Only 10 publicly listed companies in Australia have made it onto the Bloomberg 2021 Gender-Equality Index (GEI), despite a record number of companies that disclosed data.

From financial services, companies that made the index include Commonwealth Bank, Westpac, Challenger, National Australia Bank and QBE Insurance.

Other companies include Nine Entertainment, Scentre Group, Incitec Pivot, NIB and this year's only new inclusion, gold miner St Barbara.

There are 380 companies headquartered across 44 countries and regions are included in the 2021 GEI and brings transparency to gender-related policies at publicly listed companies.

GEI companies had an average disclosure score of 94% but the average data excellence score was just 55%, highlighting the need for more effort.

The data excellence score is broken down into scores across five pillars: female leadership and talent pipeline, equal pay and gender pay parity, inclusive culture, sexual harassment policies, and pro-women brand.

On average, GEI companies are recruiting more women than they are losing with 69% having a strategy for recruiting women and 59% conduct a global gender-based compensation review.

In addition, 85% of employees returning to work after parental leave stay with their companies and 65% offer lactation rooms on-site while 46% offer childcare subsidies or financial support.

Nearly two-thirds of GEI board members are women while 61% have a chief diversity officer. These companies have 39% of women in revenue-producing roles.

Bloomberg global head of sustainable finance solutions Patricia Torres said as businesses strive to maintain corporate culture, business leaders can drive gender equality progress.

"This progress can begin with the GEI framework, which helps companies assess where they are on the path to gender parity relative to their peers, and hold themselves accountable to their goals," she said.

In turn, the GEI data gives investors a comprehensive view into how these practices are driving increased employee engagement and productivity, bringing higher market value to companies, and creating positive change in local communities."