Global Compact Network Colombia Brings Together Business Leaders in Support of Gender Equality During UN Women Executive Director’s Visit

The following is an article submitted by a Global Compact Local Network. Please contact the network representative listed below with any questions regarding its contents. 

(Bogotá, 8 May 2015) – As part of a visit organized with support from Global Compact Network Colombia, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Executive Director of UN Women, stressed the important role that business has in empowering women and promoting gender equality. Ms. Mlambo-Ngcuka reminded attendees that women are most affected by poverty and conflict and still face numerous challenges including wage gaps, participation in politics, and access to senior management positions in organizations. At a working lunch held in Bogotá, over thirty business leaders and government representatives shared with Ms. Mlambo-Ngcuka their experiences and projects focusing on women’s empowerment within their organizations and supply chains. 

Ms. Mlambo-Ngcuka also acknowledged the work of Global Compact Network Colombia in engaging the Colombian private sector in women’s empowerment initiatives. With the launch of the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) platform in Colombia in August 2014, Global Compact Network Colombia provides the means for companies to share their experiences and further advance gender equality within markets, communities and in the workplace.

The WEPs lay the foundation for Global Compact Network Colombia’s transformational partnerships strategy, which focuses on facilitating collaborative, multi-stakeholder work for women’s empowerment and gender equality starting in 2016. This important milestone is captured in the strategic process of engaging Colombian Global Compact companies in building the Post-2015 Development Agenda from a bottom up perspective, aligning with public policies, UN agencies and other stakeholders in shaping and implementing the global agenda within the local context of Colombia.

• Learn more about Global Compact Network Colombia
• Learn more about the Women’s Empowerment Principles
• Read The Bottom-Up Approach: An Integrated Global-Local Strategic Planning Process

Contact

Anamaría Vargas
Global Compact Network Colombia
anamaria.vargas@pactoglobal-colombia.org