A collections of videos from the 5th Annual Women's Empowerment Principles Event in New York. These videos feature panelists showcasing what UN Global Compact participants are doing to contribute to gender quality and strengthening the Women's Empowerment Principles. Closing remarks by H.E. His Excellency Mr. Ban Ki-moon, United Nations Secretary-General

Learn about how companies in the UN Global Compact are taking action to advance corporate sustainability around the world.

Business leaders identify the youth employment crisis as one of the most pressing global risks of our time, but also see investing in youth as one of the greatest potentials for business growth and development. There are more young people today than at any other time in history, approximately 1.8 billion, and half are women. These young people are breaking through stereotypes and creating innovative, concrete solutions to long-standing problems. Yet, although young people are creating these sustainable solutions, there is a disconnect with the formal labour force. Over the last year, youth unemployment rates have increased and the disparity in labour force participation between young women and men has widened. This webinar, co-hosted by the UN Global Compact, UN Women and Plan International, highlights the opportunity and need for business to scale up action and invest in the future workforce to create economic opportunities for young women around the world, produce bottom line impacts on business growth and sustainability, and contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Held in observance of International Women's Day, the 2016 WEPs Annual Event, Business Partners for Gender Equality: Multipliers for Development, brought together inspirational business leaders, including innovative female entrepreneurs, with civil society, the UN and Government, to scale-up business action and unleash the full potential of women and girls. Through high-level panels and interactive sessions, participants dove into how diverse companies around the world are implementing the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) and helping to achieve the new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), set forth in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Aims to inspire all business — regardless of size, sector or geography — to take leading action in support of the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It illustrates how the five leadership qualities of Intentionality, Ambition, Consistency, Collaboration and Accountability can be applied to a business' strategy, business model, products, supply chain, partnerships, and operations to raise the bar and create impact at scale. The Blueprint is a tool for any business that is ready to advance its principled approach to SDG action to become a leader.

Business In Society (BIS) reports on how the private sector can have an influential effect on our lives through sustainable and responsible business. This programme features the Women's Empowerment Principles and interviews with Ms. Anne-Marie Slaughter, President of The New America Foundation, Ms. Barbara Krumsiek, CEO of Calvert Investments, and Ursula Wynhoven, Chief, Governance and Social Sustainability and General Counsel of the United Nations Global Compact by John Paluszek of BIS. In these interviews, a spotlight is put on the Women's Empowerment Principles and the tipping point for women’s empowerment in business, government, civil society and other institutions

Principle 3 of the Women’s Empowerment Principles encourages companies to ensure the health, including sexual and reproductive health, of all workers. Investing in women’s health not only benefits employees and surrounding communities, but it can also have a positive social and economic effect on the private sector. In ensuring that workers have safe working conditions and available health services, companies establish healthier staff, better relationships, and in many cases higher Return-on-investment (ROI). This webinar highlights the benefits of investing in women's health, real life examples from Levi Strauss & Company and Merck, and strategies that businesses can implement to respect and support women’s health.

This webinar introduces examples of innovative approaches to empowering women in the workplace, marketplace and community by focusing on women's health initiatives in the private sector. These inspirational examples illustrate some of the concrete ways in which companies can and are taking action to implement the Women's Empowerment Principles (WEPs).

Pay differentials between women and men remain one of the most persistent forms of inequality, with women on average earning 20% less than men. This webinar explores the underlying causes of the gender pay gap, and the development of workplace policies and practices to address this inequality.

Embedding corporate sustainability goals and objectives throughout the value chain remains a significant challenge for businesses around the world from all sectors. This webinar focused on the gender dimension of responsible value chain management and highlights the specific challenges and opportunities faced by companies. Principle 5 of the Women's Empowerment Principles -- which encourages companies to implement enterprise development, supply chain and marketing practices that empower women -- provides a starting point for the discussion. Company experiences, new programmes and engagement opportunities aimed at assisting companies to better apply a gender lens to their responsible value chain strategies is presented.

Gives CSR managers and others practical guidance on how to embed gender equality into sustainability reporting under the GRI Sustainability Reporting Framework.

With the development of the Post-2015 agenda and discussion of the scope of potential sustainable development goals, the United Nations Global Compact has been asked to bring private sector perspectives and action to the global development agenda. As one of the priority areas designated by the UN Global Compact’s LEAD companies, Women’s Empowerment and Gender Equality aims ensure that all sustainable development goals be inclusive and gender-sensitive to facilitate maximum impact and avoid increasing inequalities. This issue paper explores the responsible business community’s willingness to contribute to the creation of women’s empowerment goals as well as to inform government and policy makers in future implementation of efforts involving the private sector. In addition, gender is incorporated into all ten (10) Issue Briefs exploring a different priority issue area as identified through extensive consultations with LEAD companies and other stakeholders.