The application deadline for the 2021 UN Women Asia-Pacific Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) Awards has been extended to 9 August 2021. The UN WEPs Awards honours Asia-Pacific private businesses that champion gender equality in the workplace, marketplace and community in alignment with the Women’s Empowerment Principles.
Established by UN Women and UN Global Compact, the WEPs are a set of seven principles guiding businesses to become more gender-responsive across their value chain. Support for the seven Principles has gathered global momentum, with more than 5,000 companies of all sizes and sectors signing on to become WEPs champions and therefore also contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals.
The Asia-Pacific WEPs Awards is organised by UN Women’s WeEmpowerAsia programme funded by and in partnership with the European Union, which seeks to enhance gender-inclusive business cultures and promote women’s economic empowerment in the Asia-Pacific and Europe.
This year’s awards is also supported by Investing in Women.
Applications from all Asia-Pacific countries will be accepted. The 2021 WEPs Awards will recognise initiatives in 5 Main Categories: Leadership Commitment; Gender-inclusive Workplace; Gender-responsive Marketplace; Community Engagement and Partnerships; Transparency and Reporting; and the 2021 Highlighted Category Youth Leadership for Generation Equality. In addition to a Winner, 1st and 2nd Runner Up for each category, there will also be three SME Champion awards given to small and medium-sized enterprises.
WeEmpowerAsia will hold National WEPs Awards throughout October in China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Viet Nam. Winners from these countries will also have the opportunity to be selected as Asia-Pacific regional winners, and all nominees will be eligible to be awarded at the 2021 Regional WEPS Awards Ceremony which will take place on 18 November 2021.
The WEPs Awards presents a unique opportunity for business leaders and companies to be recognised, and for them to showcase their efforts to advance gender equality, making it visible amongst their customers, employees and partners. It is also an opportunity to inspire others to take action for wider impact. Visit www.asiapacificwepsawards.org to start your application process.