Statement from the UN Global Compact on the Need for Increased Private Sector Action to Protect and Advance the Right of Women and Girls
Read more
New York, United States of America
UNITED NATIONS, New York, 28 June 2022 — As the world’s largest sustainability initiative, the United Nations Global Compact urges the private sector to step up action to protect and advance women’s rights around the world. Women’s rights are human rights. Human rights include the rights to equality, to dignity, autonomy, information and bodily integrity and respect for private life and the highest attainable standard of health, including comprehensive sexual and reproductive health, without discrimination.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet deemed the overturning of Roe v. Wade in the U.S. Supreme Court ruling on Dobbs v. Jackson, “a huge blow to women's human rights and gender equality."
Businesses that have signed on to the Ten Principles of the UN Global Compact have made a commitment at the CEO-level to “support and respect the protection of internationally proclaimed human rights” (Principle 1). Supporting access to comprehensive sexual and reproductive care is an important step in respecting women’s human rights and promoting gender equality.
The gender work of the UN Global Compact is grounded in the Women's Empowerment Principles (WEPs). Principle 3 of the WEPs emphasizes that employers play a key role in preserving and promoting the physical and emotional health, safety and well-being of their employees, including when it comes to reproductive health concerns. It is important for all businesses to adapt this framework to advance gender equality in the workplace and beyond.
The UN Global Compact remains steadfast in mobilizing businesses around the world to respect human rights and promote gender equality.
Statements from UNWOMEN and UNFPA
Reaction from the Deputy Secretary-General and Chair of the United Nations Sustainable Development Group, Amina J. Mohammed