WEPs signatories in Thailand launch the Leaders Learning Lab to create equitable marketplaces

[Press Release]

Bangkok, Thailand – Today, six business leaders gathered at the Hyatt Regency Bangkok Sukhumvit to officially launch the Leaders Learning Lab (LLL) as part of their commitment to the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs), in particular WEPs 5, focusing on supplier diversity and creating equal market opportunities for all.

Members of the first Leaders Learning Lab cohort are:

1. Faculty of Learning Sciences and Education (LSED)
2. Hyatt Regency Bangkok Sukhumvit
3. L'Oreal (Thailand)
4. Phuket Hotels Association
5. Siam Makro Public Company Limited
6. Unilever Thai Trading Limited

As part of LLL, these six WEPs signatories will work together with industry experts and stakeholders to understand challenges women-owned businesses and gender-responsive enterprises face in accessing markets. They will identify ways to promote diverse supply chains among corporations in Thailand and create a blueprint for other companies to help strengthen their supply chains and promote inclusivity and sustainability.

The Leaders Learning Lab is part of the WEPs Dialogue series, an action-oriented forum to accelerate the progress of WEPs signatories towards achieving gender equality. Through this series, UN Women creates social impact by engaging with the private sector to gather industry best practices and share practical knowledge on gender-responsive business practices.

The WEPs signatories present committed to revising their supplier database to reflect gender-responsive procurement practices by 2025.

“UN Women is proud to convene our WEPs signatories to learn from their experiences, share our gender-responsive tools and create a road map to advance equality through gender-responsive procurement and supplier diversity”, says Katja Freiwald, Lead, Economic Empowerment and Migration, UN Women regional office for Asia and the Pacific. “We are truly partners in this movement”, she adds.

As of March, the Office of Small and Medium Enterprise Promotion, Thailand (OSMEP) and UN Women have signed a memorandum of understanding to spearhead research initiatives, improve SMEs databases and foster connections between SMEs and buyers from both public and private sectors. “To create equitable marketplaces, we need systemic action. With the Leaders Learning Lab, all stakeholders are coming together to better understand different perspectives and take collective action to change the current landscape”, added Dr. Wimonkarn Kosumas, Deputy Director, OSMEP.

Supported by the WE RISE Together programme, a joint effort of UN Women and Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Australia, the formation the Leaders Learning Lab is a step towards building a sustainable and resilient future for these companies and the communities they serve. The gender-responsive procurement agenda is in line with the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and the pledge at the heart of the Sustainable Development Goals to leave no one behind.

Advancing supplier diversity and building an enabling environment can spur innovation, widen the pool of potential suppliers and generate avenues for new clients and networks. Additionally, it allows underrepresented communities, including women-owned micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, to equally participate in the procurement process and contribute to the economy.