Women’s Empowerment

Principles

Equality Means Business

Ursula Wynhoven, General Counsel

Chief, Governance and Social Sustainability

UN Global Compact

Overview

I. UN Global Compact

II. Gender Equality and Corporate Sustainability

III. Overcoming Barriers to Achieving Gender Equality

IV. Sustainable Development Goals and Women’s Empowerment

V. The Women’s Empowerment Principles

UN Global Compact – Vision and Objectives

Two: encourage businesses to take action in support of UN goals and issues Two: encourage businesses to take action in support of UN goals and issues

One: incorporate respect for the Ten Principles into businesses’ strategy and operations One: incorporate respect for the Ten Principles into businesses’ strategy and operations InternalizationInternalization

ContributionContribution

A more sustainable and inclusive global economyA more sustainable and inclusive global economy

One visionOne vision

Two objectivesTwo objectives

3

The UN Global Compact: The 10 Principles

Anti-CorruptionPrinciple 10: Businesses should work against all forms of corruption, including extortion and bribery. 

EnvironmentPrinciple 7: Businesses should support a precautionary approach to environmental challenges; Principle 8: undertake initiatives to promote greater environmental responsibility; and Principle 9: encourage the development and diffusion of environmentally friendly technologies

Labour StandardsPrinciple 3: Businesses should uphold the freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining; Principle 4: the elimination of all forms of forced and compulsory labour; Principle 5: the effective abolition of child labour; and Principle 6: the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation.

Human RightsPrinciple 1: Businesses should support and respect the protection of internationally proclaimed human rights; and Principle 2: make sure that they are not complicit in human rights abuses.

Breaking Down Silos &Riding the Corporate Sustainability Wave

Corporate Sustainability: The delivery of long-term value in financial, social, environmental and ethical terms.

How can we leverage the momentum behind corporate sustainability to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment?

Social

Environmental

Governance

Bringing down barriers to achieving Gender Equality – A call to action

Structural, legal, cultural and unconscious barriers continue to hinder women’s and girl’s contributions to economic growth, sustainable development and business productivity and performance. Women are:

Underrepresented in power and decision making roles, and face barriers to reach the top Men make up 82 per cent of all S&P 500 Board seats 

Receive unequal pay for equal work Women in most countries earn on average only 60 to 75 per cent of men’s wages

Hindered by laws affecting their economic participation and safety Almost 90 per cent of 143 economies have at least one legal difference restricting women’s economic opportunities Only 8 of 100 economies have explicit legislation on sexual harassment in public spaces 603 million women live in countries where domestic violence is not outlawed and more than 2.6 billion live in countries where rape within marriage is not 

considered a crime.

Not offered the same opportunities in jobs, education, training and professional development Women constitute only 40 per cent of the formal global labor force 

Economically disadvantaged and lack equal opportunity to compete for business More women than men are in vulnerable employment, especially in Northern Africa (54.7 per cent versus 30.2 percent), Sub-Saharan Africa (nearly 85.5 

per cent versus 70.5 per cent) and the Middle East (33.2 per cent versus 23.7 per cent)

Under-prioritized by decision makers 72 per cent agree that there is a direct connection between gender diversity and business success, but only 28 per cent say it is a top-10 priority for 

senior leadership. 

While all of the sustainable development goals should be inclusive and gender-sensitive

Gender Equality in the international Sustainable Development Agenda

Gender Equality in the Sustainable Development Agenda

The 8 Millennium Development Goals

The draft Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)1. End poverty everywhere

2. End hunger, improve nutrition & promote sustainable agriculture

3. Attain healthy lives for all

4. Provide quality education and life-long learning opportunities for all

5. Attain gender equality, empower women and girls everywhere

6. Ensure availability and sustainable use of water and sanitation for all

7. Ensure sustainable energy for all

8. Promote sustained, inclusive + sustainable economic growth, full & productive employment & decent work for all

9. Promote sustainable infrastructure & industrialization & foster innovation

9

10. Reduce inequality within & between countries

11. Make cities + human settlements inclusive, safe and sustainable

12. Promote sustainable consumption & production patterns

13. Tackle climate change and its impacts

14. Conserve and promote sustainable use of oceans, seas and marine resources

15. Protect and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, halt desertification, land degradation & biodiversity loss

16. Achieve peaceful & inclusive societies, access to justice for all, and effective and capable institutions

17. Strengthen the means of implementation and the global partnership for sustainable development

Beijing +20 – Beijing Declaration and Platform for ActionCritical areas of concern•Women and the environment

•Women in power and decision-making

•The girl child

•Women and the economy

•Women and poverty

•Violence against women

•Human rights of women

•Education and training of women

•Institutional mechanisms for the advancement of women

•Women and health

•Women and the media

•Women and armed conflict

- See more at: http://beijing20.unwomen.org/en

The WEPs spell out business’ role

The Business Case: Risks

By not fully recognizing women as leaders, consumers, entrepreneurs, workers and care takers, we are underutilizing women’s contributions to economic growth, sustainable development and business productivity and performance.

Business risks of not fully utilizing women’s talents and skills:

- Less competitive

- Legal risk from unlawful discrimination

- Lower productivity

- Missed opportunity to increase market share

- Less innovation

- Reputational risk

The Business Case: Opportunities

The Business Case for Gender Equality:

Supporting women’s health and empowerment leads to higher return Programmes to support female employees’ health have reported a return on investment as high as 4:1. Through female health education and empowerment interventions, worker absenteeism dropped to 3 per cent with significant

economic gains for workers and factory owners.

Companies with more women at the helm perform better Several studies have shown that companies with more women on boards and in senior management yield a higher return.

Creating diverse workplaces increases productivity Eliminating discrimination against female workers and managers could increase productivity per worker by 25-40 per cent,

depending on the type and degree of exclusion from the labour force and the managerial pool.

Investing in women-owned businesses yields higher return on investment In 2014 average venture-backed companies run by women had annual revenues that were 12 per cent higher than those run

by men and used an average of 1/3 less capital.

Recognizing women’s consumer power is a smart business decision Women control roughly USD 20 trillion of total consumer spending globally and influence up to 80 per cent of buying decisions.

Companies with three or more women corporate directors outperformed those with no women on the board

Source: Catalyst, 2011

Reported increases in

Return on Equity Return on Invested Capital Return on Sales

46%

60%

84%

The Business Case: Opportunities – an example

The Women’s Empowerment Principles

The Women's Empowerment Principles are a set of 7 Principles for business offering guidance on how to empower women in the workplace, marketplace and community. They are the result of a collaboration between the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) and the United Nations Global Compact.

MORE THAN 850 CEOs HAVE SIGNED THE WEPs CEO

STATEMENT OF SUPPORT

www.WEprinciples.org

WEPs Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gU9mFbFHYxA#t=23

CEO Statement of Support

We, business leaders from across the globe, express support for advancing equality between women and men to:

•Bring the broadest pool of talent to our endeavours;

•Further our companies’ competitiveness;

•Meet our corporate responsibility and sustainability commitments;

•Model behaviour within our companies that reflects the society we would like for our employees, fellow citizens and families;

•Encourage economic and social conditions that provide opportunities for women and men, girls and boys; and

•Foster sustainable development in the countries in which we operate.

WEPs Signatories Around the World

22 Companies listed themselves as global As of 30 December 2014

1- 4

No signatories

20 - 49

5 - 19

> 50

Number of Signatories

More than 850 CEOs from companies around the world have signed the CEO Statement of Support

Why Sign the CEO Statement of Support

• Demonstrate leadership on gender equality and women’s empowerment

• Lead by example

• Use the 7 Principles to assess company policies and programmes

• Take advantage of WEPs tools and resources to develop an action plan• Connect with fellow businesses and other stakeholders

• Share good practices and lessons learned with others

• Engage in dialogue and collective action

• Join exciting engagement opportunities and WEPs related events

• Showcase the gender dimension of corporate sustainability and business' role in sustainable development and corporate responsibility

• Work towards achieving global Sustainable Development Goals

• Communicate progress to stakeholders

“When you embrace these Principles, you join a great and gathering movement to unleash the power of women and change the world…By working together based on shared values, we can advance the common good.” - UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon

How to Engage in the WEPs

COMMITLeadership commitment to mainstream gender equality throughout corporate sustainability and other relevant strategies and operations ASSESS

Apply a gender lens when assessing risks, opportunities, and impacts

DEFINEApply a gender lens whendefining goals, strategies, andpolicies, and metrics

IMPLEMENTImplement gender equality strategies and policies throughout thebusiness and across the value chain

MEASUREMeasure and monitor impacts and progress towards goals

COMMUNICATECommunicate progress andstrategies while engaging with stakeholders forcontinuous improvement

Implementation: Company Examples

Principle 5: RBS, a financial services company headquartered in Scotland, adopted and is implementing a Supplier Diversity and Inclusion Programme

Principle 3: Levi Strauss Foundation in collaboration with Business for Social Responsibility found that by providing health training programmes and services to a factory workers in Egypt the factory had a $4:$1 return on investment in the form of reduced absenteeism and turnover.

Principle 2: Westpac Banking Corporation, a financial services company in Australia ,offers a flexible 2 year parental leave policy so the parent can arrange his or her schedule to accommodate family and work life

Principle 4: Recognizing that recruiting more women into the company is not just the right thing to do, but critical for long term growth, Anglo American, a global mining company, started training women for non-traditional jobs in the coal and mining sector to address skill shortages

Principle 6: Dean’s Beans, a North American Coffee company, developed a training programme for young girls in a Guatemala coffee village to help increase the self-esteem of women and raise awareness of the importance of gender equality

Principle 7: Aitken Spence, a Sri Lankan travel and leisure company, conducts gap assessments measuring progress towards the 7 Women's Empowerment Principles

Making and Measuring Progress

Track Progress

Detect Gaps Benchmark

Replicate Success

Demonstrate Progress Gain Recognition

For more information on the WEPs reporting guidance visit: http://weprinciples.org/Site/WepsGuidelines/

WEPs Resources and Engagement Opportunities

Calls to Action•Invest in Women’s Employment•Commit to Inclusive Sourcing•Crack the Ceiling, Raise the Floor (women in leadership)•Tackle Unconscious Bias to Create Inclusive Business Environments

Webinars•Gender Equality - Human Rights and Business Dilemmas Forum•How to Tackle the Unconscious Mind for Inclusive Behavior•Respecting and Supporting Women throughout the Value Chain•The Business Case for Women's Employment•Business and Women's Health

Additional Resources•Making the Connections: Women, Corporate Sustainability and Sustainable Development•Post-2015 Agenda and Related Sustainable Development Goals Issue Focus: Women’s Empowerment and the Role of Business

Engagement Opportunities•Join us at the 2015 WEPs Annual Event•Share good practices •Recognize your CEO’s championship for gender equality by nominating her/him for the annual WEPs CEO Leadership Awards

Spread the Word Take Action Help Build the Consensus

www.WEPrinciples.orgwynhoven@un.org

+1-212-963-5705 @WEPrinciples facebook.com/WEPrinciples