Relationship Between Equality Policies and Moral Legitimacy According to Experts’ Perceptions

Abstract

The gender equality topic is gaining momentum both in the organizational and in the institutional management field. In order to close the gender gap that is common in the business environment, governments are promoting full and effective inclusion of women in all business areas and levels, developing useful policies to reach equal career progress opportunities and access to the highest level of the decision-making stages in the political, economic and public context. Companies also apply and implement these kinds of policies. The design and application of gender equality policies generates multiple benefits for companies’ intangible assets, such as positive reputation and legitimacy. Companies who apply effective equality policies can expect an improvement in their internal and external social acceptance, and, therefore, an increase in their moral legitimacy perception. The objective of this study is to verify how gender equality policies influence the corporate moral legitimacy. To measure this relationship, a sample of 75 experts in social responsibility has been used and a model of a regression has been applied to measure the impact of gender equality policies on moral legitimacy. Keywords: legitimacy, gender equality, corporate social responsibility, sustainability, ethics.