Gender equality certification is today one of the most concrete ways to show that a company treats men and women fairly, measurably and verifiably by a third party. It is not a badge for show: it is the result of a management system tracking precise KPIs, from governance to the gender pay gap, from recruitment to parental support. Certified companies gain social contribution relief, scoring points in public tenders and a real reputational advantage with clients, investors and talent. The reference standard is UNI PdR 125:2022, a reference practice published by the Italian standards body. In this guide you will find the requirements, thematic areas, mandatory indicators, the certification process, the most common mistakes and what it really takes to pass the audit first time, without losing months on useless documentation.
What UNI PdR 125 gender equality certification is
UNI PdR 125:2022 is the reference practice defining guidelines for a gender equality management system. It is not an ISO standard in the strict sense, but a UNI practice that uses the same logic as certifiable management systems: policy, objectives, indicators, audits, continuous improvement. The goal is to measure an organisation’s maturity across six thematic areas and assign an overall score that must exceed the 60% threshold to obtain certification.
The practice was introduced in 2022 to implement the National Recovery and Resilience Plan and the National Strategy for Gender Equality 2021-2026. It applies to any organisation, public or private, regardless of sector and size. Micro, small, medium and large companies follow the same structure, but with thresholds and numbers of KPIs proportionate to their size class.
Obtaining certification means having a documented system covering strategy, HR processes, internal and external communication, management of differences and parental support. It is issued by an Accredia-accredited certification body, with an initial audit, annual maintenance and three-year renewal.
The difference between UNI PdR 125 and other social certifications
UNI PdR 125 should not be confused with SA 8000 or with ISO 30415 on diversity and inclusion. SA 8000 is an international social accountability certification covering child labour, health and safety, freedom of association and discrimination broadly. ISO 30415 is a non-certifiable guideline offering general principles on diversity.
UNI PdR 125, by contrast, is specifically Italian, is certifiable by an accredited third party and is linked to tax and social contribution incentives provided by Italian law. Companies bidding for public tenders or seeking scoring points in NRRP calls find in PdR 125 the certification recognised by contracting authorities. Other social certifications can coexist, but they do not replace PdR 125 for the incentives linked to gender equality.
Who the certification is for
PdR 125 is aimed at any organisation wanting to demonstrate its commitment to equality in a verifiable way. In practice, interest concentrates in a few recurring company profiles:
SMEs bidding for public calls or tenders, or working in the supply chains of large buyers that require the certification as a requirement or a scoring criterion.
Companies with more than 50 employees required to file the biennial report on male and female staff.
Organisations in ICT, manufacturing, professional services and healthcare that want to attract female talent into technical roles.
Multinational groups with foreign headquarters wanting to align Italian practice with group ESG standards.
Public bodies, social cooperatives, professional firms and associations.
There is no minimum size: even a micro business with fewer than 10 employees can certify, with a reduced and simplified set of KPIs.
The six thematic areas of UNI PdR 125
The structure of the practice is based on six areas of assessment, each with a specific percentage weight contributing to the final score. Exceeding the overall 60% threshold is the condition for certification, but weaker areas can be offset by stronger ones, within limits.
Each area has qualitative and quantitative KPIs. The qualitative ones verify the existence of policies, procedures and documents; the quantitative ones measure real numbers, such as the share of women in senior roles or the pay differential. Here are the six areas with their weights:
Culture and strategy (weight 15%): definition of the policy, company values, strategic plan for equality.
Governance (weight 15%): presence of a steering committee, roles and responsibilities, integration into decision-making.
HR processes (weight 10%): recruitment, appraisal and staff development from an equity perspective.
Growth opportunities and inclusion of women in the company (weight 20%): share of women in roles, access to promotion, training.
Pay equity by gender (weight 20%): measured gender pay gap, correction of differentials, pay transparency.
Parental support and work-life balance (weight 20%): leave, remote working, family support services.
The last three areas, together worth 60%, are where most companies must concentrate their initial effort. They are the areas requiring solid, systematic numbers, not simple statements of intent.
The weight of qualitative and quantitative indicators
Within each area, PdR 125 distinguishes between qualitative indicators and quantitative (measurable) ones. Qualitative indicators are usually worth 40% of the area, quantitative ones 60%. This proportion rewards companies that collect real data, not just those that write policies.
A frequent mistake is focusing only on written policies, assuming a code of ethics or an equality policy is enough. During the audit the auditor asks for numerical evidence: share of female hires over the last three years, average pay by level broken down by gender, return rates after parental leave, training hours delivered by gender. If this data is not collected systematically, the quantitative score collapses and the company risks missing the 60% threshold.
The minimum threshold for certification
The pass threshold is set at 60% of the overall weighted score. Below that, certification is not issued. There is no basic and advanced level: either you are certified or you are not, but the score achieved is reported on the certificate and in the audit report.
It is important to understand that each area has its own weight, so being excellent in culture and governance does not compensate for weakness in pay equity and parental support. The final calculation is the weighted sum of the area scores. A company scoring 80% in culture but 30% in pay equity will struggle to pass overall. This is why the initial gap analysis is decisive: it lets you estimate the potential score before starting formal certification.
Mandatory KPIs by thematic area
PdR 125 sets out a group of KPIs that vary in number and complexity according to the organisation’s size class. There are four classes: micro (up to 9 employees), small (10-49), medium (50-249) and large (over 250). The bigger the company, the more KPIs it must monitor, because organisational complexity both allows and requires more granular measurement.
Here is an overview of the most relevant KPIs for each area, applied on a sliding scale by size:
Culture and strategy: an equality policy approved by leadership, a three-year strategic plan, monitoring indicators, internal communication of the policy.
Governance: a steering committee for equality, presence of women on boards and committees, a procedure for handling reports.
HR processes: a gender-neutral recruitment procedure, transparent appraisal criteria, individual development plans.
Growth opportunities: share of women in managerial roles, female vs male promotion rate, average training hours by gender, female presence in STEM roles.
Pay equity: average gender pay gap, pay differential by level and job family, share of women in the top pay band, salary review procedures.
Parental support: return rate after maternity and paternity leave, share of parental leave requests granted, access to remote and part-time work, family welfare services.
Collecting three years of historical data is mandatory, or two if the company is younger. The auditor looks at the trend: even small but continuous improvement is viewed positively.
The gender pay gap as the key KPI
The gender pay gap is probably the most feared and most misunderstood indicator in PdR 125. Calculating the average difference between men’s and women’s pay is not enough: that number is almost always distorted by different distribution across roles. PdR 125 asks for the adjusted gender pay gap, that is the differential calculated at equal contractual level, job, seniority and job family.
The KPI must be broken down by grade (executives, middle managers, white collar, blue collar) and, where possible, by function. A differential within 5% is generally considered normal; above 10% it requires a documented reduction plan. PdR 125 does not require the gap to be closed entirely, but it does require it to be measured, reported to leadership and addressed with concrete corrective actions, such as revising pay policies, equity adjustment plans or reviewing variable pay criteria.
Pay transparency will keep growing in importance thanks to EU Directive 2023/970, which introduces progressive transparency obligations from 2026. Companies certifying today under PdR 125 are getting ahead on a path that will become mandatory anyway.
KPIs on recruitment, growth and training
Indicators on recruitment and staff development measure how far women access entry and internal growth. Among those most requested at audit are the share of female applications, the share of female hires in technical roles, the promotion rate to managerial roles broken down by gender, and participation in advanced training and mentoring.
A common mistake is collecting only the aggregate company figure. The auditor asks to see data by job family: if a company has 45% women overall but none in senior engineering or sales, the KPI is not positive. You need to show concrete actions to attract and retain women in under-represented roles: partnerships with technical schools, scholarships, re-skilling programmes, internal sponsorship schemes.
KPIs on parenting and work-life balance
This area is worth 20% and concerns all workers, not only mothers. PdR 125 assesses the actual return rate after maternity and paternity leave, average leave duration, the share of fathers taking mandatory and optional leave, access to remote work and reversible part-time, and welfare services (company nurseries, babysitting vouchers, agreements).
The most critical KPI is the retention rate 12 and 24 months after returning from maternity leave: it measures how many women stay one and two years after leave ends. A high exit rate means the return is not supported and the company loses female talent. What is needed is a structured return interview, a reintegration plan and the option to reshape hours and responsibilities.
The certification process step by step
The route to UNI PdR 125 certification follows a precise sequence common to all certifiable management systems. There are six phases and they must be tackled in order, with no shortcuts. Skipping the gap analysis or starting without data collection almost always leads to nonconformities at audit.
These are the main phases:
Initial gap analysis: review of the current state against the requirements of PdR 125 and estimate of the potential score by area.
Defining the action plan: identifying corrective actions, owners, deadlines and the resources needed to close the gaps.
Implementing the management system: drafting the policy, procedures and forms, appointing the steering committee, training staff.
Collecting and monitoring KPIs: starting systematic measurement of the mandatory indicators with historical and current data.
Internal audit and management review: internal verification of compliance and formal consideration of the results by leadership.
Certification audit: documentary review (stage 1) and on-site verification (stage 2) by the accredited body.
With a structured, digital approach such as the one Complaion offers, this path is compressed noticeably compared with traditional timelines, thanks to ready-made document templates, automated KPI dashboards and dedicated auditors supporting the company at every stage.
Gap analysis and improvement plan
The gap analysis is the initial snapshot. Every requirement of PdR 125 is reviewed and for each one the current level of compliance is assessed: compliant, partially compliant, non-compliant. The result is an estimated score by area and overall, together with a prioritised list of the actions needed.
The gap analysis also avoids starting a certification project doomed to fail. If the company starts from an estimated score below 30%, deep organisational work is likely needed before aiming at the audit. If it starts at 50-55%, the path is short and targeted: formalising existing procedures and structuring data collection.
Implementing the management system
Implementation is the most operational phase. You need documents such as the gender equality policy, the three-year strategic plan, procedures for recruitment, appraisal, development and pay review, the steering committee’s terms of reference, and the procedure for reporting discrimination.
Alongside the documents you must build the governance: appointing the steering committee (with HR, leadership and operational representatives, gender balanced), defining roles and responsibilities, a meeting calendar, minutes. Staff training is mandatory: executives, managers, HR and function heads must understand the policy and their obligations. Workers must also be informed through internal communications, dedicated sessions and listening channels.
Stage 1 and stage 2 certification audits
The final audit is carried out by an Accredia-accredited certification body in two phases. In stage 1 the auditor examines the documentation: policy, procedures, strategic plan, KPIs collected, committee minutes, internal audit results. They identify any documentary gaps the company must fix before proceeding.
In stage 2, usually a few weeks later, the auditor visits the company (or connects remotely for parts of the work) and verifies on site: they interview people at every level, check consistency between what is written and what is lived, and review records and operational evidence. At the end they issue a report with the final score, any major or minor nonconformities and a recommendation on certification. Major nonconformities must be closed before issue; minor ones are usually closed within 90 days.
Concrete benefits: contribution relief and tender scoring
UNI PdR 125 certification is not only reputational: it brings direct economic and commercial advantages set out in national law. The most significant is the social contribution relief granted to certified private companies under Italian Law 162/2021 and its implementing decrees.
An annual contribution exemption is available within the maximum limit set by current rules, applicable to employer social security contributions. In many cases it can be combined with other incentives and is granted under the de minimis regime or the block exemption regulations. The Italian social security institute’s operating instructions specify how and when to apply.
Beyond contribution relief, certification brings:
Scoring points in public tenders, particularly those funded by the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, where certified companies receive a higher technical score.
Easier access to financial instruments, such as certain export-support or state-backed measures and ESG bank lines.
Preferential status in private tenders, with clients including PdR 125 among their supplier qualification criteria.
A smaller gender pay gap and consequently better climate and retention.
An advantage in attracting talent, particularly relevant in technical sectors and among under-35s.
Many regions and chambers of commerce have published calls funding part of the consultancy and certification work. Opportunities vary over time and by territory: always check which regional calls are open when the project starts.
The biennial report and related obligations
Companies with more than 50 employees must produce the biennial report on male and female staff required by the Italian equal opportunities code. Companies certified to UNI PdR 125 have already collected most of the necessary data and find completing the biennial report far simpler.
Moreover, filing the biennial report is one of the conditions for accessing the contribution relief linked to certification. The two activities are therefore complementary: certification produces the data that feeds the report, and the report is one of the requirements for the incentives.
Reputation, ESG and the supply chain
PdR 125 has quickly entered the due diligence questionnaires of large industrial clients, of banks assessing ESG creditworthiness and of investors. Large listed companies, required to report on sustainability under the CSRD, ask suppliers for verifiable evidence on equality: certification is the simplest and most recognised answer.
Holding PdR 125 means passing due diligence without producing bespoke documentation for every client, saving significant time and resources. In sectors such as automotive, pharmaceuticals, energy and financial services, certification is now an entry requirement for strategic supplier short lists.
Common mistakes and how to avoid them
After hundreds of projects in the field, some mistakes repeat predictably. Knowing them in advance avoids losing months on rework and risking nonconformities at audit.
Starting without a gap analysis: you write procedures without knowing where the real gaps are and end up mid-project with missing data that cannot be reconstructed.
Unsystematic data collection: data is pulled together only for the audit, without building continuous monitoring. At renewal or surveillance you start from scratch again.
Confusing raw and adjusted gender pay gap: you report an irrelevant figure and lose points in the most heavily weighted area.
A steering committee for show: formal appointments without real meetings, minutes or objectives. The auditor spots it immediately.
No training: the policy says managers are trained but there are no records, agendas or materials. That is an immediate nonconformity.
No internal communication: employees do not know an equality policy exists. They get interviewed at audit and their answers contradict the documents.
Copying other companies’ policies: generic policies that do not reflect the real context, with objectives that are not measurable and plans without deadlines.
Avoiding these mistakes takes method, not necessarily large budgets. A good certification partner transfers operational know-how and helps build a system that is sustainable over time, not just ready for the audit.
How to structure KPI collection
Data collection should be designed from the start with a structured dashboard. Every KPI has a source (payroll, ATS, appraisal system, welfare provider), an update frequency (monthly, quarterly, annual), an owner and a calculation formula. If these elements are clear, producing indicators becomes a routine process rather than an emergency effort before each audit.
It helps to break data down by gender from the moment it is created, rather than reconstructing it afterwards. Modern HR systems can generate gender-based reports natively. Where systems are fragmented, a structured collection file with data validation and standardised formulas is enough to start.
The role of the equality steering committee
The steering committee is not a formality, it is the engine of the system. It must meet regularly (at least quarterly), review KPI trends, propose corrective actions and monitor the objectives of the strategic plan. It needs a written mandate, a composition balanced by gender and function, and members with real decision-making power.
A committee that meets twice a year purely for form is considered non-functioning. A committee that sets objectives, reviews results and makes corrections is concrete proof of system maturity. Its decisions and minutes are among the documents most often requested at audit.
Maintaining and renewing the certification
UNI PdR 125 certification is valid for three years, with annual surveillance audits. It is not a static achievement: the system must stay alive, KPIs must be updated, the steering committee must keep working and objectives must be reset year after year.
Annual surveillance is lighter than the initial audit, but it is not a formality. The auditor checks that the score is maintained, how the KPIs are evolving (they must improve or stay stable), that previous nonconformities are closed, and that any new regulatory requirements have been adopted. If significant deterioration emerges, the certification can be suspended.
At the end of the three years, the renewal audit is similar in breadth to the initial one. It is the moment when overall system evolution is assessed: a company that has merely maintained the status quo loses credibility; a company that has grown in maturity (new indicators, more ambitious objectives, integration with other systems such as ISO 45001 on health and safety or ISO 37001 on anti-bribery) strengthens the certification and opens new commercial advantages.
Integration with other ISO certifications
PdR 125 integrates well with other ISO certifications. Companies already holding ISO 9001 for quality or ISO 45001 for health and safety can reuse document management processes, internal audits and management review. The process-based structure is similar and allows several systems to be consolidated under one governance.
Integration with ISO 27001 on information security also makes practical sense: managing the sensitive data collected for gender KPIs (pay, leave, appraisals) requires the security and confidentiality measures ISO 27001 already provides. An integrated system reduces duplication and creates a coherent documentary ecosystem, appreciated at audit and in client due diligence.
Frequently asked questions about gender equality certification
Is UNI PdR 125 certification mandatory?
No, UNI PdR 125 certification is not required by law. It is voluntary and chosen by companies that want access to contribution relief, scoring points in public tenders or a better ESG position. It becomes effectively necessary to bid for certain tenders or to enter the supply chains of large buyers that require it.
How long does it take to obtain the certification?
Timelines depend on the company’s starting point and the availability of historical data. A traditional path takes several months across gap analysis, implementation, KPI collection and audit. With a structured, digital approach like Complaion’s, with dedicated auditors and ready-made document templates, timelines shorten noticeably, allowing you to reach the audit faster.
Do we need other ISO certifications first?
No, it is not a prerequisite. A company can certify to UNI PdR 125 without holding any other certification. Companies that already have ISO 9001, 45001 or other standards start with an advantage because they know how management systems work, but there is no formal obligation. Even a micro business with no certification experience can obtain PdR 125.
What happens if we do not reach 60% at audit?
If the overall score is below the 60% threshold, certification is not issued. The body issues a report with the nonconformities and the weak areas. The company can implement corrective actions and request a new audit, usually within six months, without repeating the entire journey. This is why the initial gap analysis matters so much: it stops you reaching the audit without a safety margin.
Does the gender pay gap have to be zero?
No, PdR 125 does not require the gender pay gap to be closed entirely. It requires it to be measured correctly (at equal role, level and seniority), reported to leadership, and addressed with documented plans for progressive reduction. A differential within 5% is considered normal; above 10% it calls for concrete action. The European pay transparency directive will extend these obligations in the coming years.
Can micro businesses get certified too?
Yes, PdR 125 is designed to scale across all company sizes. Micro businesses (up to 9 employees) have a simplified set of KPIs, proportionate to their complexity. There are no minimum employee or turnover thresholds. Even a professional firm or a small cooperative can start the journey.
Is the certification valid abroad?
PdR 125 is an Italian practice and is recognised mainly in Italy, with certification validity across Europe through Accredia and its European accreditation network. For international needs it is often paired with standards such as ISO 30415 (diversity guidance) or references to the EU pay transparency directive. For groups with foreign operations, PdR 125 demonstrates maturity in Italian practice and fits well with global ESG frameworks.
How much does the certification cost?
The cost depends on company size, organisational complexity, the starting position against the requirements and whether specialist consultancy is needed. Complaion prepares a tailored quote after an initial analysis of your context, covering gap analysis, implementation, training and audit support. The best way to get a realistic figure is to request a dedicated assessment.
Request tailored advice for your certification
Obtaining UNI PdR 125 gender equality certification means building a system that pays you back in contribution relief, tender scoring, reputation and talent attraction. The real advantage, though, is reaching the audit with solid data, living procedures and a steering committee that genuinely works, rather than a pile of hastily written documents. Complaion is the partner that supports you step by step: initial gap analysis, ready-made document templates, a digital KPI dashboard, steering committee training and dedicated auditors who shorten timelines noticeably compared with traditional routes. If you want to understand where to start, which gaps to close and which concrete benefits your company can gain, request a consultation and a tailored quote from Complaion and turn gender equality into a verifiable competitive advantage.
