Did you know that the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) is turning 15 years in 2025? Established in 2010, WEPs has been guiding the private sector to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment throughout their business ecosystems. The WEPs community has grown to over 11,000 signatories in more than 160 countries.
To mark the International Women’s Day in March 2025, 114 exchanges and central counterparty clearing houses (CCPs) around the world participated in the eleventh annual 'Ring the Bell for Gender Equality' to accelerate gender equality and women’s empowerment in the workplace, marketplace and community.
The February 2025 WEPs Deep-Dive Series session explored how businesses can advance gender equality in global value chains. Despite women’s critical role in value chains, systemic inequalities—such as wage gaps, discrimination and limited leadership opportunities—persist.
2025 WEPs Deep-dives Series: The Unspoken Topics
The 10th session of the WEPs Deep-Dive Series and the first of 2025 focused on how discussing often-overlooked workplace challenges—such as hormonal cycles, fertility journeys, pregnancy loss and parenthood—can promote psychological safety and enhance leadership.
The ninth session of the 2024 WEPs Deep-Dive Series on Private Sector Tackles Violence Against Women Heads On began with insightful remarks by Adriana Quinones, Head of Human Rights and Development at UN Women, and Vera Rios, Communications and Stakeholder Engagement Consultant at UN Women in Geneva. The speakers emphasized the critical role of companies to challenge harmful social norms, behaviours and stereotypes that perpetuate gender inequality and contribute to gender-based violence.
The eighth session of the 2024 WEPs Deep-Dive Series on Private Sector Action to Advance Gender Equality in Times of Crisis opened with impactful remarks from Anna Fälth, Global Head of the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) Secretariat at UN Women. Anna underscored the vital role of businesses in addressing gender inequalities, particularly during crises.
As the global community works towards the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the need for women's leadership in climate action has become increasingly evident. This critical issue was the focus of the seventh session of the 2024 WEPs Deep-Dive Series on Women’s Leadership for Climate Action.
For the sixth WEPs deep-dive session “WEPs in the marketplace: Removing gender stereotypes in marketing and advertising”, the WEPs Secretariat invited two WEPs signatories – one B2C and one B2B company – to explore how gender-responsive marketing and advertising strategies can be tailored to different types of companies. The webinar also featured a speaker from the Unstereotype Alliance, a thought and action platform that seeks to eradicate harmful stereotypes in all media and advertising content, convened by UN Women.
Adopting an intersectional approach in business practices is not just a matter of promoting diversity; it is a strategic move that can drive innovation, enhance market competitiveness, and improve the bottom line. This was the central theme of the recent WEPs Deep-Dive Webinar on Intersectionality, where experts discussed how intersectionality influences business practices and organizational culture.
Care work encompasses both direct, personal, and relational activities such as feeding a baby or caring for an ill partner, as well as indirect activities like cooking and cleaning. Despite its critical role in sustaining economies and societies, care work remains largely unrecognized, undervalued, and underpaid.
