Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to bring you up-to-date with news and information about the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs), a partnership initiative of UNIFEM (part of UN Women) and the UN Global Compact. The Principles – developed through a year-long international consultation process and launched by our two organizations on International Women’s Day 2010 – represent seven steps for companies to take to empower women in the workplace, marketplace and community. We would like to ask for your help in promoting this initiative and begin dialogue with you on how we can support your efforts.

1. Public Release of the CEO Statement of Support for the Women’s Empowerment Principles
21 June marked the public release of the CEO Statement of Support for the Women’s Empowerment Principles signed by around 40 CEOs who are making equality a corporate priority (http://www.unifem.org/news_events/story_detail.php?StoryID=1112). This initiative to expand the list of leaders signing the CEO Statement of Support will continue over the next several months through direct contacts with CEOs and also via UNIFEM field offices and UN Global Compact local networks. Please help us spread the word and encourage business executives in your network, country or region to join the growing list of signers!

Note: The CEO Statement is very particularly addressed only to CEOs or the top executive of a company, and requires that the attached form and CEO’s electronic signature be submitted to the WEP team at UNIFEM and the UN Global Compact as part of the authentication process. Completed forms and/or any questions should be sent to Laraine Mills (laraine.mills@unifem.org) and Lauren Gula (gulal@un.org)

2. WEPs outreach and advocacy: tools and next steps
Outreach to companies is a partnership endeavour. To facilitate this, attached you will find:

• CEO Statement of Support and Form for signing the CEO Statement
• Model letter from the Executive Directors of UNIFEM and the UN Global Compact inviting CEOs to sign the Statement of Support
• Current list of 41 signatories to the CEO Statement
• 21 June press release announcing the CEO Statement and group of lead signers
• One-page overview of the WEPs initiative
• PowerPoint presentation that can be tailored and used as an introduction to the WEPs
• Women’s Empowerment Principles booklet in English (for other languages, see point 6 below), that includes the 7 principles themselves, as well as sections on ‘How to Make and Measure Progress’ and ‘Principles into Practice: Company Examples’, among others.

Additional background materials and resources are available at: http://www.unifem.org/partnerships/womens_empowerment_principles/ and http://www.unglobalcompact.org/Issues/human_rights/equality_means_business.html

Organizing ideas:

• Working with stakeholders from the UN, government, business and civil society, organize an informational meeting about the WEPs using the context in your region, country or community to tailor focus
• Contact corporate responsibility (CR) and/or diversity officers of companies in your region, country or community, as well as other groups/organizations working in CR to introduce them to the WEPs and start a dialogue on strengthening integration of gender issues into overall CR concerns
• Organize a meeting – using the WEPs as a tool – that focuses on MDG 3, in the context of the lead up to the high-level MDG Summit in September at UNHQ
• Convene a meeting of stakeholders from the around progress towards gender equality and women’s empowerment, with a focus on the role of the business/private sector, and importance of partnerships

As noted in point 1 above, outreach to business leaders to sign the CEO Statement of Support will continue over the next several months through direct contacts with CEOs and also via UNIFEM field offices and National Committees and UN Global Compact local networks.

For those UNIFEM SROs, liaison, country and project offices, and National Committees located in countries/regions where the UN Global Compact has a local network, we invite and encourage collaboration on WEP-related outreach and activities where possible. Some UNIFEM offices and Global Compact local networks – for example, in Egypt, India and Brazil – have already connected with one another to begin this work. We are finalizing a list of UNIFEM/UNGC regional and country presence to facilitate these connections, which we will send in a separate email in the next week or so. In the meantime, information on UNIFEM offices and National Committees can be found at: http://www.unifem.org/about/contact.php. UN Global Compact Local Network information is available at: http://www.unglobalcompact.org/NetworksAroundTheWorld/index.html.

3. UN Global Compact Leaders Summit 2010
The UNGC Summit in late June also featured and promoted the Women’s Empowerment Principles, echoing the call for CEOs to review the WEPs and lend their support as a first step to strengthening the efforts within their companies to advance and empower women in the workplace, marketplace and community.

4. Upcoming UN Private Sector Forum
On the 22nd of September, government and private sector leaders will convene at UN Headquarters – together with UN and civil society representatives – to discuss the private sectors’ contribution to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). In anticipation of this important meeting, which is part of the UN MDG Summit, we are encouraging companies that have not yet signed the CEO Statement of Support for the Women’s Empowerment Principles to consider doing so. Achieving MDG3 – Promote gender equality and empower women – is not possible without the support of the private sector. By signing the CEO Statement, companies communicate to governments, civil society and other stakeholders that they are serious about gender equality. Our goal is to collect over 100 signatures by the MDG Summit.

5. What Leaders are Saying about the Women’s Empowerment Principles
We are also inviting companies that sign the CEO Statement of Support to provide us with a brief quote from their CEO indicating why gender equality is good for their company’s business and how the Women’s Empowerment Principles can help their company meet its goals on women’s empowerment. All quotes received will be added to the document ‘What Leaders are Saying about the Women’s Empowerment Principles’ which is available on our webpage: http://www.unifem.org/attachments/partnerships/womens_empowerment_principles/CEO_Quotes_What_Leaders_Are_Saying_June2010.pdf

6. What companies are doing to empower women
We have developed a complementary document to the WEPs called ‘Companies Leading the Way: Putting the Principles into Practice’ (http://www.unglobalcompact.org/docs/issues_doc/human_rights/Resources/Companies_Leading_the_Way.pdf) that lists examples of the many ways businesses around the world are promoting gender equality in the workplace, marketplace and community. We are encouraging companies that have not already done so to send a brief description (1 to 2 paragraphs) of their efforts to empower women to be added to this living document. Please send to Lauren Gula (gulal@un.org) and Laraine Mills (laraine.mills@unifem.org).

7. Translation of the WEPs
The Women’s Empowerment Principles and supplementary materials have now been translated into all UN languages as well as Portuguese. The WEP booklet in all languages can be downloaded from: http://www.unifem.org/materials/item_detail.php?ProductID=166 or http://www.unglobalcompact.org/Issues/human_rights/equality_means_business.html.

In addition, the WEP booklet is now available in hard copy in English, French and Spanish (Arabic, Russian, Chinese and Portuguese coming soon!). To order copies, please contact Lauren Gula (gulal@un.org) and Laraine Mills (laraine.mills@unifem.org). UNIFEM offices and National Committees will each be receiving a standard shipment of booklets automatically from UNIFEM HQ.

Thank you again for your encouragement and support for the Women’s Empowerment Principles. We welcome your feedback and suggestions.

Sincerely,

Joan, Ursula, Lauren and Laraine
Women’s Empowerment Principles Team

UNIFEM (part of UN Women) and the UN Global Compact Office

Joan Libby-Hawk
Public Affairs Chief
United Nations Development Fund for Women -
UNIFEM (part of UN Women)

+1.917.405.6088
joan.libby-hawk@unifem.org

Ursula Wynhoven
Head, Policy & Legal
Special Assistant to the Executive Director
UN Global Compact Office

+1.212.963.5705
wynhoven@un.org