Seven Principles to build strong economies and achieve internationally agreed goals for development, sustainability and human rights

London, 1^st May 2012 – The UK National Committee for UN Women calls on companies to sign a CEO Statement of Support for the UN Women/UN Global Compact Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs), launched in the UK last night. The Principles offer businesses of all sizes a set of guidelines to empower women in the workplace, marketplace and community with the goal of creating a better working environment for all and improving financial performance for the company.

The Principles were launched at an event last night sponsored by BNP Paribas and attended by 85 senior executives from a variety of industries.  Attendees listened to Lady Northover, Government spokesperson on International Development*; Robert Swannell, Chairman of M&S; Cynthia Carroll, Chief Executive of Anglo American; Elisabeth Karako, Global Head of Diversity at BNP Paribas; and Marie Sigsworth, Group Corporate Responsibility Director at Aviva give their experiences of improving gender equality in the workplace as well as their goals for further development in the short to medium-term.  The event was wrapped up by a panel discussion hosted by Dr Heather McGregor, Director of Taylor Bennett and columnist for the Financial Times.

The Women’s Empowerment Principles – launched globally in 2010 – are the result of a partnership between UN Women and the UN Global Compact.  Drawing on real-life business practices, the Principles were developed through a year-long international multi-stakeholder consultation, and are designed to help companies tailor existing policies and practices — or establish needed new ones — to advance women’s empowerment and inclusion.  Currently, the CEO Statement of Support for the WEPs has been signed by over 400 chief executives of companies of all sizes and industries in countries around the world.

Kristin Hetle, Director of Strategic Partnerships for UN Women, said: “The importance of the WEPs partnership for UN Women cannot be overstated. Economic empowerment is so central to our agenda, and therefore business is central to it, too.  As part of the UN, our mandate is given to us by the family of nations. It is true that we work at the invitations of governments. But without partnering with all drivers of society, we – or the governments – cannot achieve our goals. Sound businesses are at the core of any nation’s prosperity, and that of its citizens – women and men.”

Jan Grasty, President of UN Women UK National Committee, said: “At a global level, the UN Women/UN Global Compact Women Empowerment Principles have had considerable success in changing working practices for women for the benefit of all.  It is now time to bring home the Women’s Empowerment Principles to organisations in the UK for the benefit of women, men and the economy.

“On many levels in the UK, employees believe that gender equality exists but when you delve deeper into the fabric of companies, we recognise that unconscious gender bias is present. The Principles provide a gender lens to help those organisations who have the political will to challenge their day to day working practices for the benefit of their employees and ultimately the performance of their business.”

Anglo American is the first company to sign the Statement of Support for the Women’s Empowerment Principles at the UK launch, with more pledging to become signatories following last night’s event.  By signing the Statement, Anglo American has agreed to adhere to the seven standards to help strengthen its existing policies and initiatives to promote gender equality in the workplace, marketplace and community.

Cynthia Carroll, Chief Executive of Anglo American, comments: “Committing to the Women’s Empowerment Principles will help Anglo American remain focused on increasing diversity in our workplace, as well as in the wider mining industry. Meaningful progress in this area can only be achieved through the combination of corporate leadership, commitment and the appropriate structural framework and practical initiatives.

“In the mining industry, the female participation rate continues to be extremely low with significant room for improvement. We have been focused on redressing this imbalance at our own operations, in our corporate offices and across the broader sector and as a result, the percentage of women in our workforce is steadily rising. Fifteen per cent (15%) of our overall workforce are women, up from 13% in 2009 and 22% of managers are women, up from 9% in 2006. And at a Board level, we have also committed to increasing the representation of women from 20% to 30% by 2013.”

One of the first international organisations to sign up to the global WEPs was Ernst & Young.  Fleur Bothwick, Director of Diversity & Inclusive Leadership, Europe, Middle East, India and Africa at Ernst & Young, comments: “The most effective business leaders know that empowering women in the workplace will drive economic growth, leading to better outcomes for their company, for society and for the country as a whole.”

BNP Paribas, the European leader in global banking and financial services, with approximately 8,000 employees in the UK, signed up to the global WEPs in 2011.  Elisabeth Karako, Global Head of Diversity at BNP Paribas, comments on how they have strived to implement the Principles for the benefit of the company culture: “Promoting diversity has been key to BNP Paribas’ ethos for a number of years and we place great emphasis on gender equality. We are committed to ensuring female talent is recognised  and have been active in increasing the number of women in senior management roles across the organisation as well as developing our pipeline for the future.  Over one third of BNP Paribas’ board of directors are women and the first woman was appointed to the executive committee last year. In addition, we run a number of awareness raising initiatives including training programmes and have established women’s internal networks in various countries including the UK.”

Once companies have signed, UN Women UK National Committee expects signatories to be transparent in their process of implementing the WEPs, often by reporting through their existing diversity reporting mechanism. Guidance on how to make and measure progress against the WEPs is also provided through the WEPs partnership at the global level.

• Lady Northover’s full title: House of Lords, Government spokesperson on International Development and Government Whip and spokesperson on Health, Justice, Women and Equalities;

ENDS

Media Enquiries:

Kelly Zwartouw / Simren Priestley

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Notes to Editors:

The 7 Women’s Empowerment Principles in Brief

1)      Establish high-level corporate leadership for gender equality

2)      Treat all women and men fairly at work – respect and support human rights and non-discrimination

3)      Ensure the health, safety and well-being of all women and men workers

4)      Promote education, training and professional development for women

5)      Implement enterprise development, supply chain and marketing practices that empower women

6)      Promote equality through community initiatives and advocacy

7)      Measure and publicly report on progress to achieve gender equality

More information: http://unglobalcompact.org/Issues/human_rights/equality_means_business.html

UN Women UK National Committee

The UK National Committee for UN Women is a charity and the local champion for UN Women, working in local communities, in business and with the UK Government to support the global mission for gender equality. The organisation is focused on an end to violence against women; a central role for women in post conflict situations; economic empowerment for women; political participation and leadership for women; policy making that delivers gender equality; and delivery of the millennium development goals.

UN Women

UN Women is the UN organisation dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women. A global champion for women and girls, UN Women was established to accelerate progress on meeting their needs worldwide. For more information, visit www.unwomen.org.

Political and business leaders are taking this message seriously. I was pleased to hear Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg say “women’s issues are men’s issues” as he described the importance of collaborative working to achieve equality. And, whilst progress remains frustratingly slow – fewer than three per cent of CEO’s of major companies are women – McKinsey’s 2012 Women Matter: Making the Breakthrough found that “Gender diversity was among the top 10 strategic priorities for more than half the companies surveyed – double the number from 2010”. The upcoming UK launch of the UN Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) – the first global corporate code of conduct focussing exclusively on empowering, advancing and investing in women – next month, will underline boardroom commitment to diversity.

With headlines focused on practices within the City of London, corporations are working hard to do the right thing. Heads of Business are putting ever increasing effort into Corporate Responsibility and Diversity Programmes which make the launch, earlier this month, of the UN Women UK Corporate Network timely. I was delighted that the founding members of this network – Barclays Wealth, Unilever, Ernst and Young and BNP Paribas – are leaders across the diverse areas of Financial Services, Professional Services and Consumer Goods. The senior advocates for gender equality from these organisations form a close partnership with the UN Women team. This combination of skills and experience is already enabling us to quickly and robustly implement programmes in the UK and the developing world.

The case has never been clearer that achieving gender equality is imperative for everybody. Whilst progress to date has been challenging, initiatives like the WEPs and the Corporate Network make me confident that we have a renewed impetus to make this a priority throughout UK society.

This article was originally produced for the Politics First website and has been reproduced for UN Women UK. The original article can be found here.

UN Women UK’s president, Jan Grasty, was invited to represent the Committee at Number 10 Downing Street for the International Women’s Day reception.  Both the Prime Minister, David Cameron and Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, marked the day by welcoming Jan along with 50 other representatives from across the spectrum of politics, Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and brave survivors of violence.

Mr. Cameron announced UK policy initiatives to tackle violence against women:  anti- stalking legislation; piloting Clare’s Law which enables women to gain legal access to information on their partners; and the continuation of funding for UK rape crisis centres. Mr. Cameron also emphasised the plight of women globally, calling on all forms of violence to be “stamped out”.

Mr. Clegg was clear in his message that “women’s issues are men’s issues”. He commented on the need to challenge the low representation of women in UK politics and concluded by asking those invested in women’s rights to remember:  “You are not only providing an inspiration to girls who want their horizons broadened, who want their sights lifted, you also, by showing that you are successful at what you do, being as passionate and committed to the causes that you champion, I think you also change the culture for young boys as well.”

(UN Women UK President, Jan Grasty (right) with UK Prime Minister, David Cameron)

 A full transcript of the speeches delivered at No.10 Downing Street can be found here.

Building Bridges to Peace

UN Women UK’s London Committee Member and the UK Education and Training Programme Coordinator, Alice Fookes, took the lead in representing the organisation at this year’s annual Women for Women International Join me on the Bridge event.  

With a breath-taking 215 events having taken place in 59 countries and on all 7 continents, Women for Women International’s 2012 Join me on the Bridge campaign marked the third year of a global movement of thousands of men and women worldwide who joined in solidarity on bridges to support women’s demands for peace and equality.  This year’s London event was followed by a series of speeches, one of which was delivered by our very own Alice Fookes.

Bursting with anxious excitement at what marked her “first piece of grassroots activism”, Alice joined other organisations, parliamentarians such as the Shadow Secretary of State for Health, Andrew Lansley, and esteemed feminist figures in the form of Bianca Jagger and Dr Helen Pankhurst to deliver a rousing and thought-provoking address that highlighted the many strides made by UN Women in advancing women’s rights worldwide. Alice described the experience as a “beautiful, inspiring day” and her positive words overwhelmed UN Women UK’s online Twitter feed, so much so that other Committee members are eager to participate in next year’s proceedings.

(Alice Fookes of UN Women UK with Guest Speakers on the Millenium Bridge, London)

For further details on Women for Women International’s Join me on the Bridge Campaign, please consult the organisation’s website here.

 It is not too late to take a stand for women! Please join UN Women UK on Facebook and share our ‘Equals’ button with your friends to start spreading the word about gender equality.

Jan Grasty, UN Women UK’s president, opened the evening and referred to the powerful impact UN Women had already made as the newest United Nations entity. In this transformative moment for the organisation, she stressed the importance of garnering strong and influential relationships with the corporate sector. Corporate companies such as Barclays, an active member and partner of UN Women UK and the event sponsor, are already making an impact empowering women through their business initiatives and the support they give to UN Women in the UK. Representative of the company Sarah Boddey, Head of Diversity and Inclusion Barclays Wealth, reinforced the need to strengthen such professional partnerships and to pool vital resources to make a real difference to the lives of women.

With the tone set for invigorating discussion, Cherie Blair spoke passionately on why economic investment in women makes business sense. Weaving professional experience with more personal accounts, Cherie built a strong case for women’s financial independence, with initiatives such as the Cherie Blair Foundation Mentoring Programme featured as an example of successfully facilitating women’s economic capabilities. Following her speech Cherie invited questions, with guests given the unique opportunity to pose comments and share innovative ideas on how UN Women UK and other like-minded organisations can facilitate women’s economic empowerment moving forward.

An emphasis on renewed hope and investment in women provided the core message for the evening. Put simply by Cherie: “A world where a woman’s voice is heard, where a woman’s voice is respected, is a better world with women and men working together towards empowerment.”

UN Women UK raised just over £6000 from this important event in support of UN Women future world -wide projects and services for women.

For further information on how to become a member and be kept informed about future events please visit the UN Women UK Membership Page.  Your support continues to help us to make a difference.

Four international companies become founding members

London, Thursday 8^th March 2012 – The UK National Committee of UN Women marks International Women’s Day with the launch of the UN Women UK Corporate Network. The Network has been created with the help of four founding members – Barclays, BNP Paribas, Ernst & Young and Unilever.

The UN Women UK Corporate Network (Un Women UK) has been established to form a close partnership with senior business leaders and advocates for gender equality. This will provide a unique framework for them to work alongside UN Women in the UK and in the developing world.

UN Women UK believes that gender equality is not only a human rights issue but it is in the interests of both sexes for women to participate fully in all levels of the economic life of society. It is also smart business practice, as a 2007 report by McKinsey & Company (Women Matter: Gender diversity, a corporate performance driver) found. Private sector firms with the largest share of women in top management perform best; they argued that implementing strategies to close gender gaps is critical to private sector growth worldwide.

The aims and objectives of UN Women cannot be achieved without the help of the whole of society.   UN Women UK welcomes its corporate partners who will provide insight, knowledge and support to enable UN Women UK to further raise awareness of the issues effecting women in business and to provide the opportunity for employee engagement in the work of UN Women UK.

Jan Grasty, President of UN Women UK, said: “The empowerment of women is equally about UK boardroom practices as well as micro finance for female entrepreneurs in the developing world. It is also about ending violence against all women and girls and improving female leadership and participation globally. This is why it is important that we gain the support of leading businesses in the UK and globally.”

Sarah Boddey, Head of Diversity and Inclusion at Barclays Wealth: “It has been great to support UN Women UK with shaping what corporate membership will bring to both organisations.  UN Women’s goals and principles, particularly those connected with education and awareness building, are closely aligned with our own citizenship agenda here at Barclays.”

Kara Lemont, Global Head of Fixed Income Structuring at BNP Paribas, commented: “We at BNP Paribas are extremely proud to support the UN Women UK Corporate Network in its goal to promote gender equality in the workplace. Equality sits at the heart of our values as an organisation and we recognise the importance of a diverse and balanced workforce for a thriving and competitive business environment. We look forward to increasing awareness of this initiative and helping to grow this network further”

Fleur Bothwick, Director of Diversity & Inclusive Leadership, Europe, Middle East, India and Africa at Ernst and Young, commented: “Many organisations are in a position to really make a difference to gender equality, but united as a corporate network we can have more impact and accelerate progress. It isn’t just a human rights issue – it makes business sense. Research conducted throughout the world shows gender balance in top positions contributes to improved competitiveness and better business performance. It’s a win-win for the global economy, organisations and women. We look forward to help shape the debate and collaborate across sectors to share best practice and push for further progress.”

Patricia O’Hayer, Vice President Employee Engagement Communications at Unilever, said: “More than three quarters of Unilever’s global consumer base and half of its talent base is women, so our continued business success depends upon understanding the needs of both. While we have made great strides in ensuring we have a gender balanced organisation, we have not yet achieved our goals and improving gender balance is a key business priority, so we are happy to become partners with UN Women UK with its clear mandate to empower women in business and leadership positions.”

UN Women UK is keen to enlarge the network to include UK companies both large and small, local and international, SME and corporate, public and private, and are in active dialogue with a number of potential partners.

The network will meet formally on a bi-monthly basis as well as at social events with the aim of fundraising and increasing the awareness of UN Women UK and the Corporate Network’s activity.

Ends

Media Enquiries:

Simren Priestley / Steve McCool

Hume Brophy

0203 440 5656

UNWomen@humebrophy.com

Notes to Editors:

UN Women UK

UN Women UK is the local representative voice and champion for UN Women, working in local communities, in business and with the UK government to support the global mission for gender equality. The organisation is focused on an end to violence against women; a central role for women in post conflict situations; economic empowerment for women; political participation and leadership for women; policy making that delivers gender equality; and delivery of the millennium development goals.

UN Women

UN Women is the UN organisation dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women. A global champion for women and girls, UN Women was established to accelerate progress on meeting their needs worldwide. For more information, visit www.unwomen.org.