ABOUT THE AWARD
The year 2020 marks the 10th anniversary of the Women’s Empowerment Principles, which now have close to 4,000 signatories. This important milestone coincides with the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (BPfA). The BPfA is recognized as the most progressive roadmap for gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls, everywhere.
To mark this occasion and utilize the momentum to showcase progressive private sector action toward gender equality and mobilize more companies to embrace the WEPs,UN Women is organizing the 2020 WEPs Award for companies in G7 countries and in the European Union. The Award will recognize WEPs signatories’ exceptional championship of gender equality within their organizations and networks.
The Award ceremony will take place online on 10 December 2020, which is also the Human Rights Day, showcasing companies that align with responsible business conduct and human rights principles.
Click here for guidance to complete the Company Profile Page
THE AWARD
Companies are encouraged to nominate themselves for the Award and deepen their engagement with the WEPs community, a global peer network of almost 4,000 companies and business networks.
- Showcase your company’s leadership and actions for gender equality
- Be recognized for your commitment. The Award Winners will be featured in a live session on our social media channels.
- Worldwide recognition and visibility. The winners will be showcased on the WEPs website, social media channels and in a special issue of the WEPs newsletter.
APPLICATION PROCESS
The application process will be divided into two phases:
- Companies will be assessed by a UN Women jury based on a point system, as explained in the application form. Based on this assessment, five companies will be shortlisted in each category. At this stage, supporting documents may be requested so keep an eye on your inbox!
- When a company is selected to move on to the second stage, a youth jury will make the final decision. These young women will base their decision on the guiding question: Which company would they feel most compelled to work for based on the assessment criteria(listed below.
We ask for all applications to be submitted online.
ASSESSMENT CRITERIA
UN Women and the youth jury will assess your application based on three criteria: innovation, transformation and impact. We have consciously designed the criteria open to your interpretation.
Innovation – When we say innovation, we will review and assess the organization’s response (or plans to respond) to existing challenges with new solutions. These new solutions may include new and exciting partnerships, platforms and working cross-sectoral to name a few examples.
Transformation – By transformation we mean actions, initiatives or practices that have or could lead to a disruption of the status quo and business as usual to promote gender equality in the workplace, marketplace, and community.
Impact – We are curious to learn how your organization has had, or plans to have an impact on gender equality and women’s economic empowerment in the workplace, marketplace, and community. Having an impact can mean that your organization has created new networks with diverse stakeholders, thus having an impact on a diverse group of people in your workplace, community or marketplace.
WHO CAN APPLY?
All WEPs Signatories with a physical presence in G7 and/or European Union countries are invited to apply.
If you not yet a WEPs Signatory, you have time to join the WEPs community up to one week before the deadline. Read more about becoming a signatory here.
CATEGORIES
The 2020 WEPs Award will recognize leaders in the following categories:
- 2020 WEPs Leadership Award, open to all WEPs signatories
It will also recognize leaders in these sub-categories:
- Best Women-Owned Business Award
- Best SME Award
- Best Network Award
CLICK HERE TO APPLY
APPLICATION SUBMISSION
By clicking and submitting your application, you understand that all data submitted as part of the application will be kept secure and confidential and used only for the award selection, including but not limited to updates, communications, and mailing lists related to the award.
UN Women is committed to preserving the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of all the physical and electronic information assets held through the organization, not only to support and enable its mandate, strategic objectives, and daily operation, but also to protect its stakeholders. Consent will be sought for any examples that UN Women would like to feature through our communication. You have a right to access and/or correct the personal information we hold about you by contacting Asa Corneliusson.
FAQ
Click the link above to find answers to Frequently Asked Questions