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GRI 405: Diversity and Equal Opportunity·Disclosure GRI 405-1

Diversity of governance bodies and employees

Practical guidance for preparing this disclosure. Use this card to identify the information to prepare, verify claims and organise supporting evidence. For exact requirements, always refer to the official Global Reporting Initiative source.

Legal status

GRI 405: Diversity and Equal Opportunity 2016 remains the applicable published GRI Topic Standard and is effective for reports or other materials published on or after 1 July 2018. The Diversity and Inclusion exposure draft is not an effective reporting requirement.

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GRI and ISSB-IFRS S1 & S2 Certified Global Trainer · PhD, University of Cambridge · ESG-AI expert 15+ years on FTSE 100 & Fortune Global 500 disclosures Canary Wharf, London LRA educational guidance · Not issued or endorsed by Global Reporting Initiative LinkedIn

Standard

GRI 405: Diversity and Equal Opportunity

Disclosure GRI 405-1 · 2016

Effective

2018-07-01

Official source: Open ↗

Last reviewed

2026-08-03

LRA educational guidance · Not issued or endorsed by Global Reporting Initiative

To prepare this disclosure
9LRA preparation fields 18claims to verify 10evidence areas 3report examples

Disclosure focus

This disclosure provides a quantitative measure of diversity within the organization.

The organisation shall report the percentage of individuals within the organisation's governance bodies in each of the following diversity categories: gender; age group (under 30 years old, 30–50 years old, over 50 years old); other indicators of diversity where relevant, such as minority or vulnerable groups.

It shall also report the percentage of employees per employee category in each of the same diversity categories.

The percentages for employees are calculated within each employee category. They are not the percentages that employee categories represent within the total workforce.

Governance bodies should be identified using the GRI definition. Board committees should not be included automatically, and a management committee should not be excluded automatically.

The disclosure does not require a narrative assessment of whether representation is balanced, a description of diversity policies or an explanation of the outcomes of diversity initiatives. Those matters may be relevant to Disclosure 3-3 if diversity and equal opportunity is a material topic.

This LRA educational guidance supports disclosure preparation. For the exact requirements, always refer to the official Global Reporting Initiative source.

Before you start

Before you start

A quick mental checklist before you prepare this disclosure — tick each as you settle it.

Preparation

Key information to prepare

Preparation field What to capture Evidence hint Owner
Governance body or bodies Identify each formalized governance body included and its total membership. Report the percentage of individuals within the organisation's governance bodies in each of the following diversity categories: gender; age group (under 30 years old, 30–50 years old, over 50 years old); other indicators of diversity where relevant, such as minority or vulnerable groups. Governance structure, board or management-committee registers and membership records. Company Secretariat / Governance
Governance-body gender percentages Percentage of individuals in each gender category within each relevant governance body. Membership-level demographic data and calculation file. Governance / People
Governance-body age percentages Percentage under 30, aged 30–50 and over 50 within each relevant governance body. Date-of-birth data, measurement date and calculation file. Governance
Other governance-body diversity indicators Other relevant diversity percentages, where applicable. Self-identification or governance demographic records and legal assessment. Governance / People
Employee categories Categories derived from the HR system by level or function, with the total employees in each category. Report the percentage of employees per employee category in each of the same diversity categories. HRIS classification dictionary and GRI 2-7 reconciliation. People / HR
Employee-category gender percentages Percentage of employees in each gender category within every employee category. HRIS demographic extract and category-level calculation. People / HR
Employee-category age percentages Percentage under 30, aged 30–50 and over 50 within every employee category. Date-of-birth data and calculation workbook. People / HR
Other employee diversity indicators Other relevant diversity percentages within every employee category, where applicable. Employee self-identification records and methodology. People / HR
Calculation and omission basis Numerators, denominators, missing data, aggregation, rounding and any reasons for omission. Calculation methodology and exception log. Sustainability Reporting / HR
＋ Show GRI 405-1 sub-elements (LRA working checklist)

How to prepare it

Identify all formalized governance bodies that meet the GRI definition.
Determine whether they will be reported separately or through a clearly explained aggregation.
Obtain the total membership and demographic data for each governance body.
Identify the employee categories used in the HR system by level or function.
Reconcile the employee population with Disclosure 2-7 data.
Apply the prescribed age groups: under 30, 30–50 and over 50.
Identify other indicators of diversity where relevant.
Calculate gender and age percentages within each governance body.
Calculate gender and age percentages within each employee category.
Calculate other relevant diversity percentages using clearly defined denominators.
Document missing, unavailable or legally restricted data.
Check for double counting where individuals sit on more than one governance body.
Confirm that counts are not being presented instead of required percentages.
Reperform the calculations and verify the disclosure against GRI 405-1(a)–(b).

Request the data

Request the disclosure evidence

Translate the disclosure into an internal business question — then adapt it to your organisation's own language.

Please provide the GRI 405-1 data for [reporting period]. For each relevant governance body, include: body name; total membership; number and percentage by gender; number and percentage under 30, aged 30–50 and over 50; other relevant diversity indicators, where applicable; and the measurement date and source. For each employee category, include: employee-category name and level or function; total number of employees in that category; number and percentage by gender; number and percentage under 30, aged 30–50 and over 50; other relevant diversity indicators, where applicable; and the calculation source and any missing data. Please calculate percentages within each governance body or employee category, not as a share of the organization’s total workforce.

Use the organisation's own role and document names, but preserve the defined GRI terms and the scope described above.

Better request

Please provide the GRI 405-1 data for [reporting period]. For each relevant governance body, include: body name; total membership; number and percentage by gender; number and percentage under 30, aged 30–50 and over 50; other relevant diversity indicators, where applicable; and the measurement date and source. For each employee category, include: employee-category name and level or function; total number of employees in that category; number and percentage by gender; number and percentage under 30, aged 30–50 and over 50; other relevant diversity indicators, where applicable; and the calculation source and any missing data. Please calculate percentages within each governance body or employee category, not as a share of the organization’s total workforce.

Draft your disclosure

Notes that turn data into a disclosure

LRA training templates — adapt them to your organisation, and check the official source before sign-off.

Method note

Percentages for governance bodies are calculated using the total membership of each relevant body. Percentages for employees are calculated within each employee category. Age is classified as under 30, 30–50 or over 50 in accordance with GRI 405-1.

Context note

Keep mandatory GRI Requirements, GRI recommendations and additional LRA preparation controls clearly distinguished. Apply a GRI 1 reason for omission where required information cannot be reported.

Download Centre

Preparation tools & forms

Professional preparation tools for GRI 405-1 — free with verified email access. Enter the code we send you once and use downloads, report links and the Knowledge Hub AI Assistant for 24 hours.

Free · Email access
01XLSPrep & Assurance workbookDatapoints, risks, evidence to check, owner and evidence pack.Get it free ↧ 02XLSData-request packRequest email, message template, response fields and sign-off structure.Get it free ↧ 03PDFLibrary CardPrintable one-page summary of this disclosure card.Get it free ↧

Assurance readiness

For each claim, check the evidence

Claim Risk Evidence to check
We identified the governance body or bodies using the GRI definition.The published response does not support this human-reviewed assurance check.Trace the statement to current approved records and the official IFRS source.
We did not automatically include every board committee or exclude a qualifying management committee.The published response does not support this human-reviewed assurance check.Trace the statement to current approved records and the official IFRS source.
For each governance body, the denominator is its total membership.The published response does not support this human-reviewed assurance check.Trace the statement to current approved records and the official IFRS source.
For each governance body, we disclosed percentages by gender and the prescribed age groups.The published response does not support this human-reviewed assurance check.Trace the statement to current approved records and the official IFRS source.
We disclosed other governance-body diversity indicators where relevant.The published response does not support this human-reviewed assurance check.Trace the statement to current approved records and the official IFRS source.
We identified employee categories by level or function using the organization’s HR system.The published response does not support this human-reviewed assurance check.Trace the statement to current approved records and the official IFRS source.
The employee population reconciles to the data used for GRI 2-7, subject to documented differences.The published response does not support this human-reviewed assurance check.Trace the statement to current approved records and the official IFRS source.
For each employee category, the denominator is the total number of employees in that category.The published response does not support this human-reviewed assurance check.Trace the statement to current approved records and the official IFRS source.
We did not report employee categories merely as percentages of the total workforce.The published response does not support this human-reviewed assurance check.Trace the statement to current approved records and the official IFRS source.
For each employee category, we disclosed percentages by gender and the prescribed age groups.The published response does not support this human-reviewed assurance check.Trace the statement to current approved records and the official IFRS source.
We disclosed other employee diversity indicators where relevant.The published response does not support this human-reviewed assurance check.Trace the statement to current approved records and the official IFRS source.
We used under 30, 30–50 and over 50 rather than organization-specific age bands.The published response does not support this human-reviewed assurance check.Trace the statement to current approved records and the official IFRS source.
The published percentages can be reproduced from the underlying numerators and denominators.The published response does not support this human-reviewed assurance check.Trace the statement to current approved records and the official IFRS source.
Gender and age percentages reconcile within each governance body and employee category.The published response does not support this human-reviewed assurance check.Trace the statement to current approved records and the official IFRS source.
Missing, unavailable or undisclosed data are handled consistently and transparently.The published response does not support this human-reviewed assurance check.Trace the statement to current approved records and the official IFRS source.
Any legally restricted or confidential information is addressed through the applicable reason-for-omission requirements.The published response does not support this human-reviewed assurance check.Trace the statement to current approved records and the official IFRS source.
Individuals serving on more than one governance body are not misleadingly double counted.The published response does not support this human-reviewed assurance check.Trace the statement to current approved records and the official IFRS source.
Counts are not presented as a substitute for the required percentages.The published response does not support this human-reviewed assurance check.Trace the statement to current approved records and the official IFRS source.

Evidence pack to prepare

Common reporting gaps

Only headcounts are disclosed, with no percentages.
Governance-body percentages are limited to gender and omit the prescribed age groups.
Average board age is presented instead of age-group percentages.
Only the Board of Directors is included without assessing other formalized governance bodies.
Every board committee is included without determining whether it meets the governance-body definition.
A management committee meeting the GRI definition is omitted.
Multiple governance bodies are combined without explaining the denominator.
Individuals serving on several bodies are double counted.
Employee categories are reported as shares of total employees.
Gender and age percentages are not calculated within each employee category.
Employee categories are arbitrary labels that do not reflect level or function.
Only management categories are disclosed, while other employee categories are omitted.
Organization-specific age bands are used instead of under 30, 30–50 and over 50.
The employee population does not reconcile to GRI 2-7 data.
Workers who are not employees are included without a clear basis.
Employees with unavailable demographic data are silently excluded from the denominator.
Legal sex data are presented as gender data without explaining the basis.
Other indicators of diversity are omitted even though they are relevant and used in the organization’s monitoring and recording.
Additional diversity indicators are invented solely to populate the table.
The report describes diversity policies but omits the quantitative percentages.
A narrative statement on representation is presented as a substitute for the required breakdowns.
The disclosure cannot be reproduced from the underlying numerators and denominators.

Examples

Illustrative examples

Synthetic, written by LRA — not from a company report, not text from any standard.

Illustrative example 1

Illustrative synthetic example — Governance bodies
Governance body
Women
Men
Under 30
30–50
Over 50
Board of Directors
40%
60%
0%
40%
60%
Executive Committee
33.3%
66.7%
0%
66.7%
33.3%
Other indicators of diversity should be added where relevant.

Synthetic LRA illustration. Replace every figure and fact with the reporting organisation's evidence.

Illustrative example 2

Illustrative synthetic example — Employees
Employee category
Women
Men
Under 30
30–50
Over 50
Senior management
35%
65%
0%
55%
45%
Middle management
45%
55%
5%
70%
25%
Technical employees
30%
70%
35%
55%
10%
Administrative employees
65%
35%
40%
50%
10%
Production employees
20%
80%
30%
60%
10%

Synthetic LRA illustration. Replace every figure and fact with the reporting organisation's evidence.

Illustrative example 3

Each percentage is calculated within the employee category shown in the first column. The table does not show the share that each employee category represents within total employees.

Synthetic LRA illustration. Replace every figure and fact with the reporting organisation's evidence.

Company reports

How companies report GRI 405-1 in practice

Examples of full and partial reporting practice. These are evidence-led reviews, not exact disclosure templates to copy.

Real published reports
MOEVE, S.A.
Oil and Gas · Spain · 2025 · p.117 ↗
Compare side by side →
MOEVE, S.A.'s 2025 Consolidated Management Report provides detailed data on workforce composition by gender and age, including specific percentages for women and men across various categories on pages 117 and 121. The report also covers diversity markers and governance body composition, with relevant information found on pages 151, 157, and 168. However, there is no evidence regarding worker groups in the report.
Temenos AG
Software and Services · Switzerland · 2025 · p.83 ↗
Compare side by side →
Temenos AG's Sustainability Report 2025 provides detailed coverage of workforce diversity, including gender split with women representing 35% of the total headcount consistently from 2023 to 2025 and targets to increase this to over 35% by 2026 and 40% by 2030 (p.56). The report also includes age band distribution data (p.55) and ethnic group representation in the US at 46% (p.39). Governance diversity and structure are addressed on page 92, but there is no evidence found regarding worker groups in the report.
Companhia Paranaense de Energia - COPEL
Electric Utilities / IPP / Energy Traders · Brazil · 2024 · p.16 ↗
Compare side by side →
Companhia Paranaense de Energia - COPEL's 2024 Integrated Report provides detailed data on gender distribution, showing men constitute a majority across various categories, with percentages such as 86.0% and 94.1% reported on page 260, and workforce gender splits detailed on page 261. Age bands are also covered on page 260, indicating no employees under 30 years old, and other diversity initiatives, including a Diversity Committee and structured admission processes, are noted on page 259. However, the report does not provide specific information on worker groups, which remains unaddressed.

Compare side by side →

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Framework references

Relevant GRI requirements and related disclosures

Available framework references and nearby disclosures relevant to preparing this requirement.

GRI

GRI 405-1

within GRI 405: Diversity and Equal Opportunity

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Go deeper · GRI 405-1

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This guide covers the two quantitative breakdowns required by Disclosure 405-1.

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