Equality
Means Business
WEPs Brochure

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PRINCIPLES

Principle 1

Establish high-level corporate leadershipfor gender equality.

Principle 2

Treat all women and men fairly at work– respect andsupport human rights and nondiscrimination.

Principle 3

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

Principle 4

Promote education, training and professional
development for women.

Principle 5

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

Principle 6

Promote equality through community initiatives
and advocacy.

Principle 7

Measure and publicly report on progressto achieve gender equality.

Equality
Means Business
WEPs Learn strives to equip women with new skills, capacities andcharacteristics to succeed in the digital economy and labour market.
This virtual platform also offers learning opportunities for WEPs
signatories to deepen their implementation of the Women’s
Empowerment Principles. The lessons are designed to give
women more confidence in job interviews, lead genderequality initiatives within their organizations, theability to assess new job opportunities, andtherefore grow their careers more
effectively.
WEPs BrochureLinkedin@WEPrinciples@WEPrinciples

YouTubeEquality Means Business | WEPs Brochure
United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women
220 East 42nd Street
New York, New York 10017
United States
www.weps.org
weps@unwomen.org

Third Edition | 2021
Copyright © 2021

Design: Oliver Gantner

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without
prior permission of UN Women.
DISCLAIMER: This brochure was produced with the financial support of the European Union. Its contents
are the sole responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union,
the United Nations and their member States.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: This Brochure was prepared by Anna Falth, Sarah Merusi and Diana Ranola at
UN Women headquarters.
We would like to recognize the contributions of the UN Women regional and country offices in Asia andthe Pacific (India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam), Arab States (Jordan,
Kuwait, Lebanon and Palestine), Eastern & Southern Africa (South Africa and Tanzania), Europe andCentral Asia (Georgia, Moldova and Turkey), Latin-America and the Caribbean (Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica,
Jamaica, Mexico and Uruguay), and the UN Women National Committee in New Zealand. We are also
grateful to the UN Global Compact for their inputs.

Equality Means Business • WEPs BROCHURE

Message fromUN WOMEN

Gender inequality is the largest human rights challenge facing the world today, with hugeeconomic and social consequences for all of society. Conversely, with the full participationof women in the economy comes job creation, innovation, productivity and sustainableeconomic growth. With the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbating existing gender inequalities,
women’s expertise and leadership are more needed than ever. The Women’s Empowerment
Principles (WEPs) provide a powerful framework to advance gender equality in theworkplace, marketplace and community and set a global norm for the private sector.
They offer insights for signatories on how to engage with likeminded companies andstakeholders within the WEPs network and on how to activate their business partners tofollow in their footsteps. Transparency, accountability and the tracking of progress andresults are at the centre of the seven principles.
Sima Bahous
Under-Secretrary-General of the United Nations
Executive Director of UN Women

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Message fromUN GLOBAL COMPACT“The evidence is clear — when women are empowered, everyone benefits. That is why in2010 the UN Global Compact and UN Women worked together to develop the Women’s
Empowerment Principles, a framework of seven Principles to galvanize stakeholders to drive
gender equality in the workplace, marketplace and community. The Women’s Empowerment
Principles serve as a roadmap to foster business practices that empower women, including
equal pay, equal opportunity for career advancement, paid parental leave and zero tolerance
for sexual harassment in the workplace. Through collective action, we can lead and shape thepath to a gender equitable world.”
Sanda Ojiambo
Executive Director
UN Global Compact

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Equality Means Business • CONTENTSCONTENTS

Introduction

7

What are the Women’s Empowerment Principles?

7

The WEPs Journey

8

About this Brochure9

Consider11

Why join the WEPs community?

13

Key messages to garner internal support for the WEPs signature

14

Joining the WEPs community

15

Implementing the WEPs

16

The WEPs and the Sustainable Development Goals

17

Sign

21

Completing the application

23

Creating your company profile page

23

Communicating your WEPs Commitment

23

Relevant Links

24#WeCommit

24

Activate25

The 7 Principles:

30

WEPs Tools and Guidance48

Engage51

Creating an ecosystem of committed companies

53

Sharing your progress with the WEPs community

53

Engaging your team through WEPs Learn

54

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Sustain55

Monitoring and tracking performance

57

The WEPs Transparency and Accountability Framework

58

Report59

Reporting on gender equality

61

Reporting on the WEPs Company Profile Page

62

Annex

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63

I.

CEO Statement of Support for the Women’s Empowerment Principles

65

II.

Donate to the WEPs

66

III. Guidance on WEPs Transparency and Accountability indicators

68

IV. Reporting privately or publicly on your WEPs company profile page76

Equality Means Business • INTRODUCTIONINTRODUCTION
WHAT ARE THE WEPs?
The Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) provide a holistic framework forcompanies to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment in the workplace,marketplace and community and drive positive outcomes for society and business.
Launched in 2010 by UN Women and UN Global Compact, the WEPs are informed byinternational labour and human rights standards and grounded in the recognition thatbusinesses have a stake in, and a responsibility for, gender equality and women’s empowerment.
The seven Principles constitute a primary vehicle for corporate delivery on gender equality
dimensions of the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development
Goals. The WEPs represent a powerful platform to share lessons learned on how genderequality links to their bottom line; how to make progress in this area; and how to track results.
As of 1 March 2021, over 5,000 companies in 141 countries, representing collectively over
10 million employees, have signed and committed to implementing the WEPs. By joining the
WEPs community, the CEO signals commitment to gender equality at the highest levels of
the company and to work collaboratively in multistakeholder networks to foster businesspractices that empower women. These include equal pay for work of equal value, genderresponsive supply chain practices and zero tolerance against sexual harassment in
the workplace.
Adopting the WEPs has represented an important turning point for many companies.
The Principles have served as Signatories’ moral compass, blueprint and framework to lay
out their gender equality ambitions. They have also offered a global network of companies
with similar values, helped Signatories invest in their future by contributing to creating anequitable world, and remove barriers “that never should have been there in the first place”.1

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PAGETHE WEPs JOURNEY
ADOPTING THE WEPS IS A CONTINUOUS JOURNEY OF SIX MAIN STEPS:
 Consider: You gain awareness of the WEPs and garner senior internal support for signing
onto the WEPs. Internal buy-in among executives and key stakeholders within the company
is the key success factor to designing and adopting inclusive policies and practices and tosustaining implementation of the WEPs over time.
 Sign: Signing the WEPs is a key milestone in the WEPs implementation journey. Transparency
around the commitment is key to ensuring strong accountability and sustained efforts.
We therefore encourage strong internal and external communication and outreach to
key stakeholders.
 Activate: To bring your commitment into action, a strong action plan with key
performance indicators is essential. It is important to understand your company’s strengths
and weaknesses and what you need to improve. We welcome you to self-assess yourcompany’s strategic approach to gender equality, identify gaps and develop your own
WEPs action plan.
 Engage: As members of the WEPs community, you have the opportunity to engage yourteam, business partners, clients and customers to ensure a gender-inclusive ecosystem andvalue chain.
 Sustain: To sustain progress on your WEPs Journey, it is key to collect gender statistics
and gender-disaggregated data. We invite you to share how you sustain your company’scommitment to gender equality and women’s empowerment by communicating progress,
experiences and lessons learned from the engage and activate stages.
 Report: Transparency and accountability is key to making progress on gender equality
and women’s empowerment. We welcome you to report your progress on the company
profile page.

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Equality Means Business • INTRODUCTIONABOUT THIS BROCHURE
This brochure aims to serve as a toolkit for Signatories at all stages of the WEPs Journey,from companies first learning about the WEPs to current Signatories looking to advancetheir work on gender equality and women’s empowerment.
The structure of this brochure follows the path of the WEPs Journey with each section
highlighting key steps and recommended practices for companies interested in joining the
WEPs community. The brochure also supports current WEPs Signatories interested inre-activating their commitment and ensuring sustainable practices.
 Consider: This section contains a broad overview of the WEPs as they relate to the UN
Sustainable Development Goals. It also offers key messages on gender equality that canhelp you garner internal support for the WEPs signature.
 Sign: This section highlights the resources available to guide you to apply, formalize andofficially join the WEPs community as well as communicate your commitment.
 Activate: This section shows ways in which you can dive into the actions related to each of
the seven Principles. Following a description of each Principle are case studies of emerging
practices shared by WEPs Signatories around the world. An overview of the WEPs Gender
Gap Analysis Tool shows how you can self-assess to set a baseline and develop your action plan.
Links to our WEPs Resources provides you with concrete guidance and tools to activate
your commitment to gender equality and women’s empowerment.
 Engage: This section shares the ways in which WEPs Signatories can share good practices
within the WEPs network through engaging their teams, business partners, clients andcustomers. We invite you to share good practices and business-to-business learning onsocial media with #WeShare.

#WeShareLinkedin@WEPrinciples@WEPrinciples

YouTube Sustain: This section offers you suggested key performance indicators for tracking
progress on gender equality and women’s empowerment. You are invited to share with us onsocial media how you sustain your commitment to gender equality and women’s empowerment
by communicating progress, experiences and lessons learned.
 Report: Through your company profile page, you can voluntarily report progress. This section
guides you how to report on the WEPs website.

9PAGE1. Consider
Reactivate
6. Report

2. Sign

5. Sustain

3. Activate

4. Engage

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Consider
Sign
Activate
EngageSustain
ReportAnnex

Equality Means Business • WEPs BROCHURECONSIDERCONSIDER
WHY JOIN THE WEPs COMMUNITY?
Companies, business associations and chambers of commerce join the WEPs community
to make a public statement of commitment to gender equality and women’s empowerment
on a global platform.
By adopting the WEPs, you are investing in your commitment to gender equality, yourbusiness and your people. You join a global network of companies with similar values and gain
access to the tools, resources and learning programmes to drive WEPs implementation.
The seven Principles help companies to evaluate and assess their practices, projects andpolicies; and to identify areas for improvement, such as promoting more women to strategic
leadership positions, closing the gender pay gap and incentivizing men to take parental leave.
Resources and tools are being provided to WEPs Signatories.
Transparency and accountability are a key element of the WEPs that builds on the increasing
demands from a wide range of stakeholders – including talent, consumers, investors andbusiness partners – of inclusive and transparent companies. This has in turn incentivizedcompanies to start monitoring and reporting on their progress, which has helped themattract new talent, in particular women, consumers and investors.2 See for more information
under Report.

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CONSIDERKEY MESSAGES TO GARNER INTERNAL SUPPORTFOR THE WEPS SIGNATURE
Promoting gender equality in the workplace, marketplace and community is good for society;
it is good for the economy; and it benefits everyone. It helps to:Uphold human rights and be inclusive, just and fair: It is really as simple as that. Genderequality in the workplace, marketplace and community advances the Agenda 2030 on
Sustainable Development.
Improve corporate performance: Women’s equal participation at every level of the company– from the factory floor to the corporate board – leads to better financial performance,and raises returns on investment, market share and stocks.
Attract investments: Investors know that companies that promote gender equality are moreproductive, more profitable and maintain a positive reputation. They are holding companies
to more rigorous standards and choosing to invest in sustainable companies that balance
purpose and profit and meet the needs of both shareholders and stakeholders.
Enhance innovation capacity: A diverse workforce fosters diverse ideas and generates
dynamics that encourage creativity and leads to innovation.
Attract and retain talent: Companies with fair HR systems that respond to both women’s
and men’s needs lead to inclusive recruitment practices, improved retention rates, reduced
absenteeism and turnover rates, and an equitable promotion system.
Diversify the supplier base: A diversified pool of suppliers enhances supplier availability
and security; promotes innovation through the entrance of new products, services andsolutions; drives competition; and increases market penetration and access to new markets.
Investing in and engaging with women-owned businesses in corporate supply chains also
boosts the reputation of companies among their stakeholders and shareholders.
Meet the needs and demands of consumers: Increasingly, consumers are demanding
products and services from companies with transparent, responsible business practices that
advance gender equality. Women influence the majority of purchasing preferences anddecisions. A diverse workforce and supplier base, representing the composition of its consumer
base, can help a company meet the product and service needs of their consumers.
End harmful gender-based stereotypes in advertisement and outreach materials:
An unstereotyped world is no longer only a social imperative, but a business one. Advertisements
which portray women respectfully as progressive and modern, authentic and multi-dimensional
helps advance gender equality while improving customer perception and brand reputation.
Fully integrate into communities: Companies that undertake community consultations withlocal leaders – women and men – establish strong ties and programmes that benefit allcommunity members and advance gender equality and sustainable development.

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Equality Means Business • WEPs BROCHURECONSIDER

JOINING THE WEPs COMMUNITY
WHO CAN JOIN?
Companies (private, public, state-owned and cooperatives) of any size and industry,
established under national law, industry associations and chambers of commerce committed
to advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment in the workplace, marketplaceand community are invited to join the WEPs community.
We also welcome other partners and stakeholders, such as civil society, internationalorganizations, academia and governments, to join our efforts as allies and to embrace the
WEPs as a framework for dialogue and action that advance gender equality and women’s
empowerment.

WHAT IS EXPECTED FROM A WEPs SIGNATORY?
The CEO signs the CEO Statement of Support for the WEPs and thereby signals commitment
at the highest level of the company. Signing the WEPs is just the first step. You are encouraged
to take steps to turn your commitments into action and to monitor and report on their progress.

DO YOU NEED TO HAVE AN ACTION PLAN PRIOR TO SIGNING?
There is no formal requirement for you to have created an Action Plan prior to becoming a
WEPs Signatory. However, WEPs Signatories are encouraged to create an Action Plan of
your gender equality policies and strategies with clear, time-bound targets and supported
by practical implementation guidelines.

IS THERE A FEE TO JOIN THE WEPs COMMUNITY?
No, there is no fee to join the WEPs. However, you are most welcome to donate to the WEPs
Secretariat run by UN Women. The WEPs currently has a funding drive to help support its
expanding catalogue of learning materials, case studies, and its global outreach. It will ensurethat we continue to grow and serve the progress of gender equality and inclusivity on a global
scale. Please follow this link to be taken to the WEPs donation page.

For more information on donation tiers, along with which
programmes and services donations will support, and ourdonor wall of contributors please click here.

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CONSIDER

IMPLEMENTING THE WEPs
DO SIGNATORIES NEED TO FOCUS ON ALL SEVEN PRINCIPLES?
There are no formal requirements to implement the Principles in a particular order, in a specific
way or in a particular timeframe. However, we expect all WEPs Signatories to make efforts
to advance gender equality in the workplace, marketplace and community.

ARE COMPANIES REQUIRED TO REPORT ON EFFORTS
TO IMPLEMENT THE WEPs?
While there is no formal obligation to report, you are strongly encouraged to take steps tomonitor and report on their progress since it shows full commitment to the gender equality
agenda. Principle 7 explicitly calls on companies to report on progress and underscores that
accountability and transparency go hand-in-hand since it is difficult to manage and assess
progress if not measured.
Please also see the WEPs Journey steps on Sustain and Report below.

See also WEPs FAQ

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Equality Means Business • WEPs BROCHURECONSIDER

THE WEPs AND
THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALSIn 2015, the international community reached a critical time in history by adopting the2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the 17 United Nations Sustainable Goals(the “Global Goals”).
Gender equality and women’s empowerment are at the center of this global agenda.3 It wasdeveloped based on internationally agreed development goals adopted during the 1990s,
leading up to the adoption of the Millennium Declaration and the eight Millennium Development
Goals in 2000. These include the universally adopted United Nations Beijing Declaration andPlatform for Action at the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995; and theratification of international labour standards, including the key gender equality Conventions
on equal remuneration (No. 100 of 1951), discrimination (No. 111 of 1958), workers with family
responsibilities (No. 156 of 1981) and maternity protection (No. 183 of 2000).
The WEPs are a primary vehicle for corporate delivery on gender equality dimensionsof these Global Goals.

Gender equality and women’s empowerment are integral to each of these 17 goals and in particular to the fifth goal (SDG5) on achieving gender equality and empower all women and girls.4
Reaching gender equality on a global scale cannot be done by one single entity or organization.
The Global Goals and the WEPs therefore promote cross-sector collaboration and long-standing
partnerships between the public sector, private sector and civil society to expedite genderequality and women’s empowerment in the workplace, marketplace and community.5

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CONSIDER

The public sector comprises government at all levels. The state plays
an integral role in creating an enabling environment with policies
to deploy funding, programmes, education and skills development tosupport women’s empowerment and gender equality.

The private sector comprises companies of all sizes as well as organizations such as professional and trade associations. The WEPs support
the private sector in advancing gender equality within their organizations, along their supply chains and in local communities. As a large
employer, the private sector has important leadership and advocacy
roles with ripple effects in the workplace, marketplace and community.

Civil society organizations comprises academic, not-for-profit,
non-governmental organizations and individuals. Whether as advocacy
organizations or citizens, they play a critical role in supporting women’s
empowerment and gender equality.6

With the WEPs as a roadmap, the private
sector can foster multistakeholder
partnerships to achieve the SDGs andadvance gender equality in the workplace,marketplace and community.

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Equality Means Business • WEPs BROCHURECONSIDER

GENDER-SPECIFIC SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS AND TARGETS
The Sustainable Development Goals and Targets can be connected to each one of the seven
Women’s Empowerment Principles as indicated below.

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SDG GENDER-SPECIFIC TARGETSCONSIDER

1.4

By 2030, ensure that all men and women, in particular the poor and thevulnerable, have equal rights to economic resources, as well as access tobasic services, ownership and control over land and other forms of property,
inheritance, natural resources, appropriate new technology and financial
services, including microfinance.

5.1
5.2
5.3
5.4

End all forms of discrimination against all women andgirls everywhere.
Eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls in public and private spheres, including trafficking and sexual and other types of exploitation.
Eliminate all harmful practices, such as child, early and forced marriage
and female genital mutilation.
Recognize and value unpaid care and domestic work through the provision of public services, infrastructure and social protection policies, andthe promotion of shared responsibility within the household and the family
as nationally appropriate.

5.5

Ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities
for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic, andpublic life.

5.6

Ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights as agreed in accordance with the Programme of Action of the
ICPD and the Beijing Platform for Action and the outcome documents of
their review conferences.

5.a

Undertake reforms to give women equal rights to economic resources,
as well as access to ownership and control over land and other forms ofproperty, financial services, inheritance, and natural resources in accordance with national laws.

5.b
5.c

Enhance the use of enabling technologies, in particular ICT, to promote women’s empowerment.
Adopt and strengthen sound policies and enforceable legislation for thepromotion of gender equality and the empowerment of all women andgirls at all levels.

8.5

By 2030, achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all
women and men, including for young people and persons with disabilities,
and equal pay for work of equal value.

8.8

Protect labour rights and promote safe and secure working environments
for all workers, including migrant workers, in particular women migrants,
and those in precarious employment.

This list is in no way a comprehensive list of all targets and actions that need to be taken to achieve genderequality and women’s empowerment. We invite you to explore the additional SDG targets that reference andprioritize actions for gender equality.7 Additionally, the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action provides
a progressive blueprint for governments and the international community to make robust advancements
towards gender equality and women’s empowerment.8 Please see the section covering transparency andaccountability featured here in this brochure which includes indicators for companies to measure and report.

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Consider

Sign
Activate
EngageSustain
ReportAnnex

Equality Means Business • WEPs BROCHURE

SIGN

SIGN
COMPLETING THE APPLICATIONThis step-by-step tutorial offers guidance on how to complete all aspects of the WEPs
application: How to Complete the Application

CREATING A COMPANY PROFILE PAGE
The company profile page offers each signatory a place in the WEPs community. It includes
the CEO photo and quote, and provides an opportunity for you to report on progress madeand share lessons learned to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment in theworkplace, marketplace and community.

For a step-by-step tutorial click here

COMMUNICATING YOUR WEPs COMMITMENT
All Signatories are encouraged to make their WEPs commitment visible. There are many
benefits to doing so. Consumers, workers, investors and shareholders will know that yourcompany has made it a business priority to achieve the highest standards of gender equality
and women’s empowerment. The WEPs Secretariat stands ready to offer support, guidanceand capacity building to help companies make the promise of the WEPs into a reality.
Once the application has been approved, you will receive a WEPs Welcome Packagewith internal and external communication templates, key messages, social media andoutreach materials.

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SIGN

RELEVANT LINKS
WEPs FAQCEO Statement of Support
How to Complete the WEPs Application
Donating to the WEPs
WEPs Welcome Package
WEPs Trello
How to Create a Company Profile Page
How to Report Progress
WEPs Resources#WECOMMIT
We encourage you to communicate yourcommitment to the WEPs with #WeCommit
on social media:
www.facebook.com/WEPrinciples
www.linkedin.com/showcase/weprinciples
www.twitter.com/WEPrinciples
www.youtube.com/Women’s Empowerment Principles by UN Women

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Sign

Activate
EngageSustain
ReportAnnex

Equality Means Business • WEPs BROCHURE

ACTIVATE

ACTIVATE
This section provides descriptions of each of the seven Principles with clear recommendations
to help you identify priority areas for improvement and how to take action. Case studies with
Signatories around the world provide concrete examples of WEPs implementation, such as
promoting more women to strategic leadership positions, closing the gender pay gap andactivating partnerships with women-owned businesses for a more inclusive supply chain.
We encourage you to share your good practices and tag #WeShare on social media.
Following the descriptions and case studies on the 7 Principles, an overview of available WEPs
resources is provided. This includes the WEPs Gender Gap Analysis Tool, the Diagnosis for
Equal Remuneration Tool, and the series of guidance notes, company case studies, policy
templates and much more. These resources have been developed to help you activate your
WEPs implementation journey (see also www.weps.org/resources).

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ACTIVATE

Principle 1
ESTABLISH HIGH-LEVEL CORPORATELEADERSHIP FOR GENDER EQUALITY
high-level support and direct top-level policies for gender equality and human$ Affirm
rights, including from an intersectional lens.
Set up a high-level taskforce to define the company’s strategic case for gender equality,$ identify
priority areas and consult internal and external stakeholders in the developmentof company policies, programmes and implementation plans for gender equality.
company-wide goals and targets for gender equality and women’s$ Establish
empowerment and measure progress through clear performance indicators.
managers at all levels accountable for results against these goals and targets$ Makeby including them in job descriptions and performance reviews.
that existing policies are gender-sensitive – identifying factors that impact$ Ensure
women and men differently – and that corporate culture advances equality and inclusion.
the requirements for board membership, and other governance bodies and$ Review
committees, to remove any discrimination or bias against women.

HOW TO BE TRANSPARENT…
• Publish your commitment to WEPs and to advancing gender equality prominently on the company’s
website, in recruiting materials and corporate sustainability reports.
• Develop an action plan with clear, time-bound targets and supported by practical implementation guidelines.
•28
PAGEInclude progress on WEPs implementation in the company’s annual, ESG and sustainability reports.

Equality Means Business • WEPs BROCHURE

ACTIVATE

WEPs SIGNATORIES IN ACTION• A leading global business association for open and sustainable trade leveraged theircommitment to the WEPs to drive change among their member organizations.9 They arepartnering with UN Women to support a cohort of large corporates with headquarters in
Europe and supply chains in Asia through a unique 10-month training and capacity building
programme that enables companies to assess their current progress and set clear targets
and action plans to build a more gender-inclusive business and supply chains.10• A Canadian stock exchange leveraged the WEPs framework to change both its own
organization by implementing tangible initiatives on gender equality and women’s
empowerment, and to inspire other organizations to do the same.11• A French multinational telecommunications firm signed an unprecedented agreement with
the UNI Global Union, an international trade union syndicate, committed to achieve global
gender equality. Covering broad areas of gender equality, discrimination and violenceagainst women, and work-life balance, the global agreement applies to all 143,000 employees
worldwide. Securing the buy-in of senior leaders was crucial to making this a reality.12• A Georgian construction company developed a WEPs Action Plan to increase the percentageof women in senior management from 20 per cent to 50 per cent. Of the top 10 managerial
positions, five are occupied by women. During the development of the WEPs Action Plan
only 20 per cent of construction site managers were women. Currently, women are themajority of site managers in residential complexes – a position that previously was considereda “job for men”.
• In Lebanon, an international producer of personal care products had a goal to have
women as 50 per cent of their employees and senior management positions. In 2020,
they exceeded this target. A Lebanese bank is the only bank in the country with awoman General Manager. In addition, 49 per cent of managerial positions at this bankare held by women.
• One of the largest logistics operators in Italy established a dedicated organization-wide
taskforce to drive cultural and organizational change on diversity and gender equality.
The group’s risk management department monitors any reported gender and diversity
issues, including breaches of human rights and gender policies. The company reports
annually on progress and all information is reviewed and approved by the company’sboard of directors.13• An anti-money laundering and customer due diligence services company in New Zealandis implementing holistic workplace policies that empower women and advance equality
and inclusion.
• In Turkey, a multisectoral company published a manifest called “An Equal Life” whichhighlights the inclusiveness and diversity. As part of this approach the company also
launched a dictionary that includes words and expressions to replace the sexist andstereotypical language with a gender responsive one.

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ACTIVATE

Principle 2
TREAT ALL WOMEN AND MEN FAIRLY AT WORK –RESPECT AND SUPPORT HUMAN RIGHTS AND NONDISCRIMINATION
an inclusive workplace culture and remove gender-based discrimination from$ Fosterall policies and practices.
equal remuneration, including benefits and bonuses, for work of equal value and$ Pay
ensure at a minimum a living wage for all women and men employees.
Implement gender-sensitive recruitment and retention practices and proactively recruit$ andappoint women to managerial and executive positions and to the corporate boardof directors.
flexible working arrangements, leave and re-entry opportunities to positions$ Offerof equal pay and status.
women and men’s access to child and dependent care through services,$ Support
resources and information.
Encourage men to take advantage of parental leave to level the playing field for women$ andmen employees.
Ensure equal opportunities for women from diverse backgrounds to lead on important$ assignments
and task forces.

HOW TO BE TRANSPARENT…
• Collect sex-disaggregated data on all employees by level and contract type, and capture performanceand promotions.
• Publicize an explicit company statement that prohibits gender-based discrimination in hiring, retention
policies, promotion and pay (salary, bonus and benefits).
• Review and analyze remuneration of all employees by gender, employee category and job title.
• Regularly survey employees to elicit their views on gender equality policies and action plans for
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Equality Means Business • WEPs BROCHURE

ACTIVATE

WEPs SIGNATORIES IN ACTION• In 2017, a global industry association introduced equal pay measures to reduce pay gaps
between women and men employees and ensure that women are paid according to themarket rate. Its 2018 gender pay gap report showed practices of using a candidates’
previous pay to set salary offers, unwittingly perpetuating women’s underpayment.
Instead, the association started to ask for salary expectations and to align women’s pay
with industry benchmarks and budgets.14• A tourism company in Costa Rica has been using the Equal Remuneration Diagnostic
Tool (DIR), developed by UN Women within the Win-Win Programme, implemented with
ILO and funded by the EU, to analyze gender pay gaps by positions, as well as by work ofequal value assessing how gender stereotypes may have influenced payment ofparticular types of jobs.
• In Ecuador, a multinational insurance company developed a Guide for Gender Equality
for the Private Sector. This document is a guide to implement good practices to achieve
gender equality in the labour market and within companies. The guide includes genderequality strategy, recruitment and selection process, professional development and training,
work-life balance, compensation, actions against gender-based violence, gender equality
and well-being, and communication tools.
• An international insurance company in Georgia ran a large-scale employment campaign
to hire women sales representatives and offered them a career, irrespective of theirprevious experience or age. Overall, more than 700 candidates, 80 per cent of whom were
women, were hired during the three-phased campaign. Women with diverse backgrounds,
experience and age have joined the company, generating a cultural transformation. As aresult, sales increased by 50 per cent, and employee retention rates doubled.
• An Italian multinational company with presence in over 30 countries shortlists equal
numbers of women and men candidates for all job functions and levels. As a result,the number of women shortlisted candidates went from 35 percent in 2017 to 42 percent
in 2019.15• A Lebanese logistics operator continues to break gender stereotypes by proactively
recruiting women letter carriers and has been recognized as an SDG Pioneer on Gender
Equality and Economic Inclusion. A staff survey found that 96 per cent would recommend
this operator as a gender equal employer.
• The Moldovan branch of a multinational telecommunication company has developed aflexible programme alternative (Flexi Hours) in order to support their employees as parents
and caregivers, and prompt gradual reintegration after parental leave. The company offers,
on its internal e-learning platform, a variety of educational courses and activities for children
to support working parents.

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ACTIVATE• A South African chemicals group prioritizes advancing gender equality within the Group.
In 2019, the Group’s board and specifically, the Social and Ethics committee endorsed
the strategy and stressed the importance of gender equality in the Group. Managing
directors are held accountable through regular monitoring of company targets in termsof gender advancement.
• A leading timberlands and forest products company in Uruguay developed, in collaboration
with the company´s union and the Ministry of Social Development, an early childhood
education and childcare center. The company provided the infrastructure needed for the
installation and operation of the center as well as the initial equipment so the service canbe implemented and maintained. The union is responsible for the maintenance of thebuilding and the government agency is responsible for supporting the monthly expenses
to sustain the service.
• The Viet Nam office of a major multi-national consumer goods company developed afive-year multidimensional programme and leadership commitment to advance genderequality in the workplace. The strategy includes mandatory, specialized training forleadership teams on unconscious gender bias, training programmes for women leaders,the promotion of work-life balance via new internal regulations, and the setting andmeasurement of targets for gender balance at each function level. A key achievement of
the strategy was the appointment of the company’s first woman CEO since 1995.

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Principle 3
ENSURE THE HEALTH, SAFETY AND
WELL-BEING OF ALL WOMEN AND MEN WORKERS
internal policies and procedures, including a confidential grievance system,$ Establish
to prevent and address all forms of violence and sexual harassment at work.
security staff and managers to recognize signs of violence against women,$ Trainhuman trafficking, labour and sexual exploitation, and immediately address cases ofdomestic violence, particularly for employees working remotely and during global
pandemics and crisis where support services maybe less readily available.
employees’, including part-time workers, equal access to health insurance and$ Ensure
tailor support to employees with special needs, including people with disabilities,
and survivors of violence and harassment.
women and men workers’ rights to time off for medical care and counseling$ Respect
for themselves and their dependents.
safe working conditions and protection from exposure to hazardous materials$ Provideand disclose potential risks, including to reproductive health.
safety and security issues, including traveling to/from work and business trips,$ inAddress
consultation with employees.

HOW TO BE TRANSPARENT…
• Regularly review and publicize the company’s policy and procedure against violence andsexual harassment.
• Survey employees to elicit the views on health, safety and security issues, and disseminate the results.
• Carry out a gender-sensitive inventory of health and safety conditions (including lightening of company
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grounds) and equipment and make available the findings to employees.
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ACTIVATEWEPs SIGNATORIES IN ACTION• An Argentine business group dedicated to the manufacture, import, marketing anddistribution of household goods and appliances expanded its policy on the eradicationof violence against women to provide support in cases of domestic violence, extending
the original scope focused on the workplace. During the pandemic, the business groupassessed the level of awareness of the protocol among all its staff to ensure that people
working in the company know how to act in the event of violence. In addition, it offered
its open-source protocol to its value chain.
• A cosmetics company in Costa Rica, which also operates in other countries around the world,
has protocols to prevent, identify and reference cases of violence against women in its
workforce. In addition to creating awareness on this topic in its workforce, the company
has also launched external campaigns to call for an end of violence against women.
• An Ecuadorian international leader specialized in pharmaceutical retailing developed aprogramme to address and prevent gender-based violence against women and to promotewomen’s empowerment. More than 2,000 employees, parents, students, and teachers
have been trained in these issues.
• A French international producer of personal care products recognized the need to address
sexual harassment in the workplace and developed an initiative to fight everyday sexism
at work. It encouraged managers and other key stakeholders to demonstrate their
buy-in by actively signing up for campaigns that demonstrate what everyday sexism
looks like. These campaigns were complemented by voluntary and mandatory trainings
for employees.16• A financial service organization in Georgia contributed to the well-being of employees byencouraging work-life balance and by notifying employees that the end of business day
is at 6 p.m. sharp every day. During the COVID-19 pandemic lock-down, the company
surveyed employees’ well-being and inquired about their specific needs. During this time,a “Special Financial Support Fund” was established exclusively for the employees andtheir family members which turned out to be a very timely and needed initiative.
• A Jamaican Bed & Breakfast Operator pivoted with the disruptions in the local tourism
industry caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, choosing to reduce working hours instead of
furloughing staff. With women more likely to work in accommodation and food services
sector (54 per cent, according to the UN World Tourism Organization in 2020) the impactof the COVID-19 pandemic endangers the autonomy of their economic decision making
in the home.
• A Lebanese bank organizes annual awareness sessions on “Women’s Heart Health” focusing
on helping women to prevent heart disease and promote early diagnoses.

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Equality Means Business • WEPs BROCHURE

ACTIVATE• In India, a clothing manufacturer in West Bengal provide interest-free bicycles and twowheeler loans for promoting women’s safety and independence while traveling to andfrom work and in their communities. A software company launched their ‘IN it to WIN it’
initiative during the COVID-19 pandemic to help employees adjust to and succeed inworking from home. These measures include: ‘Special Offs’ to protect people from beinglaid off during the lockdown, part and flex time work options for women in caring positions,a health team consisting of women, a COVID-19 protection insurance policy, and a helpdesk
staffed by women for employees to make enquiries about their personal and families’
well-being.
• As a way of levelling the playing field for women in the workplace, a multinational financial
services company headquartered in Spain adopted a ‘digital disconnection’ policy which
forces staff to halt communication and switch of all devices between 7 p.m. and 8 a.m.17• In Turkey, a multi-sectoral company developed guidelines to raise awareness amongst its
employees on violence against women and girls. The guideline consists of critical informationon the concepts of gender, types of gender-based violence, the signs of violence anddetailed information on reporting channels, helplines, mobile apps and other support
mechanisms available in Turkey. A liquified petroleum gasoline company launched “Say
No to Domestic Violence” campaign at the outbreak of the COVID-19. Through its dealers
at different cities, leaflets on domestic violence reporting channels, helplines, mobile apps
and other support mechanisms were distributed to women customers. As a result,the company reached over 150,000 women.

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Principle 4
PROMOTE EDUCATION, TRAINING AND
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR WOMEN
in workplace policies and programmes that open avenues for women’s$ Invest
advancement at all levels and across all business areas.
women to enter nontraditional job fields and revenue$ Encourage
generating roles.
equal access to and participation in all company-supported education and$ Ensuretraining programmes.
equal opportunities for formal and informal networking and mentoring$ Provideprogrammes, considering employees’ family responsibilities when scheduling activities.
training and awareness raising about the corporate gender equality policy$ Conduct
and action plan, including on sexual harassment and unconscious bias.

HOW TO BE TRANSPARENT…
• Collect sex-disaggregated data on employees participating in training, mentoring and otherprofessional development opportunities. Include data on the employees’ number of hours of
training, job categories and titles.
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WEPs SIGNATORIES IN ACTION• A French multinational car manufacturer recognized the importance of women’s
participation, from design through sales, and is committed to increase the number ofwomen engineers and technicians, including at senior level. A company-wide network
seek insight from women in areas including research and development, automobile design,operations, customer services and HR. Its scope includes contributing to the company’sbusiness interests and operations through innovative, pragmatic and occasionallydisruptive advice.18• In Georgia, a financial inclusion company, initiated a workplace mentorship programme
for women employees to improve employee retention, productivity and performanceand advance workplace diversity and inclusion. The programme covered employees
based both at headquarters and in field offices. As a result, 107 women employees were
promoted within the company in 2020. A private technology university launched an
initiative to carry out multiple projects for women in digital literacy, technology andprogramming in collaboration with a global startup accelerator. The company has launchedthree rounds of Coding School for Women and trained up to 60 girls and women.
• An integrated service provider with offices in Jordan encourages women to enter nontraditional job fields in areas related to maintenance (e.g. electricity, air-conditioning,plumbing, carpentry, renovation, decoration, installations). By providing a safe andharassment free environment through an App, they are empowering women economicallyand creating new revenue generating roles for them. This company also launched a websitethat encourages women to do the maintenance work by themselves by sharing tips andhow-to videos.
• A bank and shareholding company in Kuwait runs women’s leadership programmes andwill roll out a training initiative in 2021 for women to advance into supervisor and middle
management positions. The initiative will enable participants to better understand diversity
and inclusion in the workplace and distinguishing attitudinal and behavioral differences
between women and men. By understanding these differences well, the staff can gain abetter sense of gender-related tendencies that help explain how women and men think,act, and engage more effectively in the workplace.
• A Lebanese startup, specializing in producing beauty products from honey, is expanding
its existing programme for procuring from small beekeepers to specifically target andpromote women to become beekeepers. Currently, 54 per cent of the company’s
employees are women.

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ACTIVATE• Following a major audit and consulting company’s global ‘ALL IN’ initiative to accelerate
gender and inclusion, the Malaysia office sought to systematically address low numbers of
women progressing into leadership roles. They took steps to rule out bias in evaluation
promotion readiness and regularly feature women role models in their communications tohighlight the viability of a leadership career pathway. They also have mentoring programmes
available where aspiring women leaders are partnered with senior women partners.
• A South African industrial brand management company implemented a 40/2020 strategy
which aimed to boost women representation in its workforce to 40 per cent across allsenior levels of the company by 2020. The company launched a Women’s Leadership
Development Programme to increase the number of women recruited and by 2020,
the company achieved 41 per cent of women in senior level positions.
• In Turkey, an appliance company provided technical trainings to manage the change indemand for different roles within the company. During the COVID-19 crisis, the company
opened a call for upskilling of front office employees (demand declined) to become
technicians (demand increased). As a result, nearly 200 women completed the training
and started providing technical assistance to customers.
• A global social selling beauty company with headquarters in the United Kingdom launched
an online learning and community platform in May 2019 available in 41 countries. It aims to
improve the lives of 100 million women each year by advancing their earning potential.19• A US-based company trains survivors of human trafficking to become successful
software engineers. It has been met with disbelief and dismissal from many in the techindustry who could not fathom survivors in software programming, let alone a workspace
run by women with no programming background. Now on its sixth full bootcamp cycle,
the company has trained learners to teach classes and help train more survivors. 20

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Principle 5
IMPLEMENT ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT,
SUPPLY CHAIN AND MARKETING PRACTICES THAT EMPOWER WOMEN
Require business partners, contractors and suppliers to adopt the WEPs and to provide$ informationon their gender equality policies and practices.
supplier diversity programmes that actively seeks to expand business$ Establish
relationships with women-owned enterprises and support them in access.
in women-led businesses and support gender-sensitive solutions to their barriers$ Invest
to accessing capital and financial products and services that meet their needs.
harmful gender-based stereotypes in all media and company materials and$ Remove
advertising, by systematically respect women and men’s dignity and depict them as
empowered actors with progressive, intelligent and multi-dimensional personalities.
Ensure that company products, services and facilities are not used for human trafficking$ and/orlabour or sexual exploitation.

HOW TO BE TRANSPARENT…
• Publicize an executive level policy statement on the organization’s support for gender equality
practices in its supply chain.
• Perform analysis of the company’s supply chain, including the number of WEPs Signatories andwomen-owned enterprises.
• Record complaints and praises regarding the company’s portrayal of women and girls in marketing39
and public materials. Analyze them and identify strategies to address the concerns.
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ACTIVATEWEPs SIGNATORIES IN ACTION• In Argentina, a company specializing in home décor partnered with a non-profit
organization, dedicated to promoting the inclusion of vulnerable women in the labour
market, to implement a programme to integrate more women-owned businesses into its
supply chain by investing in and training women-owned businesses.
• In Brazil, large multinational companies support women-owned small and medium-sizedenterprises to overcome the COVID-19 crisis by purchasing their products or services.
• A Canadian trucking and transportation services company decided in 2016 to ensure amore balanced workforce of women and men. The company identified marketing as a
key strategy and channel for recruiting more women. Depicting both women and men intrucking helped overcome gender stereotypes. While faced by stigma associated withtrucking and a male-dominated sector, deterring women candidates, it is optimistic thatits marketing efforts will continue to attract a more diverse pool of talent. 21• The largest bank in Costa Rica asked its suppliers to sign the WEPs to show theircommitment to gender equality and organized trainings on their implementation.
As a result, a first group of seven suppliers signed the WEPs to commemorate International
Women’s Day in 2020 and have been working on their implementation since then.
• A Danish fashion brand with offices in the United Kingdom and the United States has
made a firm commitment to gender equality. Fashion supply chains are historically longand convoluted, with up to 10 suppliers per garment. To drive structural and meaningfulchange, the company needed a complete understanding of its supply chain, thecommunities it affects and the people that work directly and indirectly for them. By endof 2021, the company aims to have 100 percent traceability across the first three stagesof its supply chain, involving more than 200 suppliers. 22• In Georgia, a TV channel aired a public service announcement on violence against women
during the prime time in the early months of COVID-19 lockdown. The TV channel initiateda campaign to break stereotypes associated with the jobs appropriate for women and men.
A financial inclusion company announced the issuance of Women’s Corporate Bonds
worth more than USD 5 million for thousands of women small business customers,
providing them with the financial products to grow their businesses. More than 2,300
women received loans in the amount of USD 1.5 million.
• A Lebanese brand specialized in authentic and natural soap making organized annual
vocational trainings, IT trainings, awareness raising activities and business skills development
workshops for women. Driven by women’s entrepreneurial spirit, it is committed to keeping
women’s empowerment at the heart of their brand.

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ACTIVATE• A Palestinian bank aiming to improve financial inclusion for women in the country,
provides women entrepreneurs with a comprehensive programme that includes financial
awareness and banking literacy training. The bank also runs a Mini-MBA programme forwomen entrepreneurs to develop their entrepreneurial skills and access financial products
to support them in growing their businesses. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, these training
programmes were run virtually.
• In 2017, the India branch of a leading food services and facilities management company
reached out to local NGOs for support to develop their women entrepreneurship policy
which aimed to increase the number of women suppliers and the value of their businesses
in the supply chain. As a result, they increased their purchasing from women entrepreneurs
by 200 per cent.
• An impact investment organization based in Singapore founded the world’s first genderlens debt security listed on the stock exchange, reporting social and financial return.
Bringing together multi-sector players to mobilize private sector investments,
the innovative financial instrument is set to empower 3 million underserved women withsustainable livelihoods. Now in its third iteration, it is focused on building COVID-19
resilience for underserved women, featuring a portfolio of women-focused enterprises
to scale their impact.
• A Tanzanian organization established a COVID-19 response programme to facilitate
women business owners’ access to markets, their understanding of new market needs,
and to strengthen their resilience and adaptability.
• In 2018, the Thailand branch of a global hair care brand released the progressive“Hair Talk” advertisement and campaign, which raised awareness of the barriers anddiscrimination that trans women face every day in Thailand. Reaching 65 million views
online, “Hair Talk” also sparked nation-wide discussions about challenging gender norms
and even encouraged some of their peer brands to increase representation of transgenderpeople in their content.
• One of Asia’s largest companies for hygiene products launched a progressive and bold
campaign marketing campaign in Malaysia for their female care and hygiene brand. The
campaign challenges societal taboos by encouraging women to talk openly about theirperiods and learn more about their own bodies. In 2018, they also launched the MENstruation
campaign to educate and include more men in the conversation.
• A venture capital firm in the United States invests in early-stage entrepreneurs in the techsector. It believes that more women in the tech sector results in greater innovation andgreater financial returns. Diversity among investors are also key to prevent strategic
opportunities to be overlooked.
• An industry council operating in the jewelry sector in the United Kingdom issued special
COVID-19 guidance on labour and human rights to protect at-risk groups amid the pandemic.

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Principle 6
PROMOTE EQUALITY THROUGH
COMMUNITY INITIATIVES AND ADVOCACY
community consultations with local leaders – women and men –$ Undertaketo establish strong ties and programmes that benefit all community members.
by example by showcasing concrete actions to advance gender equality and$ Leadwomen’s empowerment in local communities.
the organization’s influence, alone or in partnership, to advance gender$ Leverage
equality and collaborate with business partners, suppliers and community leaders toachieve results.
with community stakeholders and officials to eliminate discrimination and$ Workexploitation and to open opportunities for women and girls.
Promote and recognize women’s leadership in, and contributions to, their communities$ and
ensure their full and active participation in community consultation.
philanthropy and grants programmes to support$ Use
community initiatives.

HOW TO BE TRANSPARENT…
• Collect sex-disaggregated data on stakeholders participating in local initiatives.
• Survey participants, or organize focus groups, to receive feedback on community initiatives anddisseminate the results.
• Carry out community impact analyses to identify specific impacts of community programmes on
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WEPs SIGNATORIES IN ACTION• A bank in northeastern Argentina promotes the leadership and economic empowerment
of Indigenous women by providing training in financial inclusion to artisans and rural
producers in Formosa and the Gran Chaco. During the pandemic, 1,200 savings banks
were opened and a training plan on their use was launched, which proved to be afundamental tool for women to continue selling their products.
• WEPs Signatories in Brazil recorded testimonials on their commitment to human rights andgender equality. The videos were posted both on the companies’ social media channels
and those of UN Women Brazil with the view to increase engagement of other companies andwider society.
• A Canadian virtual reality company works with Indigenous communities, specifically
Inuit communities in the Nunavut Territory of Canada, to showcase Indigenous
peoples’ stories. 23• A group of WEPs Signatories in Costa Rica joined up to identify innovative solutions tochallenges that have been limiting women’s economic empowerment in the context of the
COVID-19 pandemic. This initiative brought together participants from the private sector,
academia, public institutions and civil society. They focused on challenges related to theincrease of unpaid care and domestic work and disruptions to value chains. They also
promoted gender sensitive procurement practices and improved financial management
and formalization of women-led businesses.
• Instead of procuring new-year gifts, a micro finance company in Georgia decided to savethe money and issue a grant to a women’s NGO working with grassroots communities.
As a result, three villages in western Georgia benefited from community projects: potable/
drinking water was provided to the 25 households, a medical ambulatory was opened
and a public library in a remote mountainous village is now operating.
• The India branch of a major commercial bank works developed a programme to support
over 2,300 women’s self-help groups in 938 villages and over 20,000 women led enterprises
in rural India. The self-help groups, rural women have successfully led various village
level enterprises such as dairy business, agri-business, spices and honey production andmicro-finance for their financial and social inclusion.
• A leading Indonesia on-demand, multi-service tech company demonstrates transformational action towards ensuring safe mobility and access to public spaces for women.
The company identified a lack of safe spaces for women in public spaces in Jakarta as a key
issue inhibiting women’s equal access to economic opportunities, education and services.
To combat this, they developed a comprehensive campaign that utilized visuals, technology
tools, outreach, training of their staff, physical responses, and business products adapted
to women’s clientele.

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ACTIVATE• A Jordanian consulting agency launched a new breed of social enterprise with the purposeof empowering ecosystems to enable women economically and socially in 10 countries
and have committed a part of their proceeds to solving local challenges. Since 2017,
they have recognized and celebrated thousands of people through their stories andexpertise across publications, platforms, and events.
• A real estate company in Kuwait runs a girls’ empowerment programme that offers highquality ‘edutainment’ option for Kuwaiti girls aged 10-18 to start healthy conversations
on critical issues that could positively influence teen culture and enable women’s
empowerment. The company’s strategy is to contribute to the long-term sustainabilityof local communities, recognizing the strong link with its core business strategy.
• A Lebanese telecommunication service provider developed an initiative to encourage young
girls to pursue studies in the field of information and communication technology by
informing them about the various employment opportunities available to them in the sector.
• A French food and beverage company, through its bottled water brand in Mexico,
implemented a programmatic, policy and communications approach with three pillars
for action: 1) Inclusive economic recovery of the areas affected by 2017 earthquakes in
Mexico through the economic empowerment of women; 2) Ensuring that all women haveequal conditions and job opportunities as men and 3) Awareness-raising on the importanceof equal opportunities for women and men.
• A Moldovan cosmetics producer organizes a dedicated award ceremony to celebrate andencourage the influential women of the Moldovan blogosphere that promote women’s
leadership in various areas.
• The Philippines branch of a major beverage company created a programme to enableeconomic empowerment of 5 million women across the company’s value chain by 2020.
Since 2011, the company has built capacity of over 200,000 women entrepreneurs andmicro-retailers through entrepreneurship and financial literacy trainings and access tocapital. In 2020, they launched an online version to also help returning migrant workers.
• A Spanish multinational electric utility company with presence in Brazil, Mexico, Spain,
the United Kingdom and the United States worked with a non-profit organization supporting
women survivors of domestic violence. Jointly, they created a school in Brazil for women
electricians and collaborating with celebrity influencers in local communities to raiseawareness about women’s job opportunities in the sector. 24• A multinational professional services network with an office in South Africa created a
programme to develop the next generation of women leaders for Africa. The programme
gives girls the opportunity to acquire life skills, develop as young leaders, and to receive
funding for university. Since 2014, the programme has graduated 30 matriculants eachyear from Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban with 90 per cent of the participants
attending university. 25• Through the #WomenAreSafeWith[Company] in Turkey, a multi-national cosmetics company
financially supported two non-governmental organizations which are operating emergency
hotlines on VAW during COVID-19 to increase their capacity due to the increase in reporting.

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Principle 7
MEASURE AND PUBLICLY REPORTON PROGRESS TO ACHIEVE GENDER EQUALITY
your company profile page to showcase your baseline$ Complete
for WEPs implementation.
incentives and accountability mechanisms to accelerate$ Develop
WEPs implementation.
analyze and use gender statistics and sex-disaggregated data and$ Collect,
benchmarks to measure and report results at all levels.
survey internal and external stakeholders to understand their perceptions$ Regularly
and needs regarding gender equality.
additional WEPs indicators to showcase$ Complete
continuous progress.
annually on progress in the implementation of the Women’s Empowerment$ Report
Principles, including on other platforms such as the company website.
the WEPs Gap Analysis Tool to establish a baseline$ Takefor WEPs implementation.
lessons learned and good practices in the implementation of the WEPs and$ Sharehave UN Women publish them on the WEPs website in the form of case studies or
WEPs Leaders interviews.

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ACTIVATEWEPs SIGNATORIES IN ACTION
The Signatories showcased below were able to report to us on their progress for specificinitiatives tracking progress and documenting results. These case studies provide concrete
examples of some of the ways you can implement transparent measuring and reporting efforts.
• A Financial Times Stock Exchange (FTSE) 15 global provider of information-based
analytics and decision tools set out to tackle the structural barriers that hold women backfrom senior operational roles. Key to the firm’s success has been the development of adashboard that monitors progress in real-time and demonstrates gender balance broken
down by categories including role, function, and length of service. It allows leaders tomonitor trends, how it is changing, the point at which they stop progressing, and so on. 26• A telecommunications firm operating in Northern and Central Europe introduced a ‘2+1’
recruitment strategy to hire two women for every one man. This strategy was introduced
to reverse the historical biases in recruitment. Data had revealed that for every one womenpreviously hired, the company had been hiring two men. Within one year of implementing
the strategy, 66 per cent of new recruits were women. 27• A Japanese business consulting firm specializing in sustainability issues built a genderequal human resources policy and is a frontrunner in the country for SDG business
management and reporting. In addition to its own in-house efforts to conduct gender
responsive business, the firm can provide solutions for companies to work on gender equality,
through its corporate reporting consulting services. The firm reports data disaggregatedby sex on the number of directors, employees, new hires, and senior managers. 28• A Lebanese bank tracks and publicly reports on the following with sex-disaggregateddata: training, education and talent development; diversity inclusion and equal opportunity;
employee composition by gender and employee category; composition of governancebody committees by gender and age group; new employee hires in bank Audi Group
Lebanon; return to work and retention rates after parental leave, by gender; and external
human development.
• A Swedish financial institution tackled the gender pay gap for all 16,000 employees in thefour countries it operates in: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Sweden. One of the prerequisites
for eliminating the pay gap was putting in place a job evaluation system and keeping it
updated regularly. This was critical to understanding what makes roles comparable toothers and how equal pay can be measured. Close monitoring and reporting of the
programme was essential for success. Producing reports on a regular basis and distributing
to the management teams allowed for early intervention if a gap started to emerge. 29

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1. Consider
Reactivate
6. Report

2. Sign

5. Sustain

3. Activate

4. Engage

Equality
Means Business
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ACTIVATEWEPs Tools and Guidance			As a WEPs Signatory, you are invited to self-assess yourself through the WEPs Gender Gap
Analysis Tool. It assesses your strategic approach to gender equality, identifies gaps andopportunities for continuous improvement and help you set goals and targets.
The tool is a free, user-friendly, and strictly confidential online platform that helps
companies to self-assess current policies and programmes, highlight areas for improvement,
and identify opportunities to set future corporate goals and targets. Results are provided in a
concise and clear format so companies can easily identify areas for improvement.30
The WEPs Tool comprises 18 multiple choice questions in four key areas (Commitment, Implementation, Measurement, and Transparency) that draw from good practices from aroundthe world-covering gender equality in leadership, workplace, marketplace, and community.

25.0%
Commitment

50.0%
Implementation

12.5%
Measurement

12.5%
Transparency

The WEPs Tool includes questions about your company’s policies and practices on genderequality across business functions, including Human Resources, Procurement, Diversity &Inclusion, Corporate Sustainability, etc. It is expected to take an average of 2-3 hours to complete,
as per the feedback from pilot companies, once this information has been gathered internally.
The tool is voluntary and meant to be a learning platform and therefore will not serve as areporting mechanism or certification. Companies may choose to share results of the WEPs
Tool with their stakeholders, but it should be noted that the data is self-reported and has
not been verified or validated by any of the tool partners (United Nations Global Compact,
UN Women, or any member of the Inter-American Development Bank Group).31
Based on the result of the assessment, WEPs Signatories are invited to develop an action planwith clear, time-bound targets and supported by practical implementation guidelines.

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We encourage all WEPs Signatories to utilize the numerous resources available here on
weps.org. Our toolkit includes:• Guidance on equal pay, sexual harassment, family-friendly policies, childcare and genderresponsive procurement, among other key action areas to support you in activating theseven Principles.
• The Diagnosis for Equal Remuneration is a self-assessment tool developed to support
companies and organizations in evaluating the Equal Pay for Equal Value work principle.32• Spotlight on public policy to get insights into the role of governments in advancing
gender equality and women’s empowerment at the national level.
• WEPs Learn, our dedicated platform for learning materials.
• Videos from our Learning events featuring expert panelists and Signatories around theworld sharing good practices and lessons learned.
• Our documentary on “The Power of Partnerships for Achieving Gender Equality”
produced during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Testimonies from WEPs leaders.
• About WEPs materials.
• Our bulletins.

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ACTIVATE50
PAGEConsider
Sign
Activate

EngageSustain
ReportAnnex

Equality Means Business • WEPs BROCHUREENGAGEENGAGE
CREATEAN ECOSYSTEM OF COMMITTED COMPANIESEngaging with your internal and external stakeholders will help foster the creation of agender-sensitive ecosystem of companies that drive the gender equality agenda forward
throughout the value chain. We welcome you to encourage your suppliers, your business
partners and your investors to commit to the WEPs too. The more companies that arecommitted, the stronger strides we can make for women’s empowerment.

SHARE
YOUR PROGRESS WITH THE WEPs COMMUNITY
Sharing your progress in the implementation of your WEPs journey helps raise awarenessof the great work you are doing. It can also inspire other companies to do more and gain
insights to new measures for their companies. We encourage you to share your good practices
by tagging us on social media and using #WeShare.

#WeShareLinkedin@WEPrinciples@WEPrinciples

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ENGAGEENGAGE
YOUR TEAM THROUGH WEPs LEARN
WEPs Learn strives to equip women with new skills, capacities and characteristics to succeedin the workplace. Specific modules have been developed on topics to boost your Confidence,
Communication, Team Skills, Assertiveness, Career Opportunities, Change, Self-organizationand Well-being.
The lessons are designed to give gender equality champions more confidence in job interviews,
lead gender equality initiatives within their organizations, assess new job opportunities,
and therefore grow their careers more effectively. This virtual platform also offers learning
opportunities for WEPs Signatories to deepen their implementation of the Women’s
Empowerment Principles.
We encourage you to invite your team, business partners, clients and customers to takeadvantage of the WEPs learning content. It is free of charge and offers WEPs certificates.

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Equality Means Business • WEPs BROCHURESUSTAINSUSTAIN
MONITORING AND TRACKING PERFORMANCE
Business leaders and stakeholders agree that while not everything of value can be counted,
it is difficult to manage what is not measured. Yet, despite this potential to trigger change,
many companies have not yet started to systematically collect gender statistics and genderdisaggregated data to measure outcomes on gender equality and women’s empowerment
in the workplace, marketplace and community.33
Gender-responsive measuring and reporting mechanisms are crucial to monitor and track
performance and progress towards gender equality and women’s economic empowerment.
The WEPs provide a holistic framework for companies to promote gender equality andwomen’s empowerment in the workplace, marketplace and community and drive positive
outcomes for society and business. As laid out in Principle 7, transparency and accountability
are required for companies to uphold their commitments to gender equality in the workplace,marketplace, and community.

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SUSTAIN

THE WEPs TRANSPARENCY AND
ACCOUNTABILITY FRAMEWORKThe WEPs Transparency and Accountability Framework (The T&A Framework):• Offers a comprehensive tool to measure your progress on gender equality and women’s
empowerment in the workplace, marketplace and community.
• Aims to provide companies with a holistic set of indicators that are most likely to advancegender equality across corporate value chains. The indicators were selected based on theirpotential to drive transformative change. Ease and probability of Signatories to report onthese indicators was also taken into account.
• Build on and aligns with existing corporate gender reporting platforms. To that end,
an extensive mapping and external engagement was carried out to inform the development
the of the Framework.
• Supports your companies to measure and report progress against other commitments
and reporting platforms, including the Sustainable Development Goals.
The T&A framework is divided into four distinct categories:
1. Essential Indicators – these indicators measure positive, irreversible and sustainablechange towards gender equality. These indicators are listed in Annex III along with theirdefinitions and how to calculate them.
2. Complementary Indicators – these indicators measure key areas to tackle systemic barriers
to gender equality. Their implementation may differ by country, industry and size of company.
3. Input and Support Measures Indicators – these indicators tracks Signatories inputs tochange, such as policies, practices and measures that are foundational to achieving
gender equality and women’s empowerment.
4. Additional Indicators.
All the indicators of the T&A Framework are included in Annex III. WEPs signatories are invited
to share progress on the Essential Indicators on their company profile page.
While the T&A Framework captures data disaggregated by sex, we encourage broader
diversity data collection for intersectional analysis (e.g. including, but not limited to age,race/ethnicity, nationality, disability and sexual orientation).

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Equality Means Business • WEPs BROCHUREREPORTREPORTREPORTING ON GENDER EQUALITY
A growing number of stakeholders, including employees, consumers, investors, and civil society,are calling on companies to disclose more information on their efforts towards gender equality.
The evidence base for doing so and for promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment
continues to expand:• Companies with greater progress on gender equality and with policies and practices inplace to empower women are more resilient and see stronger growth.
• Current corporate reporting practices show how public reporting on a specific issue candrive companies to take meaningful action.
We believe that by using the T&A Framework (see section on Sustain above) as a tool fortransparent reporting, companies, with support from government and other stakeholders,can more effectively work towards a gender equal economy that works for all women and men.

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REPORTREPORTING ON WEPs COMPANY PROFILE PAGE
At the time of signing the WEPs, you are requested to provide data against threebaseline indicators:
1. Percentage of women employees
2. Percentage of women at management level
3. Percentage of women on boards/executive teams/partners.
This information remains internal to the WEPs Secretariat unless you publish this informationon the WEPs website by creating your company’s profile page.
At the Reporting stage of the WEPs Journey, you have an opportunity to share additional
data on progress made in your WEPs implementation. This progress is shared on yourCompany Profile Page. See for details in Annex III.
You can report on the following Essential indicators:
1. Percent of women and men employees
2. Percent of women and men in senior management
positions
3. Percent of women and men on boards
4. Ratio of women’s salary to men’s salary
5. Percentage of new hires – women and men
6. Percentage of promotions and career opportunities –women and men
7. Retention rate of women and men FTE employees who
took parental leave.
8. The Company has a confidential grievance, resolution,
reporting and non-retaliation mechanism and procedure toaddress and respond to incidents of violence and harassment.
For a more detailed description of each indicator, please click here.
Please note that data in general should be provided for the last fiscal year. We encouragedata collection to cover at least 80 per cent of your company’s employees.
As WEPs Signatories, reporting is voluntary. For companies who wish to report, you can share
progress with the WEPs Secretariat for internal use only or make it available publicly on your
WEPs Company Profile Page.
Steps for reporting privately or publicly on company profile page are available here in
the annex.

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Equality Means Business • WEPs BROCHURE

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ANNEX
ANNEX ICEO STATEMENT OF SUPPORT FOR THE WOMEN’SEMPOWERMENT PRINCIPLESThe CEO Statement of Support for the Women’s Empowerment Principles is available in
the following languages: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, German, Portuguese, Russian,
Spanish, Serbian, Turkish.

CEO Statement of Support for the Women’s Empowerment Principles
We, business leaders from across the globe, express support for advancing equality between womenand men to:
•
•
•
•
•
•

Bring the broadest pool of talent to our endeavours;
Further our companies’ competitiveness;
Meet our corporate responsibility and sustainability commitments;
Model behaviour within our companies that reﬂects the society we would like for our
employees, fellow citizens and families;
Encourage economic and social conditions that provide opportunities for women and men,
girls and boys; andFoster sustainable development in the countries in which we operate.

Therefore, we welcome the provisions of the Women’s Empowerment Principles – Equality Means
Business, produced and disseminated by the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the
Empowerment of Women (UN Women) and the United Nations Global Compact. The Principles
present seven steps that business and other sectors can take to advance and empower women.
Equal treatment of women and men is not just the right thing to do – it is also good for business. The
full participation of women in our enterprises and in the larger community makes sound businesssense now and in the future. A broad concept of sustainability and corporate responsibility thatembraces women’s empowerment as a key goal will beneﬁt us all. The seven steps of the Women’s
Empowerment Principles will help us realize these opportunities.
We encourage business leaders to join us and use the Principles as guidance for actions that we canall take in the workplace, marketplace and community to empower women and beneﬁt our companies
and societies. We will strive to use sex-disaggregated data in our sustainability reporting tocommunicate our progress to our own stakeholders.

Please join us.
CEO Name:______________________CEO Signature: _________________________Name of the company: ______________________
Date:______________________

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ANNEXANNEX II
DONATE TO THE WEPs
In the past year UN Women has, through the WEPs Secretariat:• Produced groundbreaking knowledge products showcasing how tosolve workplace and marketplace challenges.
• Created instructional videos and guides to empower young women at work.
• Provided multistakeholder gatherings to share guidance forcompanies, business networks and other organizations on advancing
gender equality.
• Provided a platform for networking among changemakers.
• Inspired and supported women entrepreneurs in their business journeys.
In 2021, we are determined that our WEPs family rise to the challenges of the past year andachieve an even greater impact globally.
All contributions to the WEPs from WEPs Signatories will be recognized on our donor wall sothat our nearly 5,000 WEPs members around the world, and all the other organizations andindividuals who rely on our platform, can see your support and contribution.
We would like to thank our wonderful donors – from small businesses to multinationalorganizations – for their contributions. Every donation helps further our work and the impact
we have on gender equality and inclusivity.

HOW WILL YOUR CONTRIBUTIONHELP ACCELERATE GENDER EQUALITY?
Your financial contribution will support the following WEPs activities:• Design and roll-out of WEPs implementation tools and resources• Increase knowledge exchange, learning, and networking events for the
WEPs global community• Develop case studies of gender-responsive businesses and companies• Fund women entrepreneurs to participate in business networking events• Create campaigns to expand the WEPs network

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Equality Means Business • WEPs BROCHURE$10,000 – $30,000

Will contribute to advocacy on gender equality
and women’s empowerment – through our
newsletter and social media messages$30,000 – $100,000

Will contribute to helping onboarding newcompanies to join us in the WEPs community$100,000 – $500,000

Will help us continue to develop learningmaterials for WEPs Signatories, their employees
and women and girls in their local communities$500,000 – $1,000,000

Will allow us to establish a recognition andaward programme for performance on WEPs
implementation$1,000,000 +Will strengthen our team and our support to
WEPs Signatories

BRONZEANNEX

SILVERGOLD

PLATINUM

DIAMOND

We have made donating easy. You can donate through our website
via credit card, or email us at weps@UNWomen.org
for wire transfer details.
Upon donating, we will update your company presence on our website
accordingly so that your business partners and consumers canalso see what your company stands for.
UN Women will receive and administer the contribution in accordancewith its regulations, rules, policies, and procedures(UN Women’s Rules), including in relation to support costs,
audit, and evaluation. In making a financial
contribution to the WEPs activities,
you agree that such contribution will begoverned by the WEPs Contribution
Terms and Conditions.

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ANNEXANNEX IIIGUIDANCE ON WEPs TRANSPARENCY AND
ACCOUNTABILITY INDICATORSESSENTIAL INDICATORS34
1. Percent of women and men employees
INDICATOR:

Percentage of women and men employees as a percentage of total
number of employees

DEFINITION:

Employees include (i) permanently contracted and (ii) temporarily
contracted (such as seasonal) workers on a Full-Time Equivalent (FTE)basis. This follows the HIPSO definition for FTE, which includes directly
hired individuals and individuals hired through third party agencies so longas those individuals provide on-site services related to the operations of
the client company. This also includes FTE worked by seasonal, contractualand part-time employees.

CALCULATION: To calculate the percent of FTE employees that are women, count the total
number of FTE women employees, and divide this number by the total
number of FTE employees. The same calculation can be done for men
employees. As per the HIPSO definition above part-time jobs can beconverted to full-time equivalent jobs on a pro rata basis, based on local
definition (e.g. if the working week equals 40 hours, a 24 hr/week job would
be equal to 0.6 FTE job). Seasonal or short-term jobs are prorated basedon the portion of the reporting period that was worked (e.g., a full-time
position for three months would be equal to a 0.25 FTE job for a reporting
period of one year). If the information is not available, the rule-of-thumbis two part-time jobs equal one full-time job.
2. Percent of women and men in senior management positions
INDICATOR:

Percentage of women and men in senior management positions as apercentage of total number of senior managers in the organization.

DEFINITION:

Senior managers are defined as FTE employees at C-Suite level or equivalent(e.g. Managing Directors, Partners). Titles may change depending on sizeand structure of a company, so Signatories should use their judgement toassess whether positions are C-Suite equivalent.

CALCULATION: To calculate percent of senior management who are women, Signatories
should divide the number of women senior managers by the total numberof senior managers.

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3. Percent of women and men on the board
INDICATOR:

Percentage of women and men on the company board.

DEFINITION:

Board members are defined as members who play an active role on the
Board. An active role may include acting in an advisory capacity for key
decisions and does not necessarily require a full-time role in the organization.

CALCULATION: To calculate percent of Board members who are women, Signatories should
divide the number of women on the Board by the total number ofBoard members.
4. Ratio of women’s salary to men’s salary
INDICATOR:

Ratio of women’s salary to men’s salary

DEFINITION:

Women’s and men’s salaries include three components:
1. Fixed salary – a salary that a person receives on a stable or fixed basis,that is, the employee receives the same amount every month(or pay period).
2. Additional salary – this is the salary that an employee receives on atemporary basis, for example, associated with the performance of alonger period of work, or as compensation for an expense that they
had to incur. This amount varies from month to month (or pay period).
3. Variable salary – a salary that the employee receives in recognition for
their performance or for the overall results of the company or organization.

CALCULATION: Calculate women’s salaries by adding up all the salaries and dividing by the
number of women. The same calculation should be performed for men.
Then divide the average women salaries by average men salaries. Both cash
salaries and salaries in kind (according to their objective economic valuation)
should be counted as do taxes and social insurance, whether payed to theworker or to the public authorities (the full cost to the company). To calculatesalary data, it must be comparable and the time period need to be thesame for all employees, preferably one full year. If you plan to include
employees who have not been employed for the entire period (one year),
their salaries should be increased proportionately. For example, if a person
has been employed for 6 months their salaries should be multiplied by 2.
For example, the person has a Fixed Salary of 15,000 per year, working
50 per cent of the working day, then this calculation will result in 30,000
per year (allowing you to compare your salary with that of people whowork 100 per cent of the working day).

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5. Percentage of new hires – women and men
INDICATOR:

Percentage of newly hired FTE employees – women and men

DEFINITION:

New hires are defined as an employee
1. who has not previously been employed by the company/organization; or
2. who was previously employed by the company/organization but has been
separated from such prior employment for at least 60 consecutive days.

CALCULATION: To calculate percentage of newly hired women employees, Signatories should
divide the number of newly hired FTE women employees by the total number
of FTE newly hired employees. To calculate the percentage of newly hired
FTE men employees, Signatories should divide the number of newly hired
men employees by the total number of newly hired employees (or justsubtract the percentage of newly hired women employees from 100 percent).
6. Percentage of promotions and career opportunities – women and men
INDICATOR:

Percentage of promotions and career opportunities – women and men

DEFINITION:

Ratio of FTE women and men in senior management (see #2 above)
compared to ratio of FTE women and men employees (see #1 above).

CALCULATION: To calculate percent of promotions and career opportunities for womenand men, refer to the definitions of employees and senior management
above. Then divide the ratio of FTE women in senior management by theratio of FTE women employees; and then divide the ratio of FTE men insenior management by the ratio of FTE men employees.
7. Retention rate of women and men FTE employees who took parental leave
INDICATOR:

Retention rate of women and men FTE employees who took parental leave

DEFINITION:

Parental leave includes maternity, paternity, parental and adoption leave.
Eligibility is defined by the national legal requirements and any additional
eligibility criteria that the employer may have for additional benefits.
The retention rate is determined by employees retained in the company
or organization 12 months after returning from parental leave.

CALCULATION: To calculate the retention rate of women, divide the total number of women
employees retained in the company or organization 12 months after returning
to work following a period of parental leave by the total number of women
employees taking parental leave. Same calculation to be performed formen taking parental leave.
8. The Company has a confidential grievance, resolution, reporting and non-retaliation
mechanism and procedure to address and respond to incidents of violence and harassment
Yes

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| No

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COMPLEMENTARY INDICATORS
These indicators measure key areas to tackle systemic barriers to gender equality. Their implementation
may differ by country, industry and size of company.
WEP

ISSUE

INDICATORCOMMENT

Workplace

PRINCIPLE 2

Women’s representation in nontraditional roles

Percent of women in traditionally
underrepresented roles

Examples include roles in P&L,
technology, construction, heavy
manufacturing, engineering

Training anddevelopment

Average hours of training that theorganization's employees haveundertaken, disaggregated by sex
and employee level

This could include training in areas
where women are underrepresented.

PRINCIPLE 4

Marketplace
Percentage of procurement spend
with women-owned businesses

PRINCIPLE 5

Equitable
Procurement
Practices

Percentage of procurement spend
with companies with genderequality commitments

Examples include other
WEPs Signatories

Percentage of workers in supply
chain receiving a living wage,
disaggregated by sex

PRINCIPLE 5

Genderresponsive
marketingHas a stand-alone responsible
marketing policy or a commitment
embedded in a broader corporate
policy that addresses theportrayal of gender stereotypes
Community

PRINCIPLE 6

PRINCIPLE 6

Genderresponsive
product designand development

Has a policy or commitment
embedded in a wider corporate
policy to integrate inclusive
gender considerations into
product design and delivery

Gender equality

Percentage of financial or
pro-bono support for genderequality programmesThis is business opportunity: womenaccount for over USD20 trillion in
consumer spending per year and are
the fastest growing consumer
economy. By 2028, women willcontrol close to 75 per cent of
discretionary spending worldwide.

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ANNEXINPUT AND SUPPORT MEASURE INDICATORSThe Input and Support Measures Indicators helps you tracks your inputs to change, such as policies,
practices and measures that are foundational to achieving gender equality and women’s empowerment.
WEP

ISSUE

INDICATORCOMMENT

Leadership

Gender Policy& Action Plan

Has a holistic, organization-wide gender equality
strategy/action plan that identifies specific priority
areas where further improvement can be made withdedicated resources for implementation

Dedicated resources
include budget andhuman resources

Has a stand-alone policy or a commitment embedded
in a broader corporate policy that addresses supporting
employees as parents and caregivers, covering all
employees in major locations of operation

See UN Women’s
guidance on family
friendly employers
here and here.

Has a stand-alone policy or commitment embedded ina broader corporate policy on non-discrimination andequal opportunity policy covering recruitment, retention,
re-entry, and promotion of all individuals.

PRINCIPLE 1

Due diligence

Conducts a gender-responsive risk assessment as part ofits human rights due diligence process to identify specificgender-related risks, including violence and harassmentand ensure personal safety and security of all employees.
Workplace

Equal pay

Has a stand-alone policy or a commitment embedded
in a broader corporate policy that addresses equal pay
for work of equal value

See UN Women’s
guidance on equal
pay here and here.

Caregiving

Offers support programmes for parents andcaregivers, regardless of sex or marital status

See UN Women’s
guidance on family
friendly employers
here and here.

Flexible work

Offers flexible work options for all employees

See policy
template here.

Violence andharassment

Provides confidential support for victims of violenceand harassment, including domestic violence

See UN Women’s
guidance here andpolicy templates here
and here.

PRINCIPLE 2

PRINCIPLE 3

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WEP

ISSUE

Violence andharassment

PRINCIPLE 3

Wellbeing

Careeradvancement
PRINCIPLE 4

INDICATORCOMMENTHas policies and procedures to ensure safety, security,
confidentiality, and protection of victims of sexual
harassment at workplace.

See UN Women’s
guidance here andpolicy template here.

Has a policy prohibiting nondisclosure agreements
pertaining claims of sexual harassment in settlementagreements, unless requested by the victim anddoes not require sexual harassment claims to go to
private arbitration.

See UN Women’s
guidance here andpolicy template here.

ANNEX

Has a company-wide policy or commitment to respectand support access to quality health care, including
sexual and reproductive health where relevant, which isreflected in company programs and employee benefits.
Provides leadership training, coaching, and/or
mentoring to support women to access management
and leadership positions
Provides training, skills development, education,
networking, and mentoring to recruit women in
non-traditional roles

See UN Women’s
guidance here.

Marketplace
Has procurement targets and/or goals for the amountand percentage spend with women-owned businesses
Has procurement targets and/or goals for the amountand percentage spend with businesses with commitments to gender equality
Has a supplier or vendor code of conduct that explicitly
states support for gender equality
Supply chain
PRINCIPLE 5

Offers independently, or as part of a business association,
ongoing capacity building to suppliers and vendors to
support continuous improvement on gender equality

See UN Women
guidance here.

Has a commitment to pay a living wage to all workers
in its supply chain
Has a policy requiring all suppliers to pay at least thelegal minimum wage to all workers in the company
supply chain

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WEP

PRINCIPLE 5

ISSUE

INDICATOR

MarketingHas a stand-alone responsible marketing communication
policy or a commitment embedded in a broader
corporate policy that addresses the avoidance ofgender stereotypes and promotes positive portrayalsof women and girls

GenderbiasesUndertakes gender-responsive assessments of machinelearning and AI tools to prevent perpetuating genderbiases and avoid adverse impacts on women

COMMENT

Community

PRINCIPLE 6

SafetyUndertakes product safety tests that adequately
capture the potential risks for womenSocialresponsibility

Has a stand-alone policy or a commitment embedded ina broader corporate policy that addresses embedding
gender in corporate social responsibility activities,
philanthropy, public advocacy, and partnerships.
Transparency and Accountability

Reporting

Tracking
progress
PRINCIPLE 7

Audit

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Reports publicly on all WEPs Essential Indicators
Has time-bound, measurable goals and targets toincrease women's representation in leadership
Has time-bound, measurable goals and targets to increase
women's representation in non-traditional roles
Has undertaken a gender audit/evaluation/assessment

See above for the
Essential Indicators.
Public reporting
include on
www.WEPs.org

Equality Means Business • WEPs BROCHURE

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ADDITIONAL INDICATORS
Leadership•

Annual turnover rate, disaggregated by sex•

Percentage of managers/senior leadership with clear diversity and inclusion goals, which include
gender equality related goals, included as part of their annual performance reviews
Workplace•

Percentage of employees by employment contract, disaggregated by sex•

Percentage of addressed incidents of discrimination related to sex or gender•

Total number of incidents of discrimination related to sex or gender•

Total number of corrective actions taken related to incidents of discrimination related to sex or gender•

Percentage of employees who have taken gender bias training, disaggregated by sex•

Percentage of employees in a trade union or on a worker committee, disaggregated by sex•

Percentage of employees that were entitled to paid parental leave, disaggregated by sex•

Return to work rate of employees that took paid parental leave, disaggregated by sex•

Percentage of employees taking advantage of caregiver support programs, disaggregated by sex•

Number of weeks of paid maternity leave available in all major locations of operation•

Number of weeks of paid paternity/secondary caregiver leave in all major locations of operation•

Percentage of employees who have taken training on violence and harassment in the workplace,disaggregated by sex•

Ratio of work-related injuries for men to women•

Number of breastfeeding facilities per 50 women employees•

Absenteeism rate, disaggregated by sex•

Percentage of women on health and safety committee out of total committee membership•

Number of adequate and safe toilet facilities per 50 women workers to accommodate hygiene needs
such as clean water and soap and disposal methods for feminine hygiene products
Marketplace•

Percentage of suppliers screened using gender criteria•

Percentage of workers in supply chain, disaggregated by sex and employee level•

Percentage of total financial support and investment, alone or in partnership with banks and financial
institutions, to provide credit and other financial services to women entrepreneurs
Community•

Percentage of direct beneficiaries from community projects and initiatives, disaggregated by sex•

Percentage of community programs assessed using gender-related criteria

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ANNEXANNEX IVREPORTING PRIVATELY OR PUBLICLY ON YOUR
WEPs COMPANY PROFILE PAGE
For more detailed instructions on editing general information on your company profile page
see here.
1. Go to www.weps.org
2. Click “Sign in” in the upper right corner

3. Click “Create/Edit Company Profile”. The page will open to allow you to edit the profile.
4. The Baseline provides a snapshot of information provided at the initial application stage
and cannot be changed. However, you can choose public or private for each item with theblue button on the right side of the page.

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5. Scroll to the bottom to “Share your Progress”
6. Provide the data for each indicator. If you do not yet have the data, you can leave it blankand return at a later date. You can choose public or private for each indicator with the blue
button on the right side of the page.

7. Once complete, Click on the green “Save” button to update the content on the company
profile page.

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ANNEX

Any public information would be shared at the bottom of the company profile page as graphs.

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Equality Means Business • ENDNOTESENDNOTES
1.

WEPs company profile page: www.weps.org/company/
mastercard

2.

UN Women, 2020. The Power of Working Together: Emerging
Practices that Advance Women’s Economic Empowerment.
Available at: https://www.weps.org/resource/power-workingtogether-emerging-practices-advance-womens-economicempowerment

3.

UN Women, 2020. Women and the Sustainable Development
Goals. Available at: https://www.unwomen.org/en/news/
in-focus/women-and-the-sdgs

4.

See for status of SDG5 the UN Women SDG5 tracker, https://
sdg-tracker.org/gender-equality

5.

UN Women, 2020. The Power of Working Together: Emerging
Practices that Advance Women’s Economic Empowerment.
Available at: https://www.weps.org/resource/power-workingtogether-emerging-practices-advance-womens-economicempowerment

6.

UN Women, 2020. Strengthening Support of Women
Entrepreneurs in COVID-19 Response and Recovery: Advocacy
Tool. Available at: https://www.weps.org/resource/strengtheningsupport-women-entrepreneurs-covid-19-response-and-recoveryadvocacy-tool

7.

8.

9.

United Nations Statistics Division, 2020. Global indicator
framework for the Sustainable Development Goals and targetsof the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Available at:https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/indicators/Global%20Indicator%20
Framework%20after%202020%20review_Eng.pdf
United Nations, 27 October 1995. Beijing Declaration andPlatform of Action, adopted at the Fourth World Conferenceon Women. Available at: www.un.org/en/events/pastevents/
pdfs/Beijing_ Declaration_and_Platform_for_Action.pdf
UN Women, October 2020. Top Companies in Europe to
Empower Women through the amfori UN Women WEPs Activator.
Available at: https://asiapacific.unwomen.org/en/news-andevents/stories/2020/10/top-companies-in-europe-to-empowerwomen-through-the-amfori-un-women-weps-activator

10. UN Women and amfori. July 2020. JOIN THE ‘WEPs ACTIVATOR’:
Unleash the power of Gender Equality in your company. Available
at: https://asiapacific.unwomen.org/-/media/field%20office%20eseasia/docs/publications/2020/ 07/wea-amfori-2020-0723.pdf?la=en&vs=721
11.

UN Women, 2020. The Power of Working Together: Emerging
Practices that Advance Women’s Economic Empowerment.
Available at: https://www.weps.org/resource/power-workingtogether-emerging-practices-advance-womens-economicempowerment

12. UN Women, 2020. Taking a global approach to gender equality.
Available at: https://www.weps.org/resource/taking-globalapproach-gender-equality
13. UN Women, 2020. Prioritizing gender equality. Available at:https://www.weps.org/resource/prioritizing-gender-equality
14. UN Women, 2020. Confronting the gender pay gap globally.
Available at: https://www.weps.org/resource/confrontinggender-pay-gap-globally
15. UN Women, 2020. Creating a culture of inclusion. Available at:https://www.weps.org/resource/creating-culture-inclusion

17. UN Women, 2020. Levelling the playing field for women in theworkplace. Available at: https://www.weps.org/resource/levelling-playing-field-women-workplace
18. UN Women, 2020. Harnessing women’s potential through a
global network. Available at: https://www.weps.org/resource/harnessing-womens-potential-through-global-network
19. UN Women, 2020. Developing an online learning community
for women. Available at: https://www.weps.org/resource/
developing-online-learning-community-women
20. UN Women, 2020. Transformation through code. Available at:https://www.weps.org/resource/transformation-through-code
21. UN Women, 2020. The Power of Working Together: Emerging
Practices that Advance Women’s Economic Empowerment.
Available at: https://www.weps.org/resource/power-workingtogether-emerging-practices-advance-womens-economicempowerment
22. UN Women, 2020. Creating gender equality in fashion. Available at:https://www.weps.org/resource/creating-gender-equality-fashion
23. UN Women, 2020. Gender equality through virtual reality.
Available at: https://www.weps.org/resource/gender-equalitythrough-virtual-reality
24. UN Women, 2020. Harnessing women’s talent in the electricity
sector. Available at: https://www.weps.org/resource/harnessingwomens-talent-electricity-sector
25. UN Women, 2021. Developing the next generation of womenleaders in Africa - through corporate social responsibility.
Available at: https://www.weps.org/resource/developing-nextgeneration-women-leaders-africa-through-corporate-socialresponsibility
26. UN Women, 2020. Improving gender balance on boards andleadership. Available at: https://www.weps.org/resource/
improving-gender-balance-boards-and-leadership
27. UN Women 2020. Confronting Gender Imbalances Head-on.
Available at: https://www.weps.org/resource/confrontinggender-imbalances-head
28. UN Women, 2020. Advancing Sustainability Management
through Reporting. Available at: https://www.weps.org/resource/
advancing-sustainability-management-through-reporting
29. UN Women, 2020. Closing the gender pay gap. Available at:https://www.weps.org/resource/closing-gender-pay-gap
30. UNGC and UN Women, 2021. WEPs Gender Gap Analysis Tool
About. Available at: https://weps-gapanalysis.org/about-the-tool/
31. Ibid.
32. UN Women, 2019. Diagnosis for Equal Remuneration Tool.
Available at: https://www.weps.org/resource/diagnosis-equalremuneration
33. UN Women, 2020. The Power of Working Together: Emerging
Practices that Advance Women’s Economic Empowerment.
Available at: https://www.weps.org/resource/power-workingtogether-emerging-practices-advance-womens-economicempowerment
34. UN Women, 2021. WEPs Guidance Note: How to Report Progress.
Available at: https://www.weps.org/resource/weps-guidancenote-how-report-progress

16. UN Women, 2020. Fighting everyday sexism and domestic violencein the workplace. Available at: https://www.weps.org/resource/
fighting-everyday-sexism-and-domestic- violence-workplace

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1. Consider
Reactivate
6. Report

2. Sign

5. Sustain

3. Activate

4. Engage

Equality
Means Business
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WEPs Learn strives to equip women with new skills, capacities andcharacteristics to succeed in the digital economy and labour market.
This virtual platform also offers learning opportunities for WEPs
signatories to deepen their implementation of the Women’s
Empowerment Principles. The lessons are designed to give
women more confidence in job interviews, lead genderequality initiatives within their organizations, theability to assess new job opportunities, andtherefore grow their careers more
effectively.

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