This year marks the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, a global commitment to a world where women and girls live free from discrimination, violence, and inequality. Today, businesses worldwide are recognizing that gender equality is not only a matter of rights, but a powerful economic lever. With this message began our webinar “From Commitment to Action: Best Practices in Business for Implementing the Women's Empowerment Principles (WEPs)”, organized by UN Women, the Agency for Business and Economic Development (AWE) and the Association for Latin America in Germany (LAV).
On 18 June 2025, we came together to celebrate the inspiring journeys of four companies from Latin America and Germany that are translating their commitments into meaningful and transformative action through the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs).
The event was opened by Orlando Baquero, General Director of the Latin American Association (LAV), and Karla Beteta, Senior Advisor at the Agency for Business and Economic Development (AWE). The session began with an introduction to the WEPs, featuring Anna Falth, Global Head of the WEPs Secretariat at UN Women, and Maja Lofstrom, Programme Analyst at the WEPs Secretariat. They provided a comprehensive overview of the WEPs and highlighted the strategic advantages for companies that commit to the initiative. This was followed by a presentation of corporate best practices through case studies showcased by:
- Alejandro Gómez Fernández, Vice President of Human Capital and Culture, Banco Agrícola (El Salvador)
- Laura Davis Mattar, Corporate Citizenship Manager, Mattos Filho (Brazil)
- Sophia Warncke, Executive Assistant to the Head of HR, LBBW (Germany)
- Guilherme Nascimento, Head of Diversity & Inclusion, Volkswagen (Brazil)
In the introductory section, Mr. Baquero underscored the strategic value of the WEPs, stating that: “Companies that integrate the WEPs into their corporate strategies are not only upholding human rights, but also strengthening their competitiveness, improving risk management, and fostering innovation.” Ms. Beteta reinforced this message by highlighting the economic imperative of gender equality: “Gender equality is an economic imperative,” she noted, emphasizing the critical importance of integrating women’s potential into corporate strategies to unlock productivity and inclusive leadership.
Banco Agrícola is one of the largest financial institutions in El Salvador and Central America and is part of the Grupo Bancolombia financial conglomerate. The bank became a WEPs signatory in 2020, with the objective of restructuring internal policies and organizational behaviours, as well as developing new programs aimed at identifying and addressing existing gender gaps. Mr. Gómez Fernández emphasized that joining the WEPs marked only the beginning of Banco Agrícola’s commitment to gender equality. Despite achieving gender parity among staff, the bank acknowledged that representation alone was not enough. True progress requires aligning leadership, corporate policies, education, and cultural transformation to challenge deeply rooted norms.
Mattos Filho is a leading Brazilian full-service law firm renowned for its expertise across more than 45 practice areas. The firm formally endorsed the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) in 2016, publicly reaffirming its commitment to advancing gender equality. Over the past decade, Mattos Filho has been at the forefront of promoting gender equality within the Brazilian legal sector, at a time when this issue was still largely underrepresented in the country’s professional discourse.
Despite societal polarization and ongoing challenges related to intersectionality, the firm remains firmly committed to advancing systemic inclusion of all women. Addressing these dimensions continues to be one of the most complex aspects of the firm’s diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. Additionally, engaging men in meaningful dialogue around gender equality remains a significant challenge. To address this, the firm actively works to demonstrate the value of allyship, highlighting how consistent, positive efforts to promote gender equality not only foster a more inclusive workplace for all but also contribute to a stronger and prosperous organizational culture.
Landesbank Baden-Württemberg (LBBW), headquartered in Stuttgart, is Germany’s largest state bank, with total assets of approximately 333 billion euros and a workforce of around 11,000 employees—50% of whom are women. Since becoming a signatory of the WEPs in 2022, LBBW has strengthened its commitment to gender equality by launching “LBBW Women,” an internal network that now includes over 500 members and continues to grow. While the bank has supported various women-led initiatives over the past decade, this year marked a significant milestone as these efforts were consolidated into a single, cohesive platform to foster greater visibility, collaboration, and impact.
Volkswagen do Brasil, is a subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group headquartered in Germany, employs over 12,000 individuals across two locations in Brazil. Since joining the WEPs on 29 May 2020, the company has transformed its commitment into both a strategic and financial advantage, positioning gender equality as a core business priority.
As Mr. Nascimento explained, the WEPs provided a unifying framework that aligned governance, organizational culture, and business performance in Volkswagen. Since adopting the principles, Volkswagen do Brasil has reported an impressive 80% advancement in its own gender equality objectives. Notably, it became the first company in the automotive sector to tie gender equality targets to a sustainability-linked loan—an innovative move that directly connects financial performance to social impact.
Key Takeaways: Recommendations for Collective Progress
From financial institutions to multinational manufacturers and law firms, several shared insights and best practices emerged:
1. Start with Leadership Commitment Endorsement from top leadership is non-negotiable. It provides direction, legitimacy, and sustained momentum.
2. Utilize WEPs Tools and Resources Leverage the extensive library of 300+ resources to drive education, diagnostics, and implementation.
3. Turn Dialogue into Practice Use data and tracking to translate intentions into operational routines. Monitor KPIs regularly.
4. Build Inclusive Networks and Mentorship Structures Internal communities—especially those promoting dialogue across levels—accelerate cultural change.
5. Innovate with Purpose Link equality metrics with financial strategies aligned with purpose, yields measurable results.
6. Engage Men and Address Masculinity Gender equality is everyone’s issue. Engaging men is essential, especially in male-dominated industries.
7. Customize and Scale Adapt approaches to your company’s cultural moment, and build scalable, context-specific programs.
8. Stay Resilient and Celebrate Progress Change is not linear. Celebrate small victories and maintain focus, even amid challenges and societal polarization.
The WEPs are more than a framework it represents a global movement of action, learning, and transformation. As these case studies show, achieving gender equality in the corporate world requires vision, commitment, creativity, and resilience.