International Women’s Day 2026 is a collective moment for rights, justice and action for ALL women and girls. Justice for women and girls must be delivered — in law, in budgets, in institutions, and in real life. As some rights face renewed pushback globally, IWD 2026 reaffirms a clear message: Rights. Justice. Action for ALL Women and Girls. The private sector has a responsibility to advance women’s rights across workplaces, markets, and supply chains.
This International Women’s Day, WEPs is mobilizing the private sector as duty-bearers for gender equality, to:
- Establishing just and transparent processes within companies and organisations.
- Support organizations that defend women’s rights and fight for women’s access to justice:
- Women's freedom to choose to work, participate, and lead in society, including in political and justice systems.
- Family, labour, and healthcare laws that do not discriminate against women.
- Become a WEPs signatory and mainstream gender equality into every aspect of their business empowering women in the workplace, marketplace and community.
When laws change, lives change. Family law reform alone has unlocked economic rights for over 600 million women according to the World Bank’s Women, Business, and the Law project. But UN Women has calculated that at the current pace of reform it will take 286 years to close legal gaps — an unacceptable timeline that demands urgent action.
Justice is where gender equality is decided, and too often denied. Businesses can shape how it is realized through their practice. Through their commitment to the Women’s Empowerment Principles companies can ensure legal protections, enforce equal rights and advocate for justice systems that serve all women and girls in the workplace, marketplace and communities.
Gender equality is both a human rights obligation and a business imperative. When companies champion equal access to justice and women’s agency, women thrive — and economies grow. A recent UN Women report — Unfinished Business: The Private Sector and Gender Equality Report — found that achieving gender parity could inject 342 trillion into the global economy by 2050.
The Women’s Empowerment Principles equip our signatories to champion rights and justice for ALL:
- Open doors to formal employment through ethical hiring practices, transparent recruitment, clear development pathways throughout their supply chain
- Ensure workplace fairness through commitments like equal pay audits, safe reporting mechanism for harassment and full access to benefits
- Critical protections such as contracts in workers' native languages and legal support for work permits and residency
and much more.
Ring the Bell for Gender Equality 2026
Financial markets have the power to advance equal rights, enforce justice through standards, and take action for all women and girls. Ring the Bell for Gender Equality is a moment for markets to advocate for inclusive laws and practices. This year over 100 stock markets and exchanges around the world will be joining this call to action.