Corporate Communication and SDG 5: Promoting Gender Equality in the Workplace study on messaging and internal advocacy for women empowerment

Abstract

Equality between woman and men is a main objective of sustainable development having been entrenched as Sustainable Development Goal 5 (SDG 5) focusing on the need to end discrimination and encourage equal opportunities. In business environments, communication is a critical element in adaptation of gender diversity in the work place. This paper examines how corporate messaging and internal advocacy programs affect the process of promoting gender-based empowerment of women at the workplace. Through a combination of surveys, interviews and internal communication audits, conducted across different organizations, the study analyzes messaging strategies, leadership involvement and peer advocacy and how they influence the perceptions of gender equality and inclusivity in the workplace. The results show that proactive internal communication along with a manifest leadership in terms of commitment elevates employees to be informed on the gender equality policies to a notable level, motivate equitable participation, and alleviate workplace bias. Nevertheless, the problematic issues of culture within the organization, stratification obstacles, and lack of the uniform communication are of great concern. The study emphasizes the role of strategic corporate communication as a tool that can be used to promote SDG 5 and provide viable suggestions that can be used by organizations to enhance internal advocacy on women empowerment. The paper equally points out the limitation when it comes to the diversity of the sample and measuring communication, indicating where new research should go.