UN Women United Nations Entity for Gender Equali : 15/01/2017 UN Women Executive Director to call on businesses to power up sustainable development and women’s economic empowerment in Davos

Date: 15 January 2017

Executive Director of UN Women, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, will travel to Davos, Switzerland for the 47 Annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) from 17 - 21 January. At the WEF, Ms. Mlambo-Ngcuka will meet with leaders in government, civil society and business, to strengthen alliances to drive women's economic empowerment and call for active engagement and leadership of business in fulfilling the Sustainable Development Goals and advancing gender equality and women's empowerment.

On 17 January, the Executive Director will join a roundtable discussion on women's economic empowerment, hosted by Tupperware Brands, where the results of new research about confidence as a driver of women's economic earning will be presented. Later that day, Ms. Mlambo-Ngcuka will provide special remarks on 'the challenge of connecting the unconnected from a perspective of women and girls' at a special programme of the Broadband Commission for Digital Development and WEF, 'Internet for All'. Together with ITU, the Executive Director will also announce EQUALS: The Global Partnership for Gender Equality in the Digital Age, a global partnership platform that will pool experiences, expertise and resources to scale up good practices that ensure no woman or girl is left behind.

On 18 January, the Executive Director will join a conversation with business leaders, hosted by HeForShe IMPACT Corporate Champion Unilever, about how social norms and stereotypes are impeding gender equality in the workplace. The next morning, she will participate in a panel discussion around the launch of a report by UN Foundation and BNY Mellon, 'Return on Equality', which shows the pivotal role that investors can play in closing the global gender gap. The forthcoming report demonstrates that achieving gender parity across products and services in just five sectors-water, contraception, telecommunications, energy and child care-could unlock a market of more than US $300 billion in incremental annual spending by 2025.

At the Microsoft Roundtable 'Empowering Women: The Role of Technology' on 20 January, Ms. Mlambo-Ngcuka will deliver opening remarks and join an interactive discussion about public-private collaboration to bridge the gender digital gap.

Also on 20 January, the Executive Director will attend the UN Women Private Sector Leadership Advisory Council (PSLAC) meeting, where private sector partners are expected to agree on the 'Transparency Commitment'-a framework for public reporting on gender equality, including in the supply chain. The best practice framework will build upon UN Women's existing work on Women's Empowerment Principles, the Sustainable Development Goals and the HeforShe campaign. The members of PSLAC, which includes private sector leaders such as McKinsey, Tupperware, Coca-Cola, Oglivy Public Relations, Unilever, Grupo Omnilife-Angelissima-Chivas, Jetstar and others, will commit to reporting against the Transparency Commitment matrix, hold each other accountable and share opportunities and challenges.

En route to Davos, in Geneva, Ms. Mlambo-Ngcuka will also speak at the High-level Meeting on 'Bringing Down Legal Barriers to Women's Economic Empowerment: An Economic and Business Imperative', organized by the UN Global Compact, ITC, the East-West Center and the International Geneva Gender Champions, on 16 January.

The Executive Director's discussions and events will feed into the forthcoming Commission on the Status of Women, the largest gathering on advancing women's rights and empowerment, held in New York annually. The priority theme this year is 'Women's Economic Empowerment in the Changing world of Women at Work '.