China’s companies step up support for Women’s Empowerment Principles

Authors: Lin Jialei, and Liu Di

Beijing, China — A recent surge in support has brought to 74 the number of companies in China that have become official signatories to the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs), and started creating fairer conditions for women in the workplace, marketplace and the community.

China’s entrepreneurs gathered to discuss gender equality and corporate social responsibility in Beijing last year at the WeEmpowerAsia China launch event. Photo: UN Women/Li Sheng

Since July 1, 2019, 44 companies have submitted the CEO Statement of Support for the Women’s Empowerment Principles. Companies become official signatories after that statement is approved. As of March 13, there were 74 official signatories in China, including Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan.

This is an important year for promoting gender equality. It is the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and the tenth anniversary of the WEPs, which UN Women and United Nations Global Compact developed to guide businesses on adopting practices to empower women, such as equal pay for work of equal value, gender responsive supply chain practices and zero tolerance of sexual harassment. Globally, more than 2,900 companies have signed the WEPs.

In signing the WEPs, Raymund Chao, Chairman for PwC in Asia Pacific and China, committed to integrate into the company’s procurement process policies such as requiring suppliers to describe their diversity policies in bidding documents.

Raymund Chao, Chairman for PwC in Asia Pacific and China. Photo: PwC China

China Entrepreneur Magazine’s Mulan Initiative is joining UN Women in inviting business leaders in China to commit to the WEPs. Within Mulan Initiative’s network, female CEOs are leading the way. He Zhenhong, President of China Entrepreneur Magazine, signed the WEPs and said the magazine will advocate for equality and diversity in the business world.

He Zhenhong, President of China Entrepreneur Magazine. Photo: China Entrepreneur Magazine/DengPan

Chia-Lin Coispeau is the co-founder of Maverlinn, a European consulting company based in Shanghai. As a WEPs signatory herself, Coispeau said the WEPs is a valuable instrument to help guide companies on how to promote gender equality, and programmes such as WeEmpowerAsia can provide a platform for Chinese and European companies to come together to advance women’s economic empowerment.

Chia-Lin Coispeau, co-founder of Maverlinn. Photo: Maverlinn

Though great progress has been made, China’s women still face inequalities in business. According to World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2020, only 9.7 per cent of board members of listed companies in China are women.

A report by McKinsey & Company in 2018 said that by adopting gender-equal work policies in a best-in-region scenario, Asia and the Pacific could add USD4.5 trillion of GDP a year by 2025; China would gain the most — USD2.6 trillion, a 13 per cent increase.

In March 2019, UN Women and the European Union started the WeEmpowerAsia programme, a three-year effort to promote women’s opportunities in the private sector and sustainable, inclusive growth in seven Asian countries, including China. Encouraging business leaders to sign and take action on the WEPs is a key part of the project.

The 44 companies that submitted the CEO statement supporting the Women’s Empowerment Principles since July 2019: