Equality Means Business – Introduction to Women´s Empowerment Principles

The struggle for gender equality is essential to secure a sustainable, inclusive, and prosperous economy that benefits all. The private sector has the power to generate innovation, employment and financing that can bridge the gender gaps in the business sector. Global research has proven that companies investing in women, supporting women’s leadership, and committing to gender equality more often than not outperform their competitors. Equal treatment of women and men is not just the right thing to do – it is also good for business now and in the future. Hence, a broad concept of sustainability and corporate responsibility that embraces women’s empowerment will benefit us all. In order to help your business and the global business community realize these opportunities, the seven steps of the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) were established by the UN Global Compact and UN Women.

This is a webinar series tailored to provide you with a general overview of the WEPs, their value proposition, the process of becoming a signatory and how your company can communicate results and progress on the principles. It will also provide a deeper dive into three of the principles, and how these principles can be applied internally and externally. The next webinar in the series is webinar 4. The fourth webinar dives deeper into Principle 7 of the WEPs: Measurement and Reporting.

Overview of webinars:

Webinar 1: Introduction to the WEPs – 11 November 2020, 15.00-16.30 CET (Conducted)
The first webinar provided an overview of the Women’s Empowerment Principles, their value proposition, the process of becoming a signatory and how your company can communicate results and progress on the principles. In this webinar participants were asked which principles are of most interest to them, and the themes for the coming three webinars are chosen based on participants’ preferences.

Webinar 2: Principle 2 – 14 December 2020, 15.00-16.00 CET (Conducted)
This webinar dove into Principle 2 of the WEPs: Treat all Women and Men Fairly at Work without Discrimination. Two companies will present how they have chosen to work with the principle, strategies they have developed and challenges they experienced along the way. There will be time during the webinar to discuss in smaller groups and provide input to and get tips from other companies.

Webinar 3: Principle 5 – 2 March 2021, 15.00-16.00 CET (Conducted)
This webinar dives deeper into Principle 5 of the WEPs: Enterprise development, supply chain and marketing practices. Two companies will present how they have chosen to work with the principle, strategies they have developed and challenges they experienced along the way. There will be time during the webinar to discuss and provide input to and get tips from other companies.

Webinar 4: Principle 7 – 29 April 2021, 15.00-16.00 CET (Conducted)
This webinar will dive deeper into Principle 7 of the WEPs: Measurement and Reporting. One company will present how they have chosen to work with the principle, strategies they have developed and challenges they experienced along the way. You will also we provided with closing remarks on the webinar series. There will be time during the webinar to discuss and provide input to and get tips from other companies.

Read more about Women’s Empowerment Principles