adoption, not measured wage outcomes.

Implementation
Indicative cost
Low (< €50k) — No cost-effectiveness or efficiency data is published for the programme.
Time to results
Medium (1–3 years) — Certification launched 2013; sustained participation for more than a decade across four progressive tiers audited by INDOCAL.
Staffing & skills
Ministry of Women, Ministry of Labour and National Competitiveness Council run the seal jointly, with UNDP technical support and third-party audit by INDOCAL against NORDOM 775.

Conditions for success

  • Four progressive certification tiers (bronze, silver, gold, platinum) verified by independent third-party audit rather than self-declaration.

Common failure modes

  • Published figures describe reach and certification tier, not a verified reduction in the gender pay gap at certified firms.

Where it fits

Governance type
multi-ministry certification scheme with UNDP support
Scale
national
Income level
upper-middle-income

Commonly funded by

National / regional programmes

Indicative funding routes for practices of this type — always check each programme's current calls and eligibility rules.

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Data sources

Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.

Attachments

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