Promoting Women's Empowerment Principles in Latin America and the Middle East

The UN Global Compact is a United Nations platform to involve the private sector in the advancement of human rights, fair labor conditions, and sustainable practices. In 2010, the UN Global Compact and UN Women introduced the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) to better engage the private sector in empowering women to participate in economic life. Graduate students from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs partnered with the UN Global Compact to carry out a study on the adoption and implementation of the WEPs across four countries - Colombia, Chile, Turkey, and Egypt. The objectives of the research include understanding how Global Compact Local Networks (LNs) and local context influence the promotion of the WEPs, as well as how businesses implement the WEPs, in order to identify transformative practices and develop recommendations for increased adoption and implementation. Across Colombia, Chile, Turkey, and Egypt, there were several findings that were consistent throughout the research, including company motivations for adopting the WEPs, strategic framing, policies, and practices that businesses use, as well as the obstacles to success that businesses and Local Networks face. Recommendations were developed taking into consideration the local political, cultural, and business contexts of the countries. The lessons learned from this study will support the WEPs Secretariat as well as Local Networks to advance existing efforts, and will provide insight for other countries and regions in which the UN Global Compact and the WEPs conduct their work.