THE POWER OF
WORKING TOGETHER
Emerging practices that advance

WOMEN’S ECONOMICEMPOWERMENT

Copyright © 2020
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
Edit: Proseworks
Design: Oliver Gantner
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be
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DISCLAIMER: This booklet was produced with thefinancial support of the European Union. Its contents
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the United Nations and their member States.

Foreword from EU
Josep Borrell Fontelles, High Representative of the Union
for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-Presidentof the European Commission

I am honored to take part in the fight for women’s economic
empowerment. Our partnerships across the globe, andespecially the joint efforts with the United Nations, demonstrate
we can make a difference.
The recently adopted EU Action Plan on Gender Equality and
Women’s Empowerment in External Action 2021–2025 (GAP III)
sets out concrete actions to build a gender-equal world andreiterates our commitment to put the empowerment of
women and girls at the heart of EU’s external policies.
Working towards gender equality does not seize in the wakeof a pandemic or any international crises, to the contrary.
We need to do more, to stand up, speak out and act, and thatis exactly what WE EMPOWER did and will continue to do.
WE EMPOWER helps women achieve financial independence.
This is key to true freedom and equality. The COVID-19
pandemic has highlighted the large extent to which disparities
and inequalities persist and even grow in the eye of a global
health and ensuing economic crisis shattering our countries.
In this situation, WE EMPOWER has challenged companies
to tackle both gender equality and anti-discrimination policies.
The two injustices are not mutually exclusive and deserve tobe addressed in tandem.

Collaborating across sectors is critical in creating change.
WE EMPOWER’s partnerships with the private sector is a
success story. Since WE EMPOWER’s inception in 2017,
we have seen remarkable progress on gender inclusive
policies. Approximately 4,000 companies have committed
to the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs), doubling
the amount from 2017.
WE EMPOWER’s message of women’s economic
empowerment and gender equality is being reiterated
around the world, and it will be important to keep it high on
the international agenda.
The EU will continue to build on t the progress that we havemade so far and pave a path for the future generations,fighting to enhance women’s entrepreneurship, striving forequal pay for equal work and encouraging young girls to
pursue future-relevant professions such as in STEM.
Not one single country in the world is on track to achieve
gender equality and empowerment of all women and girls by
2030 as was set out in Agenda 2030. That’s why we willcontinue to work closely with all partners at global level,
because only then will we be able achieve a truly genderequal world.

Josep Borrell-Fontelles– 3 –Foreword from UN Women
Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, United Nations
Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN Women  With the devastating social and economic impacts of the
COVID-19 pandemic threatening hard-won progress forgender equality, businesses play a critical role in agender-responsive recovery.
The private sector can enact policies that support women’s
unique needs and ensure their voices are included inleadership and decision-making at all levels as we rebuild
better societies. Many companies have been stepping up,
providing much-needed information, supplies and personnel
to combat the virus or offering flexible working arrangements,
paid medical leave, ensured income protection and emergency
childcare for frontline workers. It is actions such as these that
embody the work of the WE EMPOWER – G7 programmeover the past three years.
The EU-funded programme, WE EMPOWER: promoting
economic empowerment of women at work throughresponsible business conduct in G7 countries, began in 2018
when UN Women, the International Labour Organization (ILO)
and the European Union joined forces to promote sustainable,
inclusive and equitable economic growth in G7 countries.
Since then we have supported the active engagement of thecorporate sector in a way that aligns with public policies led
by G7 governments, and that strengthens and activates
multi-stakeholder dialogues.

From the very beginning, the programme leveraged
UN Women and the UN Global Compact’s Women’s
Empowerment Principles (WEPs), which engage the private
sector in creating more and better jobs for women,
while addressing key issues, such as the gender pay gap,
sexual harassment, racism and discrimination, and promoting
gender-responsive procurement and work-life balance.
With the future of work as an overarching theme,
the WE EMPOWER – G7 Programme contributed to theoutcomes of the 2018 G7 Summit under the Canadianpresidency and 2019 G7 Summit under the French presidency.
In 2020 the programme developed strong recommendations
for G7 countries on measures to respond to and recover fromthe COVID-19 pandemic.
This booklet offers insights into the efforts of private sector
companies and governments in G7 countries working topromote gender equality and women’s empowerment acrosstheir spheres of influence. Its case studies show the growthand impact of the programme from 2018–2020 and I hope itwill serve as an inspiration for what we can continue to do
together as we work to address the long-term impacts of the
COVID-19 pandemic and to turn the promises of the 2030
Agenda for Sustainable Development into transformativechange through the Generation Equality Forum and beyond.

Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka– 5 –Foreword from ILO
Victor van Vuuren, Director, Enterprises Department
International Labour Organization

Over the last decades, equality between men and women in
the world of work has seen some encouraging improvements,
but most achievements remain modest. No country has so
far achieved gender equality, including the highest-income
countries in the Group of 7 (G7). The devastating health,economic and care crises generated by the COVID-19
pandemic risk reversing many of the hard-won gains of thepast two decades.
Women and girls are facing acute hardships, including
higher rates of poverty and job loss, increased care burdens,
and greater exposure to violence and harassment.
Women are overwhelming absent from decision-making
processes on crisis response and resilience measures.
If no transformative action to address these challenges istaken, the devastating and long-term impact of thepandemic will seriously compromise the achievement of the
Sustainable Development Agenda.
It is time for governments, employers and workers to cometogether, devise and coordinate urgent, sustainable andgender-responsive policy responses to build back a better
future for women at work. International labour standards
and the Tripartite Declaration of Principles concerning
Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy provide a strong
foundation for key policy responses. They call for applying agender perspective in all crisis response design, implementation,
monitoring and evaluation activities. Social dialogue –consultation and collaboration among governments, workers
and employers and their representatives – is essential if
responses are to be effective and sustainable.

The ILO is partnering with the EU and UN Women under“Promoting economic empowerment of women at workthrough responsible business conduct in G7 countries”.
This programme has developed a wealth of knowledge andtraining resources that can assist key actors of the world ofwork - governments, the private sector, including employer
and business membership organizations, trade unions andcivil society – in setting the right priorities and in taking
action on gender equality at work during these
unpredictable times.
The good practices and lessons learned that we havedocumented show that coordinated, proactive andtransformative policies from the key players of the world ofwork play a central role in creating an enabling environment
in which women can access their rights, opportunities andagency to meaningfully lead, participate and thrive in theworld of work. These policies have to complement and canhelp stimulate parallel changes within our societies –overcoming gender stereotypes, achieving equal distributionof unpaid care work, establishing a culture of zero-tolerance
for gender-based violence and sexual harassment, supporting
women-owned businesses and women entrepreneurs,
promoting women’s leadership and decision-making in theworld of work.
Changing the prevalent paradigm during this turbulent timeand building back a better future for all women is not only
feasible but is also an imperative. We have the knowledge
and the resources to succeed. It is time to take action, now.

Victor van Vuuren– 6 –THE WE EMPOWER-G7
PROGRAMME
In 2018, the European Union (EU), UN Women and the
ILO joined forces through the “Promoting economic
empowerment of women at work throughresponsible business conduct in G7 countries”(The WE EMPOWER-G7) Programme.
The programme’s guiding framework is the Women’s
Empowerment Principles (WEPs), and guidance on

labour issues have been drawn from international
labour standards and ILO’s Multinational Enterprises
Declaration.
The programme aims to support sustainable andequitable economic growth by promoting women’s
empowerment in the public and private sector in G7
countries. To do so, the project has taken a
two-track approach:

Track 1:

Multi-stakeholder and action driven policy dialogues
and knowledge exchanges among G7 countries.

Track 2:

Private sector engagement and enhanced knowledge
for Women’s Empowerment Principles implementation
to promote women’s economic empowerment.

Since its launch, the programme has worked closelywith companies to support them through an enhanced
WEPs Journey towards gender equality and women’s
empowerment – from WEPs commitment, signing,
implementing and reporting on progress.
Advisory Groups (AG) in Canada, Japan and the US
were established at the onset of the programme andhave helped advise on policy and programme
implementation. The AG members also helped fostera strong ecosystem of women’s economic
empowerment experts and stakeholders acrossthe G7 countries and the European Union.
Stakeholders engaged with the programmes throughmulti-stakeholder dialogues to advance genderequality and women’s economic empowerment.
The programme has also seen new linkages between
women’s business associations across the G7 and theEuropean Union, hundreds of women entrepreneurs
with improved business connections, thousands ofcompanies with access to good practices on genderequality, and thousands of learners accessing capacity
building tools and resources.

– 7 –Message from theProgramme Manager
As we embarked on the WE EMPOWER – G7 journeyin 2018, we adopted the future of work as an
overarching theme. Three years later, the work of the
future is here. The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted ourplanned in-person dialogues and we quickly pivoted
to virtual activities and developed recommendations
for our stakeholders for gender-sensitive response
and recovery efforts. Our team is spread throughout
the world, but we actually became closer to eachother by working remotely and connecting virtually.
However, we also experienced challenges in copingwith the more blurred lines between our agenda topromote women’s economic empowerment,
and our own family responsibilities.

team’s contribution to the outcomes of the 2018 G7
Summit under the Canadian presidency (focusing on
preparing for jobs of the future) – and the outcomes ofthe 2019 G7 Summit under the French presidency(focusing on discriminatory laws). Throughout the
programme, the team contributed to the successof various other international forums.
The Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs)
constitutes the key framework with which theprogramme engages companies of all sizes to deepen
their commitment to gender equality in the workplace,marketplace and community.

I would like to take the opportunity to thank the entire
team for their resilience and eagerness to pursue ourcommitment to the Programme during these challenging
times. I would particularly like to acknowledge theauthors of this booklet; Diana Rusu, Maria Tirmizi andSarah Merusi who worked tirelessly to research,
consult and interview stakeholders.
The starting point for the booklet was the commitments
made by heads of State and Government during the
Italian G7 presidency in 2017, followed by the programmeEndorsed by the UN General Assembly in 2015,1 W20
in 2017, 2 G7 in 2017, 3 and more recently by the Human
Rights Council in 2019,4 the WEPs provide a genderlens through which businesses can analyze theircurrent initiatives, benchmarks and reporting practices
and then tailor, or establish, accordingly relevant
policies and practices.
Our toolkit for companies include guidance on equalpay, sexual harassment, family-friendly policies,
childcare and gender-responsive procurement, among
other key action areas.

– 8 –Our work in 2020 also challenged us to bring different
agendas together through an intersectional lens.
We developed guidance to companies on how totackle inequalities, bias, racism and forms of
discrimination against women from various walksof lives, independent of their abilities and identities.

Finally, I would like to take the opportunity to thankthe European Union and the International Labour
Organization for their partnership over the past three
years; it has had positive ripple effects across the world,
and we look forward to continue our collaboration toadvance gender equality and women’s empowerment
in the G7 and the European Union.

We are pleased that the community grew by morethan 100 per cent during the programme, and that we
now inspired more than 4,000 CEOs across the world
to take action on this agenda. They have beenencouraged to share their WEPs journeys and stories
of success, challenges and results. We are proud ofeach and every one of them!
As we move into 2021, we will continue to witness theimpact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the world ofwork. We need to stay vigilant that continued remote
working does not lead to the weakening of contracts
and job security. Entrepreneurship is now the largest
growing form of business in the world. Women businessleaders need our solidarity and support. And, with our“boost yourself” series, we expect to help feed the
curiosity, thirst for knowledge and skills, and commitment
to the lifelong learning of our youth community.

– 9 –Anna Fälth– 10 –

This booklet
This booklet is inspired by the promising practices
arising from the WE EMPOWER-G7 programme
between 2018 and 2020. Its purpose is to share theways in which G7 and EU governments and companies
are working together to promote gender equality inthe workplace, marketplace and community.

around improved transparency has incentivizedcompanies to start monitoring and reporting on theirprogress. Being accountable to stakeholders has also
helped them attract new talent, in particular women,
consumers and investors.
Over the course of the WE EMPOWER-G7 Programme,
UN Women has collected case studies of emerging
practice in the private sector, and of effective
policymaking in the public sector. This booklet also
shares stories of innovative and successful women
entrepreneurs implementing the WEPs in small andmedium-sized enterprises.

Following the universal adoption of the Beijing
Declaration and Platform for Action in 1995, and theratification of international labour standards,
governments have a responsibility to foster genderequality and women’s empowerment.
The Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) provide
a clear framework for companies to understand andaddress gender gaps. The seven principles help
companies to evaluate and assess their practices,
projects and policies; and to identify areas for
improvement, such as promoting more women to
strategic positions, closing the gender pay gap andincentivizing men to take parental leave. Advocacy

The chapters of this booklet correspond to the main
themes of the seven WEPs. Each chapter begins witha broad overview of relevant global frameworks,
followed by examples of national laws and policies andpromising practices of WEPs signatories in G7/EU.

– 11 –COVID-19
As the WE EMPOWER- G7 Programme entered into its third year, the global COVID-19 pandemic posed a serious
threat to the gains made on gender equality and exposed fundamental flaws in economic and social systems.
The year was marked by unprecedented upheaval as the COVID-19 pandemic halted businesses, jobs andservices and impacted the economic and social lives of millions of people. Women’s particularvulnerabilities were aggravated, experienced especially by those who are primary caregivers,
health workers, migrant workers and the many women working in the informal industry.
The WE EMPOWER-G7 programme responded by offering guidance to businesses
in on how to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment in theworkplace, marketplace and community in the context of the global pandemic.5, 6
At the beginning of the global lockdown, the programme convened a
High-Level Round-table G7’s role in ensuring gender equality in COVID-19
crisis response and recovery. The discussions highlighted the need forG7 countries to work through multi-stakeholder partnerships to prioritize
gender equality and women’s economic empowerment in their
COVID-19 stimulus packages, and crisis response and recovery
measures..7
Together with the International Finance Corporations, the programme
prepared a report to showcase companies and organizations thatare taking action to ensure women’s economic inclusion andempowerment, and the well-being of their employees, customers,
and suppliers, as well as local communities amid COVID-19. 8
As we enter into 2021, it is important that wes remain focused on
addressing the long-term impacts of COVID-19 on women and girls,
and their ability to participate in education and the economy,
by developing solutions that reflect women’s diverse lives,
needs and aspirations.

– 12 –

– 13 –TABLE OF CONTENTS

Global Frameworks

16

I.

Leadership for gender equality and women’s empowerment

18

II.

Non-discrimination at work

27

II.

Well-being of all workers

35

IV.

Professional advancement at work

45

V.

Business practices in the marketplace

53

VI.

Community initiatives and advocacy

63VII. Tracking progress

71

Resources

80

Endnotes83– 15 –

Global frameworks
This year, we celebrated the twenty-fifth anniversaryof the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform
for Action (BPfA) at the Fourth World Conference on
Women in Beijing (1995) – the commitments laid out
in this ground-breaking plan still hold true today.
The Platform for Action provides a progressive
blueprint for governments and the international

community to make robust advancements towards
gender equality and women’s empowerment in 12
critical areas of concern.9 After 25 years, this agenda
is far from being fulfilled.
In 2010, UN Women and the UN Global Compact
established the WEPs to help companies implement
the Beijing Platform for Action.10

ILO conventions and recommendations set out international labour
standards related to gender equality at work:
No 100 - Equal Remuneration Convention (1951) and Recommendation No. 90.11
No. 111 - Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention (1958)
and Recommendation No. 111.12
No. 156 - Workers with Family Responsibilities Convention (1981)
and Recommendation No. 165.13
No. 183 - Maternity Protection Convention (2000) and Recommendation No. 191.14
No. 189 - Domestic Workers Convention (2011) and Recommendation No. 201.15
No. 190 - Violence and Harassment Convention (2019) and Recommendation No. 206.16

Beijing Platform for Action’s 12 critical areas of concern and theirlinkages to the seven Women’s Empowerment Principles• Institutional mechanisms• Human rights of womenPrinciple
1• Women in the economy• Women in power and decision-making
Principle
2• The education andtraining of women• Women and healthPrinciple
4• Violence against womenPrinciple
3• Women and armed conflict• Women andthe media• Women in poverty

Principle
5• The girl child
Principle
6• Women and the environment• Institutional
mechanisms
Principle
7

Note: Several of the seven Principles could beapplied to each of the critical areas of concern.
The image illustrates the closest match.

– 17 –

I. Leadership for gender equality
and women’s empowerment
The Beijing Platform for Action calls on governments to create and strengthen strong governmental bodies that advance gender perspectives in legislation, public policies, programmes
and projects. Since gender disaggregated data and information is key for planning and evaluation,
governments are called upon to work with companies in monitoring progress – underlining theneed for clear and concise accountability measures.17

THE UNITED STATESNOVEMBER 2020

THE WOMEN’S ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND ECONOMICEMPOWERMENT ACTThe United States passed a law mandating a gender-sensitive approach to international
development. The Women’s Entrepreneurship and Economic Empowerment Act(the WEEE Act),18, 19 which was passed unanimously in January 2019, requires thatgender equality be central to all work carried out by The United States Agency forInternational Development (USAID), from planning and project design through tomeasurement and evaluation.

SPOTLIGHT ON
PUBLIC POLICY

THE UNITED STATESTHE WOMEN’S ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT ACT
Recognizing the importance of women’s economic empowerment
and financial resilience in addressing global poverty, the UnitedStates passed a law mandating a gender-sensitive approach to international development. The Women’s Entrepreneurship and Economic
Empowerment Act (the WEEE Act), which was tabled in 2018 andpassed unanimously in January 2019, requires the US Agency forInternational Development (USAID) to ensure that all of its work is
scrutinized to assess the impact on women. USAID must ensure targeted assistance to women and monitor its activities to ensure thatwomen benefit from its work.

The WEEE Act expanded the US Government’s international support
for microenterprises and small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)
through microfinance, including microcredit, programmes. It also
ensures special assistance for businesses that are owned, managed,
or controlled by women. Previously, such support was primarily limited to microenterprises. The Act will also expand support for programs
related to improving women’s access to financial resources, property
and inheritance rights, and other legal protections.1

KEY FEATURES OF THE WEEE AC T
The WEEE Act, passed in 2019, mandates that all USAID work is
subject to a gender analysis and gender equality is integral to
everything it does, from planning and project design throughto measurement and evaluation.

SMEs, considered key for driving economic growth, will receive
special assistance as part of this Act, with half of resources for
programs for SMEs reserved for enterprises owned, managed,
or controlled by women.

The Act makes it a legislative requirement that USAID reporton how much of its assistance targets and benefits women.

The Act also expands support to improving women’s access tofinancial resources, as well as property and inheritance rights.

SPOTLIGHT ON PUBLIC POLICY • THE UNITED STATES | 1

The WEEE Act has made it compulsory for all US Government programmes overseas
to include gender-based goals in their monitoring systems and for USAID to reporton how much of its assistance targets and benefits women.
The WEEE Act also expands the US Government’s international support for microenterprises and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and ensures special assistancefor businesses that are owned, managed or controlled by women.

– 18 –

Since its adoption, the Beijing Platform for
Action has inspired action by governments
to incentivize the private sector to advancegender equality and women’s empowerment.
With the many benefits of achieving gender
parity in leadership roles, a key area of action

has centered around women on boards.
It has proven to contribute to better financial
performance, stronger governance, improved
decision-making and the improved retention
and attraction of top talent. 20

The European Parliament supported a proposed Directive in 2013 for listed companies
in the EU to aim for the underrepresented gender on any board, to comprise at least
40 per cent of non-executive directors by January 2020. 21
Finland relies on its successful enterprise-led initiatives and self-regulation.22
France mandated a 40 per cent quota for female directors in 2011 and has the highest
number of women on company boards in Europe – 43 per cent on average.23
In Germany, a gender quota of 30 per cent women on boards was adopted in 2016,leading to two-thirds of the country’s companies achieving the target.24
The United Kingdom has a “comply or explain” model to foster gender parity on
corporate boards.25
In Canada, Federal law has required Canadian corporations to disclose, at minimum,
the number of women, indigenous people, individuals with disabilities and individuals
from minority groups on their boards as of 1 January 2020.26
In the United States, California implemented legislation requiring publicly held domestic
corporations and foreign corporations headquartered in California to have a minimumof one female board member by the end of 2019, and a representative number offemale board members by the end of 2021.27– 19 –ITALYTHE GENDER PARITY LAWDECEMBER 2020

SPOTLIGHT ON
PUBLIC POLICY

In 2011, the Gender Parity Law28, 29 was passed to enhance women’s representation
on boards while also tackling the barriers to women’s career advancement.

ITALY
THE GENDER PARITY LAW

The law, which came into effect in August 2012, required companies to increase theportion of an under-represented gender on their boards for up to three consecutive
renewals of the board. The first board renewal had to ensure a 20 per cent quota,
while the second and third renewals had a 33 per cent quota.

The gender balance on boards in Italy has been under scrutiny for the
past decade. In 2011, the Gender Parity Law1 was passed to push for
greater representation of women on boards. The purpose behind thelaw was to remove barriers that hinder women’s career advancement.
Law No. 120 of 12 July 2011 mandated a quota for gender diversity
on the board of directors and board of statutory auditors of publiccompanies. The law required companies to gradually increase theportion of the under-represented gender on their boards for up to
three consecutive renewals of the board.
The Gender Parity Law has had a major impact on board compositionsof public companies in Italy, dramatically increasing women’s representation on boards.

KEY FEATURES OF THE GENDER PARIT Y L AW•

The Gender Parity Law of 2011 mandated a temporary and gradual quota for gender diversity on publiccompanies in Italy.

•

The law required quotas for three consecutive board
renewal terms, with a 20 per cent quota for the underrepresented gender for the first renewal and 33 percent for the second and third ones.

•

A new law in force from 14 October 2020 has extended the period to six consecutive renewals andtightened the quota to 40 per cent for the less represented gender.

•

The Italian companies and exchange commission
also issued recommendations to help companies implement the law, including policy tools and guidelines.

SPOTLIGHT ON PUBLIC POLICY • ITALY | 1

As a result, women’s representation on boards has noticeably increased. In June 2017,
women represented over one-third (33 per cent) of all board members; the highest
figure recorded in Italy. A 2020 law has imposed a mandatory gender quota of 40
per cent for up to six board renewals. 30

Women’s Empowerment Principle 1
calls on company leaders to establish
goals and targets for implementing
the WEPs, to increase genderequality in leadership roles and tomeasure progress through clear
performance indicators.
Companies are encouraged to consult internal andexternal stakeholders when developing company
policies, programmes and implementation plans.
They should also review the requirements for board
membership and other governance bodies to remove

any discrimination or bias against women. Managers
at all levels are expected to be held accountable,
through performance reviews, for the results.
A strong commitment from the highest level ofgovernment and organizations can help realize gender
parity in corporate leadership. The policies highlighted
in this chapter from Italy and the United States illustrate
the positive effects and remarkable gains generated
from quotas to achieve gender parity in boardrooms
and from mandating an organization to embed genderequality in all its work, from planning to evaluation.

– 20 –

BUILDING A GENDERBALANCED BUSINESS
Sodexo is a French facilities management and foodservices company based in 67 countries. 31 In 2009,
when women made up only 17 per cent of the company’s
senior leadership, Sodexo implemented a global plan
to advance gender equality across every business line,
every unit and every region. This plan was initially met
with strong resistance from senior women who felt that
other women should be able to navigate the corporate
ladder as they had done. The company’s SoTogether
Global Gender Advisory Board launched two years ofawareness-raising and sharing of external benchmarking
information to ensure everyone’s support.
Sodexo learned that having a highly committed CEO
helped to provide the first push towards setting new
gender equality goals and objectives. Through the
Gender Balance Business Study, Sodexo built a clear
business case to demonstrate the bottom-line benefitof a gender-balanced business. This was key tocreating leadership buy-in. Identifying and recruiting
women and men champions in the company helped
create a critical mass of people to give momentum tothe mission. The company also learned that actively
engaging leaders through mentoring programmes
was far more productive than having leaders as
supportive bystanders. Having clear metrics andtarget-setting has been critical for Sodexo to reach its
goal of having women to comprise at least 40 per centof its senior leadership by 2025. In 2019, women madeup 37 per cent of its top 200 positions.

Photo: Sodexo

TAKING A GLOBAL APPROACH
TO GENDER EQUALITY
In 2019, the French multinational telecommunications
firm Orange signed an unprecedented agreement with
the UNI Global Union, an international trade union
syndicate, committing to achieve global genderequality. 32 The global agreement on workplace genderequality within the Orange Group applies to all
143,000 employees worldwide, covering the following
broad areas: gender equality, work-life balance,
and action to tackle discrimination and violence against
women. The agreement was designed to generatesocial dialogue. Teams were created with equal numbersof women and men and with representatives acrosscompany departments from different locations andspecialisms, including staff representatives. The goal
was to achieve a consensus on what success would look
like and how to achieve it.
Gaining the buy-in of senior leaders was fundamental
to making things happen. While building common
gender-equality goals is important, they need to beadaptable to reflect varied cultural and organizational
contexts. The Orange Group notes that setting
unrealistic objectives can be demotivating, especiallyfor those in charge of delivering them. Stretching but
achievable goals are more likely to drive action.

Photo: Orange GroupPhoto: NEO Exchange

WEPs LEADERSHIPThe President and CEO of NEO Exchange, a Canadianstock exchange, describes how signing the WEPs
changed the institution.33 “NEO is a young organization
without any long-standing legacy. While building thecompany, our goal has always been to attract the best
and brightest talent. Our hiring process has been
driven by the skills and capabilities of the talent pool,and no form of discrimination has ever been tolerated.
As such, our leadership team was fully on-board withsigning the WEPs as we have already embraced theprinciples throughout the organization.”
By signing the WEPs, NEO Exchange showcased its
high-level corporate support to gender equality andits commitment to inspire other organizations to do
the same.

The President added: “What the WEPs made me
realize is that it is not enough to embrace diversity
within my own organization. The unfortunate fact
is that an astonishing amount of gender bias anddiscrimination still exists at a societal level and that isjust not acceptable. To affect real change, it is criticalto do more by actively advocating for diversity. We cando this by spreading the word that enabling diversity
is not only a duty driven by societal fairness but it issomething that makes us and our companies stronger
and better. But talk is cheap. Concrete actions takemuch more time and effort to execute. And so, signing
the WEPs was a motivating force for NEO to implement
tangible initiatives in support of women’s empowerment
and gender balance.”– 23 –

RECOMMENDED PRACTICES
Secure support from the top – having a highly committed CEO can kick-start ashift in organizational priorities.
Create a high-level executive committee to lead the strategy on gender equality
and keep it flexible so it can accommodate evolving needs.
Address gender imbalances from an intersectional lens to foster a corporate
brand that reflects today’s customers and their values.
Develop clear, time-bound, policies, metrics and targets supported by practicalimplementation guidelines.

– 24 –

Photo: TeLisa Daughtry“We are committed tosupporting and implementing
Women’s Empowerment Principles
in order to create inclusive work environments
and a global techand entrepreneurial ecosystem
where all can learn, earn, lead and succeed.”
TeLisa Daughtry
Founder and CTO, FlyTechnista– 25 –

Womenin leadership
Women’s leadership in governments and political decisionmaking has a positive impact on political processes. Women are
more likely to work across party lines and to support gender equality
efforts such as parental leave and childcare reform.34
As of 1 February 2019, 28.6 per cent of representatives in parliaments in the EU
and Nordic countries (single, lower and upper houses combined) were women,with women taking a 30.6 per cent share in parliaments in the Americas.35
In Canada and France, 50 per cent of ministerial positions by women as of
1 January 2019. The figure for other G7 countries was 40 per cent in Germany;
27.8 per cent in Italy, 5.3 per cent in Japan, and 21.7 per cent in the United
Kingdom and the United States.36
On a global scale, women’s promotions in the private sector haveprogressed over the last six years, making the most strides in
Senior Vice President positions rising 18 per cent from 2015 to2020 and increasing 22 per cent for C-Suite positionsin the same period.37

II. NON-DISCRIMINATION AT WORKThe Beijing Platform for Action calls on governments and other stakeholders to promote women’s
economic rights and independence, including through ensuring their access to employment andeconomic resources. Wage differentials between women and men was highlighted as impeding
women’s economic progress. The Platform for Action also highlights the need to promoteharmonization of work and family responsibilities for women and men.38

In response, countries in the European Union are
improving maternity and parental leave, particularly for
fathers. For example, there is now compulsory paternity
leave of 20 workdays in Portugal,39 90 days in Sweden40
and an equally divided parental leave of 164 days perparent in Finland.41
The EU Work-life Balance Directive, which became law
in 2019, ensures that two out of the four months ofparental leave are non-transferable between parents.
It also introduces carers’ leave and extends the right torequest flexible working arrangements to carers andworking parents.42
The case studies highlighted in this chapter show thattaking a stand on non-discrimination in the workplace,including in relation to pay, contributes to leveling theplaying field between women and men workers.
Spain43 has established laws that mandate reportingon gender pay gaps and taking measures to close thegap. The United Kingdom also has mandatory
reporting requirements,44 while Finland and Portugal
use collective bargaining for wage-setting purposes.45

EQUAL REMUNERATION
Convention, 1951 (No. 100)
ILO Convention No. 100 on Equal Remuneration requires ratifying countries to ensure theprinciple equal remuneration for women andmen for work of equal value is applied to all
workers. The term “remuneration” is broadly
defined to include the ordinary, basic or minimum wage or salary and any additional emoluments payable directly or indirectly, whether
in cash or in-kind, by the employer to theworker and arising out of the worker’s employment.46

CANADATHE PAY EQUITY ACTNOVEMBER 2020

SPOTLIGHT ON
PUBLIC POLICYThe Canadian Government passed the Pay Equity Act47, 48 on 13 December 2018. It hasestablished a proactive and ground-breaking regime within the federal public andprivate sectors, requiring employers with 10 or more employees to set up a pay equity
plan within three years. This is the first time that federally regulated public and private
entities have been required to proactively ensure equal pay for work of equal value.

CANADAPAY EQUITY ACTIn Canada, the federal Government has taken a giant step forward withthe enactment of the Pay Equity Act.1 This Act established a proactive
and groundbreaking pay equity regime within the federal public andprivate sectors. This will be the first time in Canada that federally regulated public and private entities with 10 or more employees will be
required to proactively ensure equal pay for work of equal value.

The legislation covers not just full-time, but also seasonal, casual,
temporary and part-time workers. It also provides for independent
oversight through the appointment of a Pay Equity Commissioner,housed within the Canadian Ministry for Human rights.
The Pay Equity legislation was passed on 13 December 2018 and is
not in force yet. Employers are required to set up a pay equity plan
within three years of becoming subject to the legislation.

KEY FEATURES OF THE 2018 PAY EQUITY ACTThe pay equity plan must include a list of all the job classes in the organization,
their value, and whether jobs are predominantly carried out by women or men or are
gender neutral. Employers are required to increase compensation for jobs of similarvalue where there is a gender pay gap.

The Act to Establish a Proactive Pay Equity Regime, passed in
December 2018, requires federally regulated public and private
entities with 10 or more employees to proactively ensure equalpay for work of equal value.
Employers are required to set up a pay equity plan within three
years of becoming subject to the legislation.

The law also requires that employees be given the opportunity
to review or provide input on the plan before it is finalized. The
plan is to be updated at least once every five years
The Act provides for independent oversight through the appointment of a Pay Equity Commissioner, housed within the
Canadian Ministry for Human rights.

SPOTLIGHT ON PUBLIC POLICY • ESTONIA | 1

The legislation covers not just full-time, but also seasonal, casual, temporary andpart-time workers.

MATERNITY PROTECTION
Convention, 2000 (No. 183)
ILO Convention No. 183 provides for 14 weeks
of maternity benefit to women, including a cash
benefit no less than two-thirds of their previous
earnings or a comparable amount. It also requires
ratifying states to take measures to ensure that apregnant woman or nursing mother is not obliged
to perform work which has been determined tobe harmful to her health or that of her child, andprohibits employers from discrimination against
pregnant, or nursing women or those on maternity
leave. Women returning to work must be returnedto the same position or an equivalent position paid
at the same rate. It also provides a woman the rightto one or more daily breaks or a daily reduction ofhours of work to breastfeed her child.49

NOVEMBER 2020

SPOTLIGHT ON
PUBLIC POLICYESTONIAEMPLOYMENT CONTRACTS AND FAMILY BENEFITS ACTS
Estonia offers some of the most extensive and well-compensatedparental support policies in the world, including the longest fully
paid maternity leave.1 Work-life balance, particularly in relation toparents, features prominently in public debates. The country subscribes to a vision that a healthy and thriving population begins withindividuals having freedom to balance their careers, hobbies andfamilies, and it supports this actively with legislation. At the same time,
there is a recognition that more effort is needed to tackle stereotypical gender norms that place the burden of primary childcare on women, resulting in long interruptions to their career and other adverse
impacts, such as the motherhood pay penalty and lower employment rates.

KEY FEATURES OF THE EMPLOYMENT CONTRACTS AND FAMILY BENEFITS ACTS
Under Estonian legislation, new mothers can take 140 days offully paid leave, after which they can either take another 435
days of fully paid leave or share it with a family member.
The compensation is based on 100 per cent of average earnings
calculated from the individual’s employment in the previous
calendar year without an upper limit on payments. This is fundedby the Estonian national health care programme through general taxation.

From July 2020, paid paternity leave, previously 10 working days,
has been replaced with a 30-day non-transferable parental benefit for the father, in addition to the 435-day parental benefit
period.
There are numerous other benefits and allowances, including
benefits and leave for adoption, a one-off payment at birth andadditional support for families with more than three children,
families with children with disabilities, and low-income families.

SPOTLIGHT ON PUBLIC POLICY • ESTONIA | 1

ESTONIAFAMILY BENEFITS AND EMPLOYMENT CONTRACTS
Estonia offers one of the longest fully paid maternity leave in the world.50 New mothers
can take 140 days fully paid leave, after which they can either take another 435 days
paid leave or share it with a family member. 51, 52 The compensation is based on 100
per cent of average earnings calculated from the individual’s employment in theprevious calendar year, without an upper limit. This is funded by the national
health care programme through general taxation. After 85 weeks, the compensation
moves to a standard €38 per month. This allowance is available to both working andnon-working parents after the end of parental benefits.
There are numerous other benefits and allowances including benefits and leave for
adoption, various monthly allowances and support to families with more than threechildren, those with children with disabilities, and to low-income families.

Women’s Empowerment Principle 2
commits businesses to treat all
employees fairly, regardless ofgender, and to respect and support
human rights and non-discrimination.
Signatories are encouraged to standfirmly against inequality, racism and discrimination andensure that the perspectives, skills and talents of womenfrom diverse backgrounds with different abilities andidentities are represented and valued in company
initiatives, programmes and decision-making. When
implementing the WEPs, an intersectional lens should
underpin strategies for advancing gender equality andtargeting racism and discrimination in the workplace. 53
The Principle calls on companies and organizations to
implement gender-sensitive recruitment and retention
practices to proactively recruit and appoint women

to managerial, executive and corporate board-level
positions. To successfully accomplish these results,
companies are encouraged to establish family-friendly
policies that fosters equal opportunities for mothers
and non-mothers, which ultimately can help reducethe motherhood pay gap. 54
Supporting parents in the workplace by establishinginclusive and comprehensive leave policies, encouraging
the equal uptake of childcare, and providing flexible
work arrangements for their re-entry are other measuresthat have contributed to gender equality results. 55
Companies are increasingly realizing that closing gender
pay gaps helps to attract and retain staff, improving
their performance and growth. Generating regulardiagnostics of equal pay and measuring the pay gap is
crucial to reaching this goal. 56– 29 –

CONFRONTING GENDER BALANCES HEAD-ON
Tele2 is a telecommunications firm operating in Sweden,
Estonia, Germany, Latvia and Lithuania. 57 The issue ofgender imbalance came into sharp focus for thiscompany when, in 2018, it merged with Swedish IT
services provider, Com Hem. Only nine per cent of the
new global leadership team were women. The seniorleadership team recognized that not only is genderinequality unfair and discriminatory, it is also bad forbusiness, as gender-balanced teams outperform thosewhich are not.
In 2019, Tele2 implemented a 16-point action plan
aiming, by 2023, to achieve a 50-50 gender balance
within the company at executive, managerial andemployee level. One of its more significant strategies

was a ‘2+1’ recruitment policy. This policy, of hiring two
women for every one man, was introduced to reverse
data which had revealed that, for every one woman,the company had been hiring two men. This principle
now applies to all teams that have a gender imbalance
and, within one year, 66 per cent of new recruits havebeen women. Tele2’s leadership team were clear that‘2+1’ did not mean that the best candidates would not
be appointed. Instead, the organization needed to work
harder to attract a more diverse pool of candidates
and set itself a target of 75 per cent of all applicants
being women, regardless of the role. The fact that the‘2+1’ principle has been so successful shows that simplicity and clarity in a policy can make a real difference.

Photo: Tele2

Photo: GSMACONFRONTING THE GENDER PAY GAP GLOBALLY
The GSMA, a global industry association, represents
the interests of mobile network operators worldwide.58
It unites more than 750 operator members and almost
400 companies in the broader mobile communications
ecosystem and produces industry-leading events.
The GSMA is committed to the principles of equal pay
and fair recruitment practices that ensure equal pay
for work of equal value. To avoid pay disparities, its
recruitment team bases pay decisions on market ratecomparators rather than an employee’s previous salary.

All job descriptions are screened to ensure they are freefrom hidden bias. Furthermore, external data is used
to benchmark all roles and every individual’s position
is reviewed against the benchmark twice a year toensure there are no disparities.
In March 2016, the gap between men and women’s
positions against the benchmark was 5.6 percentage
points in favour of men; by October 2018 this was only
0.2 percentage points and has remained statisticallyinsignificant since.

The GSMA introduced its equal pay measures in 2017,
across all the GSMA locations. Progress has beenmonitored by a review of all staff salaries twice a year.

– 31 –PAVING THE WAY FOR WOMEN IN TECHNOLOGYThe Founder and CTO of FlyTechnista, 59 established
her company in 2015 to support women to overcome
the barriers she herself had faced starting a career intechnology. Today, FlyTechnista has served more than
8,000 women and girls through education, employment
opportunities and community engagement.
In the CTO words, “I would definitely say as anintersectional woman that I have faced real systemic
barriers and obstacles to advancing in my career.
I kept receiving great feedback, great internal reviewsin growth and development plans, but still [was] notable to secure the raises, the advances, the titles, andthat became very frustrating to have to continuously
prove your worth and why you should be promoted toleadership.” The work with FlyTechnista was twofold:helping place women in technical and creative roles
and then ensuring that the women stayed with theiremployers. Creating and sharing solutions was a
wayto help companies retain the women that they
were hiring. FlyTechnista then became an Artificial
Intelligence-driven product designed to help womenand girls better understand relevant jobs in softwaredevelopment, which has now evolved into today’s
mobile application.

Photo: US Consulates – Toronto

RECOMMENDED PRACTICES
Ensure that all policies, strategies and programmes, including in relation to recruitment,
retention and promotion, support women from diverse backgrounds with different
identities and abilities.
Implement a fair recruitment process to ensure non-discrimination and encourage
the emergence of a highly qualified and diverse talent pool.
Encourage men to take advantage of parental leave to level the playing field between
women and men employees.
Make equal pay part of the organization’s scorecard and key performance indicators– this will ensure continuous progress on closing the pay gap.
Implement a job evaluation system that systematically and regularly evaluates thecontent of each job – this is critical to understanding what makes roles comparable
and how equal pay can be measured.

– 33 –

Photo: GSMA

“The COVID-19 Pandemic has increased theurgency to reach women with mobile
technology. As a recent WEPs signatory,
I am very much looking forward to engaging
with the UN’s global network of women’s
empowerment champions to help makedigital connectivity and opportunity a reality
for every woman and girl – because when
women thrive, families, societies
and economies thrive.”
Mats Granryd
Director General, GSMA

– 34 –

III. WELL-BEING OF ALL WORKERS
The Beijing Platform for Action underscored the growing occupational health issues of women
working in low paid jobs under tedious and unhealthy conditions. Governments, together
with employers and trade organizations, were called on to formulate special policies, design
programmes and enact the legislation necessary to alleviate and eliminate occupational healthhazards associated with work in the home, in the workplace and elsewhere. They were also called
upon to enact and enforce laws against sexual and other forms of harassment in all workplaces.
Today, at least 140 countries have legislation on sexual
harassment in the workplace globally.60 An EU directive
in 2002 called on member states to better protect therights of victims of sexual harassment and to ensure theintegrity, dignity and equality of women and men at work.61
In 2019, the European Parliament and the Council of
the European Union adopted a Directive that set thebar high for mandatory whistleblower protection.62
An alarming pandemic, in the shadow of COVID-19,
is the disturbing rates of intimate partner violence thathas seen a fivefold increase in calls to helplines as a resultof the pandemic. Restricted movement, social isolationand economic insecurity are increasing women’svulnerability to violence in the home around the world.63
By September 2020, 48 countries had integrated
prevention measures for violence against women andgirls into COVID-19 response plans, and 121 countries had
adopted measures to strengthen services for womensurvivors of violence during the ...global crisis.
However, more efforts are urgently needed.64
Other concerns to the wellbeing of employees is linked
to their mental and physical wellbeing. Legislative andworkplace measures have been put in place to promote
productive and healthy workers that have the ability
to revitalize themselves regularly. For example in theEuropean Union, regulations were introduced in 2003
on work-life balance, covering maximum work hours,
rest breaks, weekly rest, annual leave, night work.65

VIOLENCE AND HARASSMENT
Convention, 2019 (No. 190)
The ILO Violence and Harassment Convention
2019 (No. 190) and its supplementary recommendation (No.206) are an historic move towards eliminating violence and harassment in
the world of work. The Convention and recommendation state that all workers have a rightto a world of work free from harassment andviolence. The Convention recognizes that violence and harassment also affect the qualityof public and private services, and may prevent women from accessing, remaining andadvancing in the labour-market. Also noted isthat domestic violence can affect employment,
productivity and health and safety – governments, employers’ and workers’ organizations
and labour-market institutions can help, as partof other measures, to recognize, respond to andaddress the impacts of domestic violence.66

FRANCEMEASURES TO ADDRESS SEXUAL HARASSMENT
On 6 September 2018, the French Government unveiled a plan to combat sexualand gender-based violence, under the Act for the Freedom to Choose One’s Future
Career.67 This gave employers until 1 January 2019 to take measures to combat
sexual harassment and sexist behaviour in the workplace.
Companies with 250 employees or more had to appoint a Human Resources
representative and another representative, elected by staff, to their Social andEconomic Committee, an employee representative body. Their responsibility is toguide and support employees in the fight against sexual harassment and sexist
behaviour. A representative trade union in the company can pursue a case before
an industrial tribunal and a criminal court.
The permanent joint committees of each industrial sector must now also include in
their annual reports a review of the tools available to companies to prevent and fightsexual harassment and sexist behaviour. The law reinforces companies’ obligation totell employees about the civil and criminal consequences of sexual harassment andto give them contact details of relevant authorities and services.

– 36 –SPOTLIGHT ON PUBLIC POLICY • GERMANY | 1

SPAINROYAL DECREE ON REMOTE WORKING CONDITIONSSPOTLIGHT ON PUBLIC POLICY • GERMANY | 1

On 13 October 2020, Royal Decree Law 28/2020 68 was brought in to protect therights of people providing services from home, or a place chosen by the employee
for at least of 30 per cent of their working time over a three-month period. The law
declares that remote employees have the same rights as those based in a traditional
workplace. This includes the right to flexible work, safe working conditions, the rightto the necessary tools and equipment to carry out the work and the reimbursementof costs associated with work. It also ensures that the workers have the right tocollective bargaining.
The law states that remote work must be agreed on a voluntary basis, but requires thatcertain formalities be addressed, including the creation of a minimum legal agreement.
This follows a 2019 law69 that was introduced to protect workers from the abuse oflong working hours and unpaid overtime.

– 37 –

GERMANYHOURS OF WORK ACTDECEMBER 2020

SPOTLIGHT ON
PUBLIC POLICYThis Act70, 71 was introduced in 1994 to regulate limits to a working day (not more thaneight hours with a guaranteed separate 30 minutes rest period), and to ensure an
11-hour break after a day of work. On 1 January 2019, the “Act on Further Developmentof Part-Time Employment Law”72 entitled employees to work part-time on atemporary basis, and to return to full-time employment (called “Bridge Part-TimeWork”). The Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs also developed the New Quality ofWork Initiative73 in 2001, an online knowledge-sharing portal focusing on measuresneeded to foster a good work-life balance.

GERMANY
WORKING HOURS AND PART-TIME AND FIXED-TERM EMPLOYMENT ACTS
Working hours in Germany have been regulated by law since 1994
when the Government introduced the Working Hours Act on 6 Juneto safeguard workers from long working hours and to ensure adequate periods of rest and breaks.
The culture of long working hours with inadequate rest periods has
adversely affected employees’ health and well-being. Moreover,long periods of night work are especially harmful to people’s healthand can endanger safety in the workplace.1 For women, long working hours have long-term economic repercussions. They are alreadydisproportionately burdened by primary care work, and their inability to put in long work hours leads to a lifetime of reduced earnings compared to men.2 Regulating the number of hours in a working
day contributes therefore to levelling the playing field for womenand men workers in terms of hiring and promotion.

KEY FEATURES OF THE WORKING HOURS AND PART-TIME AND
FIXED -TERM EMPLOYMENT AC TS• A working day must not exceed eight hours, must have a
30-minute break and be followed by an uninterrupted period of 11 hours of rest. Employers who fail to comply withthis can face fines as well as imprisonment.

• Sundays and public holidays must be free from work. If workers have been employed on a public holiday, they must becompensated with other periods of rest.

• On 1 January 2019, the Act on Further Development of PartTime Employment Law3 came into force, allowing workers to
temporarily work part-time to reconcile their personal needs
with their working life, and to have the option to return tofull-time work.

• In 2019, German law makers began considering requiring
employers to offer employees a work from home option.

SPOTLIGHT ON PUBLIC POLICY • GERMANY | 1

Women’s Empowerment Principle 3
calls for companies and organizations
to establish policies targeting all
forms of violence and harassment
at work and to support services forsurvivors of violence and harassment.
The high costs of sexual harassment in the workplace
for workers, companies and economies and shows
how creating a culture of safety, respect and equality
makes business sense and benefits both employers
and employees.74

increasingly included as part of company
benefit packages.

The private sector’s role in tackling domestic violence
has been increasingly acknowledged, particularly amid
COVID-19 as many employees have been confined toworking from home, and trapped into abusive situations
without a safe place to go.75 Mental wellbeing is now,
more than ever, the most important determinant ofhealth. Employers are paying a high price for nottaking employee mental health seriously. Therefore,
wellbeing programmes are on the rise and are

Family-friendly policies allow flexible working
arrangements which not only enable parents, especiallymothers, to advance their careers, but also include
health and safety measures for expectant mothers;
facilitating continuous health and safety risk
assessment and temporary work modifications,as well as supporting mothers by providing them witha clean and private environment to breastfeed or to
express milk.76

Principle 3 also encourages companies andorganizations to ensure all workers, including part-time,short-term and contract workers, have equal accessto health insurance, and opportunities that support
mental well-being and quality time with family.
Implementing family-friendly policies increases
employee retention, reduces absenteeism and lowers
overall recruitment costs.

– 38 –

FIGHTING EVERYDAY SEXISM AND VIOLENCE
IN THE WORKPLACE
Photo: L’Oréal, ©Fleur Lauga“Hello marketing girls!”
L’Oréal is an international producer of personal careproducts, present in 150 countries.77 Gender equity
and women’s empowerment are historic and strategic
commitments at L’Oréal, where women account for 70
per cent of their global workforce and 54 per cent of
Leadership positions in the Group. In December 2018,
L’Oréal created with EY and Accor Hotels the initiative
StOpE to fight everyday sexism in the workplace.
Through StOpE, good practices in stopping everyday
sexism were identified and shared. These include

encouraging managers and other key stakeholders todemonstrate their buy-in by actively “signing up”
for the campaign, running awareness campaigns todemonstrate what everyday sexism looks like and theimpact it has, having voluntary as well as mandatory
trainings for employees, among others. Educational
tools have also been developed including guides ande-learning on everyday sexism. Today, over 50
companies are part of this initiative. In 2021,
the campaign will expand globally.

– 39 –LEVELLING THE PLAYING FIELD
FOR WOMEN IN THE WORKPLACE
Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA)78 is amultinational financial services company based in
Spain with presence in North and South America.
As part of its commitment to encourage work-lifebalance and curtail a culture of long hours at work,
BBVA Spain adopted a bold “digital disconnection”
policy, forcing staff to halt all communication and switch
off all devices between 7 p.m. and 8 a.m. The bank’s
corporate headquarters is also shut at these times.
Technology and agile methodology encourage goalcentric work, which is enabled by fewer and shorter
meetings, videoconferencing and flexible teleworking,disconnecting from digital devices after a certain time,and closing the office buildings.
BBVA is convinced that shifting towards a more flexible,balanced workplace that favours results over hours
worked leads to higher productivity and overall
efficiency. It is also key to harnessing women’s talentand encouraging them to stay and build their careers
in the company, as well as boost productivity.
A slogan for the firm’s Spanish workforce encapsulates
its work-life balance plan: Work better. Enjoy life.
It has therefore been important to BBVA to talk to
employees to identify solutions and to change the norm.

Photo: BBVAPhoto: Schneider Electric

A HOLISTIC AND GENDER-BALANCED APPROACH
TO HEALTH AND WELL-BEING
Schneider Electric79 is a company focused on the digitaltransformation of energy management and automation
in homes, buildings, data centres, infrastructure andindustries. The company has a presence in more than
100 countries. The company sees equal access to healthcare and well-being as vital for all women and men
employees. Although it has always promoted decent
work environments and access to health it has embarked
on a systematic review of its global health careprovision and well-being at work programme.

The company’s global standard ensures that womenand men employees are equally equipped to manage
their basic health and well-being for themselves andtheir dependents. The plan has demonstrated that alarge organization can be fully committed to employeeswith a set of standards that can cope with major changesuch as the COVID-19 pandemic. Schneider Electric
was able to immediately share valuable health andwell-being resources tailored to employees’ specificsituations in their home countries during the pandemic.

Implementing a global standard for health and wellbeing was key to ensure that the company’s diverse
global workforce is treated in a fair and ethical way.

– 41 –

LEADING INNOVATION IN THE TEXTILE INDUSTRY
Two entrepreneurial women came together in 2004 to
co-found a consultancy company, 80 using funds fromthe sale of shares in a marketing and sales company inthe pharmaceutical sector. At that time, they were bothmidway through their pregnancy and felt the need tocreate their own flexible work schedule. One of theco-founders had previously left another company
she helped found and seen it grow to employ 300
employees. She discovered upon becoming pregnant
with her first child that she could not, under German
law, maintain her role as CEO of her own company

while on maternity leave, nor could she be certain ofbeing able to return to her job after the birth. (There is
movement to change this policy).
Inspired by their combined backgrounds,
the co-founders launched a unique product and thecompany pervormance international, a pioneering
clothing company supporting health and well-being.
They value intersectionality within their company andtheir supply chain. As a WEPs signatory since 2013,
the company continues to look towards the WEPs as a
guide to remaining focused on inclusion and well-being.

Photo: pervormance international

RECOMMENDED PRACTICES
Build an organizational culture that prioritizes flexibility and work-life balance – thispromotes employees’ well-being, improves productivity and supports long-term
retention.
Provide equal access to good quality health care, including as a strategy to improve
the recruitment and retention of women.
Address everyday sexist behaviour to promote an inclusive workplace culture.
Support victims of sexual harassment and domestic violence – mitigating its effects
will help ensure the safety and well-being of all staff.

Photo: NEO Exchange“It is only natural for us to readily embraceand foster female employees throughout eachlevel of our organization, and truly live the
Women’s Empowerment Principles.”Jos Schmitt
President and CEO, NEO Exchange, Inc.

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.

IV. PROFESSIONALADVANCEMENT AT WORKThe Beijing Platform for Action calls for governments, together with private sector companies
and civil society, to provide women with education, training and professional development– a vital element in achieving gender equality.
Education, upskilling and re-skilling throughout awoman’s career – especially to keep pace with
innovation and technological growth affecting jobs
—are vital for women’s participation in the formal
labour market, their income generating opportunities
as well as overall health and well-being. 81
The public and private sector often work hand-in-handto ensure integrated public and workplace-related
policies and programmes on training and retraining,
including in emerging areas within scienceand technology.

– 45 –

UNITED STATESINSPIRE WOMEN ACTNOVEMBER 2020

SPOTLIGHT ON
PUBLIC POLICY

The Inspiring the Next Space Pioneers, Innovators, Researchers, and Explorers(INSPIRE) Women Act, which became law on 28 February 2017, 82 requires NASA to
facilitate mentorships and outreach efforts between current and retired NASAscientists, engineers and technologists and girls to guide them towards careers in
nontraditional fields in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

THE UNITED STATESTHE WOMEN’S ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT ACT
Recognizing the importance of women’s economic empowerment
and financial resilience in addressing global poverty, the UnitedStates passed a law mandating a gender-sensitive approach to international development. The Women’s Entrepreneurship and Economic
Empowerment Act (the WEEE Act), which was tabled in 2018 andpassed unanimously in January 2019, requires the US Agency forInternational Development (USAID) to ensure that all of its work is
scrutinized to assess the impact on women. USAID must ensure targeted assistance to women and monitor its activities to ensure thatwomen benefit from its work.

The WEEE Act expanded the US Government’s international support
for microenterprises and small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)
through microfinance, including microcredit, programmes. It also
ensures special assistance for businesses that are owned, managed,
or controlled by women. Previously, such support was primarily limited to microenterprises. The Act will also expand support for programs
related to improving women’s access to financial resources, property
and inheritance rights, and other legal protections.1

KEY FEATURES OF THE WEEE AC T

NASA has already been carrying out similar activities through the NASA GIRLS andNASA BOYS virtual mentoring programme, the ASPIRE to INSPIRE programme andthe Summer Institute in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Research (SISTER)
programme at the Goddard Space Flight Center. These programmes are designed toconnect young students across the country with retired and current NASA personnel.
The ASPIRE to INSPIRE programme, for example, facilitates the connection of girls
and women with women at early stages of their career in NASA.

Women’s Empowerment Principle 4
calls on companies and organizations
to invest in workplace policies andprogrammes that open avenues for
women’s advancement at all levels
and across all business areas. WEPs
signatories are also encouraged to conduct training
about the company’s gender equality policy andaction plan, as well as awareness raising on sexual
harassment, unconscious bias and other training that
could help foster an inclusive workplace.
Companies and organizations are urged to ensure
women’s equal access to all company-supported
education and training programmes, formal and

The WEEE Act, passed in 2019, mandates that all USAID work is
subject to a gender analysis and gender equality is integral to
everything it does, from planning and project design throughto measurement and evaluation.

SMEs, considered key for driving economic growth, will receive
special assistance as part of this Act, with half of resources for
programs for SMEs reserved for enterprises owned, managed,
or controlled by women.

The Act makes it a legislative requirement that USAID reporton how much of its assistance targets and benefits women.

The Act also expands support to improving women’s access tofinancial resources, as well as property and inheritance rights.

SPOTLIGHT ON PUBLIC POLICY • THE UNITED STATES | 1

informal networking and mentoring programmes.
Businesses which offer better learning and skills
development opportunities can enhance theircompetitiveness and attract talent.
Mentoring is an effective way for private sector
companies to drive positive organizational culturechange. Mentoring tends to lead to higher financial
compensation, a greater number of promotions andcareer success – and can also improve a company’s
performance. 83 For women who temporarily leave theworkforce following childbirth, mentoring and retraining
can be crucial to a successful transition back to work,
ensuring their job satisfaction and long-term retention.

– 46 –

In response to an increasing demand for knowledge
and skills development opportunities,
the WE EMPOWER-G7 programme developed
WEPs Learn that strives to equip women with new
skills, capacities and characteristics to succeed in thedigital economy and labour-market. These lessons aredesigned to give women more confidence in job
interviews, the ability to access more job informationand opportunities, and therefore grow their careersmore effectively. The online platform also hosts
learning to help WEPs signatory companies
implement the Women’s Empowerment Principles. 84

HARNESSING WOMEN’S POTENTIAL
THROUGH A GLOBAL NETWORKGroupe PSA is a French multinational car manufacturer.85
The industry has a culture of traditional gender roles
with relatively few women in senior positions. The firm
recognizes the importance of women’s participation– from design through to sales, and has committed
to increase the number of women engineers andtechnicians, including those at senior level.
Women Engaged for PSA is an international network
providing a forum for the company to seek insight fromwomen in areas including research and development,
automobile design, operations, customer services and
HR. Unusually for an employee network, its scopeincludes contributing to the company’s businessinterests and operations. The network aims to support
the company to develop by offering advice that is
innovative, pragmatic and occasionally disruptive.
The network has highlighted women’s significant role in
the workplace and has shown the business value theyadd. It has also boosted the self-confidence of its
members and encouraged them to aim higher with
their careers. All the women in the company’s upper
management and leadership roles are part of the
network. The network also promotes women’s
perspective panels, encouraging women to have theconfidence to make suggestions and demonstrate
the business impact of their input.

Photo: Groupe PSA Direction de la Communication

Photo: RELXIMPROVING THE GENDER BALANCEON BOARDS AND IN LEADERSHIPRELX is a FTSE 15 global provider of information-based
analytics and decision tools. 86 Operating in markets,
such as science medicine, law and risk, businessanalytics and events, the company’s mission is to help
its customers make better decisions, get better results
and be more productive. RELX’s philosophy is that an
inclusive environment fosters innovation, bringing in awide range of ideas, experiences and expertise andultimately helping a business perform better.
Mentoring and sponsorship are key to tackling thestructural barriers holding women back from senior
operational roles and to building a pipeline of talent.

The firm’s global “Women in Tech” programmeconnects female tech staff with role models, many ofwhom are also female technologists. With this in mind,
webinars with senior women technologists are a key
part of Women in Tech and cover a range of careerrelated topics particularly relevant to women in the field.
Several women’s networks support career progression,
exploring issues including team development, genderbalanced leadership and stress management, and offer
practical discussion and idea exchange. RELX has 23
women’s networks across all its businesses. Mentoringis important, especially if it leads to sponsorship.

– 49 –

TRANSFORMATION THROUGH CODE
AnnieCannons train survivors of human trafficking tobecome successful software engineers. 87 The company
operates as both an agency and a non-profit
organization funded by charitable donations. The agency
programme generates related business revenue thathelps cover a growing portion of operating costs.
AnnieCannons now also runs an incubator forsurvivor-ideated technologies. Training begins with asix-month bootcamp and continues with opportunities
to learn advanced technologies through workshops,
practical work and apprenticeships.
The co-founders of AnnieCannons found disbelief anddismissal from many in the tech industry who could
not fathom survivors doing software programming,much less a combined training and workspace forsurvivors of trafficking run by women with noprogramming background. Now on its sixth fullbootcamp cycle, AnnieCannons has trained graduate
instructors to teach classes and help train more
instructors, so that the firm can ultimately train moresurvivors. Some graduates work for AnnieCannons
and independent contractor software engineers, whileothers are employed by the organization as staff
engineers and product managers. This sustainablemodel allows multiple avenues for participants in the
programme to grow and develop according to thedemands of the software market.

Photo: AnnieCannons, Inc.

RECOMMENDED PRACTICES
Ensure that all employees are extensively trained on company policies and practices
on gender equality and women’s empowerment, including on issues such as conscious
and unconscious bias, and zero tolerance of discrimination, racism and harassment.
Invest in training on new technologies for women employees in non-technology
specific jobs to give them necessary qualifications and skills to taken on new roles
within the company.
Establish a mentoring programme and engage employees as mentors to create a strong
inclusive culture.
Establish a network with a clear and meaningful agenda to make women’s skills, talents
and leadership visible.
Set up a women’s perspective panel to review business products and services and makemandatory recommendations.

Photo: CNote“For us to enjoy a truly free society, opportunity
must be distributed equally. As a female CEO whoruns a financial company dedicated to building amore inclusive economy, I’m deeply committed to
the WEPs. Supporting more diverse leadershipand encouraging full and equal participation in
the marketplace aren’t just laudable ideals, they’regreat for business and society.”
Catherine Berman
Catherine Berman, Co-Founder and CEO of CNote

V. BUSINESS PRACTICESIN THE MARKETPLACEThe Beijing Platform for Action calls on governments to revise laws and administrative practices
to ensure women’s equal rights and their access to economic resources. Jointly with otherstakeholders, such as the private sector, they were requested to strengthen women’s economic
capacity, facilitate their equal access to resources, markets and trade and ensure that all women
have access to productive resources, including savings and credit mechanisms, as well as
businesses services, information and technology. 88
The Gender dimensions of the Guiding Principles on
Business and Human Rights requests States to takeappropriate steps to ensure that all businessenterprises operating within their territory and/or
jurisdiction respect women’s human rights. This
guidance was published in 2019 based on the
widely documented adverse and disproportionate
impacts of business activities on women and girls. 89

Several G7 countries have adopted a gender-sensitive
lens towards promoting entrepreneurship:•

In the United Kingdom, The Work and Opportunities for Women programme enables women
access to improved economic opportunities
through integrated supply chains and economic
development programmes. 91

Globally, women are less likely to be entrepreneurs
and face more disadvantages when starting abusiness. In 40 per cent of economies, women’s
early-stage entrepreneurial activity is half or less thanhalf of that of men’s.90•

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is now legally obliged to support
microenterprises and small and medium- sizedenterprises managed and owned by women.92– 53 –

CANADATHE WOMEN ENTREPRENEURSHIP STRATEGY
Canada is funding a drive to double the number of women in national and international
markets by 2025. The Women Entrepreneurship Strategy, announced in 2018,is a “whole-of-Government approach” giving women access to financing, talent,
networks and expertise.
Only 16 per cent of Canadian small and medium-sized businesses are owned by
women, and studies show that increasing women’s participation in the economy
could increase Canadian GDP by CAD 150 billion.93

SPOTLIGHT ON PUBLIC POLICY • GERMANY | 1

The Government has allocated CAD 30 million to fund more than 300 projects, out of
which CAD 2.5 million were reserved for indigenous women. The funds will back aninternational marketing strategy, supply chain integration, promotional campaigns,
business advisory services and website development. The strategy also involves
support for product/service development and improvement, upgrades to plant andequipment, process and technology improvements.94

Women’s Empowerment Principle 5
calls on companies and organizations
to require business partners,
contractors and suppliers to adopt
the WEPs and to establish supplier
diversity programmes that actively
seek to expand business relationships with womenowned enterprises.
Signatories implementing Principle 5 should seek
gender-sensitive solutions to women’s barriers toaccessing financial products and services andsystematically source their goods and services fromother enterprises that align with the WEPs. Doing sodoes not mean that quality, efficiency, cost savings orvalue for money would be compromised.99
Promoting women to top positions in procurement
departments also enables gender-responsive
procurement, and momentum has been gathering
here. A 2019 study found that, in the United States andwestern Europe, where procurement organizations are
the most advanced, 20 per cent of the top 60 listedcompanies have a woman as Chief Procurement Officer(CPO). In France, more than 30 women were promoted
to the role of CPO over a period of 18 months,
representing an increase of more than 30 per centcompared to 2015.100– 54 –

SWEDEN

PROMOTING WOMEN’S ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Promoting women’s entrepreneurship has long been on the agenda in Sweden.
Since 1998, the Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth has helped fundlocal and national Women Resource Centres and, since 2010 the Government has
focused on creating change in regional growth policies.95

SPOTLIGHT ON PUBLIC POLICY • GERMANY | 1

The Promoting Women’s Entrepreneurship scheme trained around 13,000 women
entrepreneurs between 2007 and 2014. 96 Research, four years later, showed thatparticipating businesses were more profitable than comparable women-led
businesses which had not participated.97 Implemented by the Government of
Sweden, the Ambassadors for Women’s Entrepreneurship was set up to change theviews around women’s entrepreneurship and make women entrepreneurs more
visible. As a result, 800 business women made 11,000 public appearances in
between 2008 and 2014, changing negative perceptions around entrepreneurship.98

Principle 5 also encourages companies and organizations toensure that company products, services and facilities are notused for human trafficking and/or labour or sexual exploitation.
Companies are also encouraged to remove harmful genderbased stereotypes in all media and advertising and tosystematically depict all people as empowered actors with
progressive, intelligent, and multidimensional personalities.
Gender stereotypes construct limitations and expectations
that hold people back, divide society and damage brands.
They present a serious obstacle to the achievement of real
gender equality and feed into gender discrimination.

– 55 –

UNITED KINGDOMRULES TO CURB GENDER STEREOTYPING IN ADVERTISING
The Non-broadcast Advertising and Direct and Promotional Marketing (CAP Code)is the rule book in the United Kingdom for non-broadcast advertisements,
sales promotions and direct marketing communication.101 The Code requires adherenceby all advertisers, agencies and media. The 12th edition of the Code came into force
in 2010 and is maintained by the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP).
In 2019, CAP introduced new rules on gender stereotypes underlining their harm.102
This new Guidance address stereotypical areas, such as reinforcing perceptions thatwomen are primarily responsible for care duties, men shown performing ‘masculine’
activities, a person of one gender failing in an activity normally assigned to another,
women prioritizing their appearance and men demeaned for sharing emotions.103
As a result, two television ads were pulled – one featuring clumsy fathers and theother a woman sitting by a baby stroller.104– 56 –DECEMBER 2020

SPOTLIGHT ON
PUBLIC POLICYUNITED KINGDOMCOMMITTEE OF ADVERTISING PRACTICE RULES AGAINST GENDER STEREOTYPING
New rules aimed at curbing gender stereotyping in advertisement
were introduced by the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) in
the UK in June 2019.
British advertising is regulated through two independent sister organizations, the CAP and the Advertising Standards Association (ASA).
The members of the advertising industry prepare advertising rules
through the CAP and ensure that they are being followed through
ASA, which conducts reviews and oversees a ban on ads that fail
to comply.

The advertising codes are based on standards that are required by
UK law,1 such as the UK Equality Act 2010 which prohibits discrimination of “protected characteristics”, including sex, sexual orientation,
gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, race and religion.2
The law is enforced through ASA as a preliminary step, which takes
action without the case having to go to court. 3

KEY FEATURES OF RULES• Advertisements must not include gender stereotypes thatare likely to cause harm, or serious or widespread offence(Committee of Advertising Practice Rule 4.9 and the Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice Rule 4.14).

• Gender stereotypes cause harm and offence by reinforcing
perceptions of gendered appearances and behaviours,

potentially lowering people’s self-esteem and restricting
their potential to advance in life, and which can also have a
detrimental impact on society.

• CAP guidance identifies certain stereotypes such as a woman
cleaning a messy home, or a man changing a tyre.

SPOTLIGHT ON PUBLIC POLICY • UNITED KINGDOM | 1

DRIVING SOLUTIONSFOR INCLUSIVE INVESTING
CNote is a financial platform based in the United Stateswith the mission of closing the wealth gap.105 The firm
was founded, and is headed, by women and it works
to drive investment to underserved communities andto build a more inclusive economy. CNote’s primary
goal is to boost the amount of lending to women
entrepreneurs and small business owners, providingthem with greater economic resilience andindependence, while supporting overall economic
growth in the United States. CNote has directly increased
funding for women entrepreneurs through various
investment solutions, including the Wisdom Fund.

The Wisdom Fund is built in collaboration with
community development financial institutions.
The funds target women entrepreneurs, specificallywomen of colour, as the fund aims to improve the flowof capital to women business owners and also lower
their cost of capital. A company spokesperson said:“CNote puts high priority on our business partners
supporting these ideals, specifically women’s
empowerment within their work.” Between 2018 and2020, the company contributed around 40 per centof all capital invested in women-led businesses.

Photo: CNote, Brighter Beginnings

REMOVING GENDER STEREOTYPESTO RECRUIT A BALANCED WORKFORCE
Musket Transport is a Canadian trucking andtransportation services company founded in 1993.106
In 2016, when Musket Transport decided to recruit amore balanced workforce, it saw marketing as a key
strategy for recruiting more women. Trucking andtransportation is generally seen as a stereotypicalmale-dominated profession, which tends to deter
women candidates. The firm created ads showing real
women and men employees as it felt that many people
outside the company find it hard to imagine females intrucking or in trades in general.

The company said, “There is a great deal of importancein showcasing both women and men in marketing
campaigns. For many, it is hard to imagine women intrucking or in trades in general... We have to continue
to combat stereotypes and the stigma associated withtrucking. It not only affects the people we can attract
into the driver’s seat but into the office as well.
This is an exciting industry, impacted by great leaps intechnology, which I believe should appeal to a larger
group of people.

Photo: Musket Transport

Photo: Fusion Fund

LEVERAGING DIVERSITYTO BOOST TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION
Fusion Fund, a venture capital firm founded in 2015 withassets under management of more than $130 million.107
The founder is a strong advocate of the power ofinnovative technology to boost women’s empowerment
and gender equality and the fund invests in early-stage
entrepreneurs in this field. Having more women intechnology results in greater innovation and greater
financial return. Without diversity in the tech sector,
opportunities can be overlooked. For example,
a woman founder of a company producing organic
pads and tampons using new materials technology was

turned down by male investors, as they did notunderstand the market opportunity for this product.
“They missed it and Fusion Fund got it. I got it notbecause I am smarter, but because I am a woman.
I knew there’s a great market for the product andwomen are going to buy a lot of it.” Procter & Gamblebought the company for more than $100 million in
February 2019. It had already generated an annual
revenue of more than $30 million after needing only
$2 million capital investment.

– 59 –SHIFTING THE STATUS QUOIN THE FASHION INDUSTRY
The joint CEOs of Leigh & Siena, co-founded a retail
formal wear company in Los Angeles in 2018. 108
The company focuses on encouraging women to feel
beautiful and confident, not just on their wedding day,but also throughout the process of the shopping
experience.
Leigh & Siena promotes a diverse representation of skintones and sizes through their product advertisements
and within their team.

Leigh & Siena signed the WEPs in July 2020 and plan
to utilize the principles as a framework as they grow.
The company continues to operate despite the setbacks
from the COVID-19 pandemic, with the joint CEOs
pivoting the company to meet demand.
The company said “We are very conscious of themessaging that we give to women because there is somuch we feel, especially in the wedding industry thatfeels like it is body shaming. Fashion can be an empowerment tool and that’s what Leigh & Siena is about.”

Photo: Leigh & SienaPhoto: POLA Inc.

FOSTERING WOMEN ENTREPRENEURSINTO COMMUNITY LEADERS
POLA Inc., a Japanese cosmetic company, has a historyof fostering women entrepreneurs in local communities
across Japan.109, 110 It has provided work opportunities
for women since 1937, when few women were in theworkforce. Many women come to POLA with noexperience or resources. POLA offers four “start-up”
courses as sales agents, called Beauty Directors (BDs)to meet the newcomers’ working demands. Some startfull-time; others work part-time. Pay systems aredesigned so they need not shoulder the initial start-up
costs but be rewarded adequately for progress made.
Tailored and on-the-job trainings are provided invarious ways, including through the recently
established POLA University.

Successful BDs who rise to become shop owners canthen become Grand Owners (GO) of multiple shops.
BDs and GOs are also encouraged to give back to theircommunities by creating jobs or engaging with otherlike-minded businesses to stimulate local economies.
They grow to become community leaders themselves,leading POLA’s “Regional Co-creation” model, andgenerating trust and a strong client base for POLA
across Japan. As of 31 December 2019, there arearound 41,000 BDs, and 184 GOs, in approximately
4,000 sales points, where some GOs earn annual salesof more than 120 million yen.

– 61 –

RECOMMENDED PRACTICES
Invest in women-led businesses and remove their barriers to finance and businessnetworks.
Develop procurement policies to source from women-owned/women-led businesses
as a percentage of corporate procurement strategies.
Include women, in all their diversity, in marketing and campaign development, andensure they are represented as empowered and free from stereotypes in advertising.
Ensure that women and girls play a greater role in product and service design to better
meet their needs.

Photo: Ly Nguyen & Tori Watley“We are excited to join forces with otherbusiness leaders committed to genderequality and women’s leadership.
The UN Women’s Empowerment Principles
will be our blueprint as we continue topromote the advancement of gender equality
and women’s empowerment in our workplaceand in the community of womenthat we serve.”
Ly Nguyen & Tori Watley
Co-Founders and Co-CEOs, Leigh & Siena

VI. COMMUNITY INITIATIVES
AND ADVOCACY
The Beijing Platform for Action encourages governments, the private sector, non-governmentalorganizations and civil society to collaborate in the pursuit of gender equality and women’s
empowerment.111
Reaching gender equality on a global scale cannot bedone by one single entity or organization. Cross-sector
collaboration can promote long-standing partnerships
between public sector, private sector and/or civil society
to expedite gender equality and women’s empowerment
and support women-led community initiatives.
In 2018, the Government of Canada committed
CAD330 million to launch new global Equality Fundfor women’s rights, bringing together philanthropists,
investors, the private sector and civil society to leverage
more than CAD1 billion in assets working for genderequality. It aims to reshape the way it supports genderequality issues in Canada and abroad.112

measures cover areas that have impacted women themost, such as increasing domestic violence and unpaid
care work. Provision of services include helplines andshelters, cash transfers, childcare and paid family
and sick leave.113
Europe led the response on addressing violence against
women and girls and unpaid care – with almost 32 percent of all measures against violence and 49 per centof all unpaid care measures stemming from this region.
The Americas had the highest number of measures tostrengthen women’s economic security.114

A number of countries are taking strong action toprotect women in vulnerable communities during the
COVID-19 pandemic. According to the COVID-19 Global
Gender Response Tracker of UN Women and UNDP,– 63 –AUSTRIA

HARDSHIP FUND ACT
Austria has provided cash assistance for one-person companies as well as freelancers
affected by the COVID-19 crisis.115 The hardship fund was implemented on 16 October
2020 and is valid until 31 December 2022. Businesses qualifying are those that canno longer cover operational costs, cannot welcome customers because of the official
entry ban into the country, or have seen a drop in sales of at least 50 per cent year
on year. A total of €2 billion has been distributed so far.116 Separately, the Ministry of
Finance will provide more than one-third of lost income for employees who havetaken care of children due to closed schools or kindergartens.

SPOTLIGHT ON PUBLIC POLICY • GERMANY | 1

MALTA

MEASURES IN RESPONSE TO COVID-19
The Government of Malta has given monthly cash assistance to families with children,
self-employed people, businesses who have lost trade and workers who have lost
jobs.117 Self-employed people and full-time employees of businesses suspended due
to COVID-19 are entitled to up to five days of salary per week based on a monthly
wage of €800. Affected employers have agreed to provide an additional €400 per
worker. Facilitating remote working arrangements, the Government is also helping
employers to invest in information and communications technology services.
SPOTLIGHT ON PUBLIC POLICY • GERMANY | 1– 64 –SLOVENIAACT ON INTERVENTION MEASURES TO SALARIES AND CONTRIBUTIONSSPOTLIGHT ON PUBLIC POLICY • GERMANY | 1

On 9 March 2020, the Slovenian Government released an economic stimulus packageof €1 billion to mitigate the impact of COVID-19. Twenty days later, the Government
adopted an additional stimulus package worth €3 billion in its Act on Intervention
Measures to Salaries and Contributions.118 The Act covers employees unable to work,or who are under mandatory quarantine, loan guarantees, temporary basic income
for the self-employed (up to 70 per cent of the net minimum wage), and allowances
for pensioners, large families and student.119 Targeted financial support has been
provided to older women, migrant women and women with disabilities. The Government
has also stepped up its efforts to respond to the surge in cases of domestic violence.

Women’s Empowerment Principle 6
invites companies to lead and invest
in community development
programmes that make valuable,
effective and responsible
contributions to gender equality
and women’s empowerment. They are encouraged toactively engage and consult with women and girls on
their views, needs and aspirations, and to ensure that
their voices are heard.
Many signatories have set up recruitment programmes
and community-based career training opportunities
for women and girls to increase gender equality in
traditionally male-dominated sectors.

In the context of COVID-19, UN Women and theInternational Finance Cooperation developed acomprehensive report to showcase how companies andorganizations are taking action to ensure the economic
inclusion and well-being of women in local communities,
including their employees, customers and suppliers.120
Together with women entrepreneurs and renowned
experts on women’s economic empowerment acrossthe G7 and the European Union, the WE EMPOWER-G7
programme launched an Advocacy Tool in September
2020 to strengthen the women entrepreneurshipecosystem amid COVID-19. The Tool offers key
recommendations for the public sector, private sector
and civil society in supporting women entrepreneurs
during the pandemic.121– 65 –

GENDER EQUALITY
IN FASHION
Fashion brand GANNI formed a partnership with the
UN Women National Committee in the United Kingdom
to support both women health workers and womenaround the world most affected by the pandemic.122
GANNI, based in Copenhagen, Denmark, with officesin the United Kingdom and the United States, alsocollected funds from its GANNI Postmodern archive
pop-up to support the UN Women UK’s solidarity fundand will continue to contribute to it through sales of
the GANNI face masks. Through this newly formed
partnership, GANNI believes that good design does

not need to come at a cost to the customer or theplanet, and hopes to provide services where they are
most needed, whether in refugee camps, urban areas
or remote rural locations.
The Head of Sustainability and Corporate Social
Responsibility said: “As well as a health crisis, the[COVID-19] pandemic is a human rights crisis with
marginalized groups set to bear the brunt of so many
aspects, magnifying existing inequalities and reversing
the hard-won gains over the past 10 years.”

Photo: GANNIPhoto: IberdrolaI

HARNESSING WOMEN’S TALENTS
IN THE ELECTRICITY SECTOR
Iberdrola, a Spanish multinational electric utility
company, worked with a non-profit organization that
supports women survivors of domestic violence tomake a positive change in their lives by offering themnew career opportunities.123 Together with the
Neoenergia Group, Iberdrola had already created a
School for Electricians for women in Brazil with stateand national reach in 2019. With its presence in Brazil,
Mexico, Spain, the United Kingdom and the USA, theycollaborated with celebrity influencers and non-profits
in local communities to raise awareness about women’s
job opportunities in the sector and ensure that women

received the best support in making the decision to
apply. Celebrity influencers extended the programmeand job opportunities to audiences the Iberdrola and
Neoenergia Group had been unable to reach.
The company also ran information session panels in
local communities with women, who were alreadyworking for the company, sharing stories of their career
paths and what it was like to work in the energy sector.
The company held several of these sessions attracting,in a single night, attendance by more than 2,000 women.

– 67 –

GENDER EQUALITY
THROUGH VIRTUAL REALITY
The Founder and CEO of Mixtape VR, collaborates on
mixed media art projects, including virtual reality,
to showcase Indigenous peoples’ stories.124 She started
the company in 2018 with the aim of producing mixed
media content with Indigenous communities, specifically
Inuit communities in the Nunavut Territory of Canada.
She brought her passion for Indigenous storytellingthrough her work in film production, and describes

founding Mixtape VR as a “feeling of needing torepresent the community authentically, but also toprovide other opportunities for the community.”
She saw this as an opportunity for Mixtape VR to offer
acting workshops by recruiting an Inuit cast. The story
was representative of Inuit mythology and the film’screw also had Indigenous members.

Photo: Mixtape VR, Isaac Strickland

RECOMMENDED PRACTICES
Promote cross-sector partnerships between civil society, governmental organizations
and the private sector.
Engage with women and girls in the community to address the root causes of genderinequalities in the economy, including in male-dominated sectors.
Build partnerships with women-led organizations to support women’s empowerment,
safety and well-being.

“By adhering to the WEPs,
the Poste Italiane Group commits
to further strengthen promoting genderequality and empowerment, and ensures toincreasingly focus its efforts on theimplementation of initiatives and actions that
ensure women advancement andempowerment both inside the organizationand in the entire country.”
Matteo del Fante
Chief Executive Officer and General Manager, Poste Italiane

Photo: Poste Italiane

Provide professional development, networking and sponsorship opportunities for
women and girls in the community, and ensure that recruitment processes are inclusiveof women of all backgrounds, identifies and abilities.

VII. TRACKING PROGRESSOne of the strategic objectives of the Beijing Platform for Action calls for stakeholders togenerate and disseminate gender-disaggregated data and information for planning andevaluation.125 Measuring gender-diversity data and regularly monitoring progress is critical formaking advancements towards gender equality and women’s economic empowerment.
Several governments, such as France, Iceland, Ireland,
Japan and Spain, have put in place regulations that
require the private sector to measure and report on
gender inequalities, particularly as it pertains to gender
pay gaps:•

Spain made disclosing the gender pay gap
mandatory as of October 2020.126•

Iceland oblige companies to implement the Equal
Pay Standard, an audit system to certify that thecompany has equal pay for women and men,since 2018.127•

Ireland has a pending Gender Pay Gap Information
bill that seeks to oblige companies with more than
250 employees to measure and publish their data
and take any remedial measures necessary.128

A 2020 Equileap study found that legislation requiring
companies to measure and report on genderrelated data has a significant impact on company
performance.129 The study of 255 public companies
from 10 European Union markets, found that further
actions will be required to promote transparency,
particularly in relation to the gender pay gap:•

Some 72 per cent of the companies studied had
not disclosed gender disaggregated pay information.
The exceptions were Italy and Spain, with 58 percent of companies in the Italian FTSE MIB 40 index
and 74 per cent of companies in the Spanish IBEX
35 index publishing gender pay data.130•

Nine companies had undertaken an overall gender
audit, eight of which are based in France.131– 71 –

FRANCEACT FOR FREEDOM TO CHOOSE ONE’S FUTURE CAREER
The 2018 law on Freedom to Choose One’s Future Career was passed on
5 September 2018.132 A key area focuses on making gender equality a reality in theworkplace, including by combating sexist and sexual violence, and by tackling thegender pay gap. It requires employees to receive equal pay for work of equal value.
Companies of more than 250 employees must use the Government’s five indicators
to evaluate and then publish their pay gap data. Companies not rectifying pay gaps
within three years will be penalized.133 One-fifth of the major French companies
publishing their results by March 2019, failed to score the minimum of 75. The averagescore was 80 and maximum was 100. The new law has created positive competition
between employers’ keen to attract the best talent on the market.134

Women’s Empowerment Principle 7
calls on signatories to publish
company policies, practices andprogress for promoting genderequality, and to plan, measure andreport annually on progress, bothinternally and externally, using gender disaggregated data.
WEPs signatories are also encouraged to take the WEPs
Gender Gap Analysis Tool to assess their company’s
strategic approach to gender equality, identify gaps
and opportunities for continuous improvement,
benchmark against peers and industry standards,

DECEMBER 2020

SPOTLIGHT ON
PUBLIC POLICYFRANCEACT FOR THE FREEDOM TO CHOOSE ONE’S FUTURE OCCUPATIONThe Freedom to Choose One’s Future Occupation law was enacted
on 5 September 2018, and it requires companies to ensure equal pay
for work of equal value.
A Gender Equality Index has been developed to facilitate this, andcompanies are required to use it to assess their gender pay gap.
They must also publish the assessment and take any necessary corrective measures within three years.1

France has legally guaranteed equal pay for equal work since passing the 1972 Gender Equality Act. Several other laws have been adopted since then, including a 2006 Act that obliges companies to close
the pay gap for women returning from maternity leave.2
However, the gender pay gap persists. There is a nine per cent difference for work of equal value and a 25 per cent difference over awhole career.3 The World Economic Forum’s 2020 Global Gender Pay
Gap report ranks France as number 127 in wage equality for similar
work,4 a slight improvement since 2015 when the country ranked 132.5

KEY FEATURES OF THE GENDER EQUALIT Y INDEX• Under the Act for the Freedom to Choose One’s Future Occu-

pation, companies with more than 50 employees are required to use the Government’s Gender Equality Index toassess their gender pay gap.

• The Gender Equality Index comprises a set of standard indicators which companies use to evaluate their remuneration
and rewards system. Companies are assigned a score basedon the aggregated points, given for each of the indicators.

• The minimum required score is 75 (out of a maximum of 100).

Underperforming companies are required to devote a budget to close the pay gap or take other corrective measures.

• Within three years of publishing their score, if companies arestill short of this target (at least 75 points), they will be charged
a penalty of 1 per cent of the company’s payroll.

SPOTLIGHT ON PUBLIC POLICY • FRANCE | 1

and set goals and targets. Building on this Tool,
the WE EMPOWER-G7 Programme developed the
WEPs Reporting and Monitoring Framework to guidesignatories on measuring corporate progress ongender equality and women’s empowerment in theworkplace, marketplace and community.
At the time of signing the WEPs, companies are
establishing their baselines for three indicators:(1) percentage of women employees, (2) percentageof women at management level; and (3) percentage ofwomen on boards/executive teams/partners.139– 72 –

DECEMBER 2020

SPOTLIGHT ON
PUBLIC POLICYJAPAN
THE ACT ON THE PROMOTION OF FEMALE PARTICIPATIONAND CAREER ADVANCEMENT IN THE WORKPLACE
In Japan, women’s participation in the workplace has been underpinned by law since it entered into force on 1 April 2016. The Act on
the Promotion of Women’s Participation and Advancement in the
Workplace has required public and private sector companies to measure gender diversity-related data, create action plans to address gaps,
and disclose this information.

This has led to increased transparency about the status and contributions of women and men in the workplace and has enabled genderequality to be recognized as a significant measure in evaluating acompany’s performance and values.

KEY FEATURES OF THE AC T ON THE PROMOTION OF FEMALEPARTICIPATION AND CAREER ADVANCEMENT IN THE WORKPL ACE
The Act requires public and private sector companies to measuregender diversity-related data, create action plans to address gaps,
and disclose this information.

The Act initially targeted companies with more than 300 employees and with the 2019 revisions to the law it is now applicable
to companies with 100 or more employees.

The data to be collected includes the rate of newly hired women,
employee working hours, the number of women in managerial positions and the gap between women and men in yearsof service.

Companies’ measuring and publishing of data has led to improved
transparency. This has fostered an enabling environment inwhich gender diversity benchmarking can be further developed
and utilized for gender-lens investing and enhanced investment decisions.

JAPAN

THE ACT ON PROMOTION OF WOMEN’S PARTICIPATION AND
ADVANCEMENT IN THE WORKPLACE
In Japan, this Act has required public and private sector companies to measuregender diversity-related data, create action plans to address the gaps, and disclose
this information.135, 136 The Act implemented in 2016, obliges companies with morethan 100 employees to collect data on specific indicators in order to analyze women’s
participation and advancement in the workplace. Significantly, firms are required to
publish time-bound action plans to rectify any gaps identified.

SPOTLIGHT ON PUBLIC POLICY • JAPAN | 1

One of the most significant impacts of the Act has been the development of genderlens investing standards. MSCI, the leading provider of Environmental, Social andGovernance (ESG) indexes, launched the MSCI Japan Empowering Women Index in2017. It is used by investors keen to invest in companies that have more diverse
management and boards.
The Government Pension Investment Fund for Japan (GPIF), one of the world’s largest
pension funds, uses the index for its ESG investments.137 In light of accelerating ESG
movements, companies are increasingly facing the need to focus on internal analysis,target-setting, and transparency and disclosures and this ten-year temporary legislation
has set a foundation for such move.

– 73 –SHIFTING CULTURE
TO BOOST GENDER EQUALITY
2025 and to eliminate the gender pay gap by 2025.
The company tracks its progress on gender equality
and publicly shares annual reports. To close the gender
pay gap, Santander will continue to promote fair pay
practices, reduce the measured gender pay gap,
and periodically measure and analyze the gap acrossthe Group.

Photo: Santander

Banco Santander is a global financial services company
based in Spain. With more than 196,000 employees,
the company has a presence in 10 core markets acrossEurope and the Americas.140 In 2019, Santander shareda public commitment to have 40-60 per cent female
representation at Board level by 2021, to achieve 30
per cent of women in senior leadership positions by

Photo: Poste Italiane

PRIORITIZINGGENDER EQUALITY
Poste Italiane is the largest logistics operator in Italy
and a leader in the financial, insurance and payment
services sector.141 With women comprising more thanhalf its workforce, the company sees gender equality
and women’s empowerment as priorities that start at
board level. Poste Italiane has set out sustainability
objectives related to diversity in the firm’s strategicplan and has adopted specific methods of measuring

the effectiveness of its work on diversity and genderequality. 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.

– 75 –

FINDING SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONSIN WATER MANAGEMENT
Bioazul was founded in 2003 to discover sustainable
solutions for water management in Spain.142 Since thenthe company has designed and implemented
sustainable wastewater treatment plants and solid
waste management products. Bioazul has prioritizedgender equality and women’s empowerment from the

beginning and signing the WEPs in April 2020 lined up
perfectly with the work it was already doing. Since then,
Bioazul has been working diligently to ensure theircurrent policies align with the WEPs and are
implementing a tracking system to work in tandemwith the WEPs Gender Gap Analysis Tool.

Photo: Bioazul

RECOMMENDED PRACTICES
Monitor and report on the impact of gender equality policies, action plans and measures
to improve accountability to commitments made and ensure progress and results.
Collect reliable and measurable data to illuminate gender inequalities within theorganization and encourage business partners and suppliers to do the same.
Survey and engage with both internal and external stakeholders to benefit fromtheir feedback.
Publicly disclose information on progress made a regular basis, and leverage thisinformation for informed planning and decision-making.

– 77 –

Accelerating Progress for Gender
Equality by 2030
The year 2020 marked a milestone for 25 years of accelerating the implementation of global
commitments to gender equality since the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform
for Action, the landmark visionary agenda and action plan adopted at the Fourth World
Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995. It set out to remove the systemic barriers that
hold women back from equal participation in all areas of life, whether in public or private.
Despite the commitments made in Beijing to take strategic, bold action in 12 critical areasof concern, and some ensuing progress in these areas; not a single country today can claim
to have achieved gender equality.
UN Women has launched the groundbreaking, multigenerational advocacy campaign‘Generation Equality’, which brings together the current and next generations of women’s
rights activists. The Generation Equality Forum presents a vital moment in this mobilization.
It is a civil society-centred, multi-stakeholder global gathering for gender equality,
fundamentally rooted in the same logic that enabled the momentous adoption of the
Beijing Platform for Action. This is the power of activism, feminist solidarity and youth
leadership to achieve transformative change. The Forum therefore represents a key
moment for engagement among gender equality advocates from every sector of society– governments, civil society, private sector, entrepreneurs, trade unions, artists, academia
and social influencers – to foster a global public conversation for urgent action andaccountability for gender equality.
Based on human rights principles, and through a data-driven process of consultation withinternational feminist groups, grass roots activist organizations, governments and otherpartners, six priority areas were identified that will be led by six Action Coalitions.
Seven cross cutting issues were also identified to span all Action Coalitions.

Action coalition

Cross cutting issue• Feminist movements
and leadership• Law and policy reform• Economic justiceand rights• Structural inequalities• Gender-based
violence• Gender norms• Bodily autonomy andsexual and reproductive
health and rights• Intersectional
discrimination• Technology andinnovation forgender equality• Education• Feminist action
for climate justice• Financing• Gender Data
and Accountability– 79 –

Select UN Women resources on women’s economic empowerment•

Assessing the Impact of Trade Agreements on
Gender Equality: Canada-EU CETA•

Attracting and Retaining Talent through Inclusive
Family-friendly Policies•

Call to Action: Leveraging the WEPs Framework to
Target Racism and Discrimination in the World of Work•

Call to Action for G7 Stakeholders•

Closing Gender Pay Gaps to Achieve Gender
Equality at Work Guidance Note•

Equality Means Business: Using Our Principles as a
Multiplier for Action and Progress•

Diagnosis for Equal Remuneration•

Gender-responsive Procurement•

Tackling Sexual Harassment in the World of Work•

Innovation, Entrepreneurship and the Future:
International Women’s Day 2020 - Summary andResearch Report in collaboration with the G7
Research Group Munk School of Global Affairs andPublic Policies, Canada.

•

Mentoring in the Workplace•

WEPs Action Card – Closing Gender Pay Gaps•

WEPs Action Card – Gender Parity on Boards•

The Women’s Economic Empowerment Principles
Gender Gap Analysis Tool

UN Women COVID-19 resources•

COVID-19 and Gender Equality: A Call to Action for
the Private Sector•

Strengthening Support for Women Entrepreneurs
in COVID-19 Response and Recovery•

The COVID-19 Shadow Pandemic: Domestic
Violence in the World of Work - A Call to Action for
the Private Sector•

Will the Pandemic Derail Hard-won Progress on
Gender Equality?

•

Guidance Note for Action: Supporting SMEs to
Ensure the Economic COVID-19 Recovery is
Gender-Responsive and Inclusive– 80 –

WEPs case studies•

amfori: Education Towards Gender Equality
in Business•

GSMA: Confronting the Gender Pay Gap Globally•

Avon: Developing an Online Learning Community
for Women•

Iberdrola: Harnessing Women’s Talent in theElectricity Sector•

BBVA: Levelling the Playing Field for Women in
the Workplace•

L’Oréal: Fighting Everyday Sexism and Domestic
Violence in the Workplace•

Capgemini: Women’s Leadership Development at
a Global Scale•

Musket Transport: Removing Gender Stereotypes
to Recruit a Balanced Workforce•

Cre-En: Advancing Sustainability Management
through Reporting•

Orange Group: Taking a Global Approach to
Gender Equality•

CNote: Driving the Solution for Inclusive Investing•

Poste Italiane: Prioritizing Gender Equality•

Diageo: Harnessing a Culture of Inclusion
and Diversity•

RELX: Improving Gender Balance on Boards andin Leadership•

Enel: Creating a Culture of Inclusion•

Santander: Shifting Culture to Boost
Gender Equality•

Groupe PSA: Harnessing Women’s Potential
through a Global Network•

Schneider: A Holistic and Gender-Balanced
Approach to Health and Well-Being•

GANNI: Creating Gender Equality in Fashion•

Sodexo: Building a Gender-Balanced Business•

Gowling WLG: Embracing Diversity and Inclusionin the Legal Sector•

Swedbank: Closing the Gender Pay Gap•

Tele2: Confronting Gender Imbalances Head-on

Public sector case studies•

Canada: The Pay Equity Act••

Estonia: Family Benefits and Employment
Contracts Acts

Japan: The Act on Promotion of Women’sParticipation and Advancement in the Workplace•

United Kingdom: Rules to Curb Gender
Stereotyping in Advertising•

The United States: Women’s Entrepreneurshipand Economic Empowerment Act•

Germany: Hours of Work Act•

Italy: The Gender Parity Law•

France: Act for the Freedom to Choose One’s
Future Career– 81 –

WEPs leaders•

Amanda Ellis - Leadership Insights
Why do the Women’s Empowerment Principles
Matter Even More During COVID-19 Crisis?

•

GSMA
Mobile Network Operators are Driving Digital
Gender Equality During COVID-19•

AnnieCannons
Transformation through Code•Leigh & Siena
Shifting the Status Quo in the Fashion Industry•

BioazulFinding Sustainable Solutions in
Water Management•

Mixtape VR
Gender Equality Through Virtual Reality••

Blitz Solutions
Creating Sustainable Solutions in a Blitz

NAKATA KOGEI Co., Ltd.
Leading Change at the Regional Level••

Cloud to Street
Journey of a Technology Entrepreneur•

NEO Exchange
How Being a WEPs Signatory Changed a Stock
Exchange in Canada

Nihon Unisys, Ltd.
Promoting Gender Equality and Women’s
Empowerment as First Step Towards Diversity andInclusion•

OLGA Agenc
Designing a World with Gender Equality•

FlyTechnista
Paving the Way for Women in Technology•

Pervormance international
Leading Innovation in the Textile Industry•

Fusion Fund
Leveraging Diversity to Boost
Technological Innovation•

Pathfinder
Innovation and Social Design for a Global Impact•

POLA Inc.
Fostering Women Entrepreneurs into
Community Leaders– 82 –

ENDNOTES
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weps.org

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