Germany (Eschborn) – Women‘s Empowerment Principles (WEP)

Gender equality is a fundamental human right and one of the principal drivers of sustainable development, and has proven economic benefits for private businesses: equality means business! This realisation has led to the voluntary principles to empower women in business, the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEP), which are at the heart of this event, and which Tanja Gönner will be signing on behalf of GIZ within the framework of this event. The Women’s Empowerment Principles have been devised jointly by UN Women and the UN Global Compact. They are business management principles designed to empower women at the workplace, on the labour market and within the community. This event focuses on the economic empowerment of women, one of the priorities of Germany’s G7 Presidency, the post-2015 agenda and the African Union in 2015.

An event jointly facilitated by GIZ’s specialized business unit Private Sector, Sectoral Departments, the Global Compact Secretariat, GIZ Corporate Communication and GIZ’s Gender Officer and UN Women Nationales Komitee Deutschland.

When? Wednesday, 4 March 2015 – Eschborn, Auditorium, 9-10:30 am

For further information, please see detailed programme (in German): Einladung_und_Agenda_zur_Genderwoche_2015_-_WEP_am_4-3-15

IMPRESSIONS OF THE EVENT AND BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

Even though gender equality for all is a key human right, equality for women in the labour market is not yet a reality. Women still interrupt their careers more frequently than men and for longer periods. Many work only part time in order to give them time to bring up children or care for elderly or sick family members. Women earn less than men and it is much rarer to find them at the top of the career ladder. And women run a far greater risk of spending the last years of their lives in poverty. The Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) developed by UN Women and the UN Global Compact address this issue and advocate equality of opportunity.

The WEPs are a set of seven principles intended to empower women in business. They include equality of opportunity at the workplace as well as equal pay for equal work. Worldwide, more than 860 household corporate names have added their names to the initiative. The Chair of GIZ’s Management Board, Tanja Gönner, signed the document during a recent event on gender equality, making GIZ the eighth German company to commit to the UN Women principles.

In her keynote speech Tanja Gönner, Chair of the GIZ Management Board, emphasized the role of gender equality as a key driver for sustainable development.