Asia-Pacific 2023 Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) Forum

The Forum is organized as part of the new DFAT-supported programme ‘Advancing the implementation of Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) for Accelerated Business Action for Gender Equality in Asia and the Pacific,’ which will contribute to the broader Business and Human Rights and Sustainable Development Agendas, particularly to advancing gender equality (SDG 5) and strengthening the engagement of the private sector towards sustainable development (SDG 17), ultimately contributing to more inclusive economic growth in Asia and the Pacific. Full details ▼

Event type: Conferences, meetings, symposiums

Start date: 07 November 2023 | Start time: 08:00 UTC +00:00

End date: 08 November 2023 | End time: 17:30 UTC +00:00

Location: Citadines Bay City Manila, Philippines

Event description

Date/Time: 7 November 2023, 8:00AM - 7:00PM | 8 November 2023, 8:00AM - 5:30PM, Manila local time (UTC+8)

Launched in 2010 by UN Women and the UN Global Compact, the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) are a set of 7 principles that provide companies a roadmap to become more gender-responsive throughout their value chain. The WEPs is the only framework that encompasses gender equality at all organizational levels, beginning with leadership and providing guidance for the workplace, marketplace and community, underpinned by a strong emphasis on accountability and transparent reporting of progress.

The WEPs have been a key vehicle over the last years to advance private sector commitments to gender equality and women’s empowerment. As noted in UN Women’s recently published report ‘Trends and Opportunities to Advance Gender Equality in the Asia and the Pacific‘⁵, from 2018 to 2021, there was a 186 per cent increase in companies in Asia and the Pacific that have signed the WEPs. In that same period, 400 companies have completed the WEPs Gender Gap Analysis Tool (GAT) over the last four years, signaling increased commitment to taking action.

Building on the seized momentum created through the WEPs in Asia-Pacific and leveraging the established stakeholder networks, inclusive of UN Women’s business network (2,000+ Asia-Pacific WEPs signatories), broader ecosystem stakeholders, such as regional governmental bodies ASEAN⁷, country governments⁸ , policy makers, Security Exchange Commissions, Stock Exchanges and various business organizations (i.e. Chamber of Commerce), UN Women is leading the organization of a two-day 2023 Asia-Pacific WEPs Forum to create a platform for learning and networking and to further catalyze commitments and deeper business action towards gender equality.

The Forum is organized as part of the new DFAT-supported programme ‘Advancing the implementation of Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) for Accelerated Business Action for Gender Equality in Asia and the Pacific,’ which will contribute to the broader Business and Human Rights and Sustainable Development Agendas, particularly to advancing gender equality (SDG 5) and strengthening the engagement of the private sector towards sustainable development (SDG 17), ultimately contributing to more inclusive economic growth in Asia and the Pacific.

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