Women’s Empowerment Principles: Equality means Business
12 February 2012
Women’s Empowerment Principles: Equality means Business
What does The Warehouse have in common with Z Energy, Westpac, Skycity Entertainment, Price Waterhouse Coopers, Vodafone, Alcatel-Lucent and Heidrick and Struggles?
Chief Executives of these eight New Zealand companies have signed up as business leaders to support the Women’s Empowerment Principles and to advance gender equality.
The Principles will be launched formally in New Zealand at a function at Government House on 13 February and the eight New Zealand Chief Executives join over 150 top business leaders worldwide who have signed the Principles. Some of the New Zealand companies are part of multinationals and others are local big businesses.
The eight chief executives will receive certificates from the Governor-General of New Zealand, Lt Gen the Rt Hon Sir Jerry Mateparae.
They have expressed support for advancing gender equality by:
• Bringing the broadest pool of
talent to their businesses,
• Furthering their
companies’ competitiveness
• Meeting their corporate
responsibility and sustainability
commitments
• Modelling behaviour within their
companies that reflects the society they would like for
their employees, fellow citizens and
families
• Encouraging economic and social conditions
that provide opportunities for women and men, girls and
boys; and
• Fostering sustainable development in the
countries in which they live.
• They also commit to
encouraging other business leaders to sign up and to use the
Principles as guidance in the workplace. Heidrick and
Struggles have also sponsored the launch function.
The Principles have been developed by UN Women Headquarters in New York and the United Nations Global Compact, which has been concerned internationally with promoting human rights and business.
The New Zealand Federation of Business and Professional Women and the NZ Human Rights Commission are working with the NZ National Committee of UN Women to promote the Principles to businesses in New Zealand.
Rae
Julian
National President
UN Women National Committee
for Aotearoa New
Zealand
ENDS