Community insights

Last month, G20 heads of State and Government gathered in Indonesia to discuss how their countries will “Recover Together, Recover Stronger” from the current socio-economic challenges. In this important group – representing 60 per cent of world population and 80 per cent of global GDP – only one head of a State or Government was a woman.  

WEPs Signatories in Jamaica have pursued impactful initiatives which were shared during a UN Women-organized workshop, held in partnership with Caribbean Women in Leadership (CIWiL) on 18 May 2022. The workshop on "Promoting Freedom from Violence in our Workplaces and Communities" gathered current and potential signatories.

The WEPs community in Albania is growing rapidly. In November 2022, 30 companies had adopted the WEPs of which 19 joined in 2022. Eighteen of these WEPs signatories participated in a meeting – organized by UN Women Albania in October 2022 – to discuss the private sector's role during this year’s 16 days of activism on ending violence against women.

According to the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (INEC) in Ecuador, the percentage of women workers in the construction sector is 3.9% and only 7.8% of people who drive heavy transport in Ecuador are women. This is due to several factors related to the gender bias, the lack of training for women in this sector and even the negative perceptions of women who work in construction.

 In 2022, 45 companies in Bangladesh have improved capacities to implement gender equality in the workplace, marketplace, and community after receiving  capacity-building support from UN Women. Out of these, 16 companies showed strengthened commitments towards gender equality, having adopted the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs). This in turn has benefited nearly 1,400 women employees.

The UN Women Asia-Pacific WEPs Awards is the first regional awards initiative that recognizes companies who are taking action for gender equality in the region aligned to the Women’s Empowerment Principles, with the ultimate objective to make good practices visible and encourage more business to take action by joining the WEPs.