In July 2024, UN Women and the European Union launched Women Empower India (WE India)—a 40-month joint programme that places the WEPs at the centre of closing persistent gender gaps in employment, entrepreneurship, and leadership across India.
Active in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, and through pan-India activities, WE India aims to create enabling ecosystems where women—especially those from underserved groups—can thrive as workers, business owners, and decision-makers.
A core focus of the programme is positioning the WEPs as an operational strategy. WE India partners with companies—from multinationals to women-led MSMEs—to embed the WEPs across their leadership pipelines, workplace safety systems, supply chains, service design, and community engagements. The model emphasizes accountability and transparency, encouraging companies to track and report on their progress on gender equality.
The programme targets high-growth sectors like digital and clean energy, while tackling structural inequities in labour-intensive industries such as textiles. A notable initiative is the Textile Industry Coalition in Tamil Nadu, a multi-stakeholder alliance led by the state Government and convened by UN Women, supporting a survivor-centred response to gender-based violence in the supply chain.
In parallel, WE India strengthens gender data systems and policy dialogues to inform decisions across public and private sectors. By promoting gender-responsive financing and expanding market access for women entrepreneurs, the programme builds cross-sector partnerships to address systemic barriers in both policy and social norms.
Through this integrated approach, WE India is deepening WEPs implementation across India’s evolving economy. By linking corporate practice, policy reform, and community impact, the programme demonstrates how the WEPs can move from vision to measurable, lasting impact.
Read more here: Women Empower India