Thank you for your unwavering commitment and action to advancing gender equality and women's empowerment in the workplace, marketplace and community this past year.

In 2025, we welcomed over 1,200 new WEPs signatories globally, and our network has now expanded to include nearly 12,000 CEOs representing around 40 million employees across 168 countries. 

The WEPs community has been active in connecting, learning and taking action: over 12,000 participants engaged with global WEPs webinars, and thousands more through regional and national knowledge exchanges.

Over 35 new resources have been added to the WEPs knowledge hub, including the 2025 Global WEPs Survey report which showcases the progress being made by signatories. These achievements were made possible by the valuable donations of 9 generous companies and individuals.

Businesses are playing an increasingly pivotal role in advancing gender equality worldwide, and WEPs signatories are leading the way. From Ukraine to Zimbabwe, from Brazil to Malaysia, companies are coming together, turning commitments into meaningful action, and demonstrating how business can be a powerful force for equality for all women and girls. 

Our goal for 2026 is simple: Making WEPs as useful and relevant as possible for your work.

To do this, we need your continued support. We encourage you to report on your progress on your company’s profile page - this is also how we know the WEPs are building change and leading to impact.

We’re kicking off next year with the first in our webinar series with the International Finance Corporation focused on bridging gender data gaps in the private sector. 

Thank you for all your support this year,

Anna Fälth

Global Head, WEPs Secretariat

UN Women

How can businesses help close gender data gaps, and what are the benefits of disclosure and transparency?

Wednesday, January 29, 2026 | 9:00am-10:15 am EST 

Join us and the International Finance Corporation for a presentation of two recent reports – IFC's Closing the Gap: A Data Outlook on Women's Economic Opportunities and UN Women's Unfinished business: Private sector and gender equality.

This will be followed by a panel discussion on what gender data disclosure reveals about business performance.

Join us to learn more about proven approaches from UN Women, government, private sector, and academic leaders.

The Global Supply Chain Coalition was launched at COP30, bringing together stakeholders committed to advancing gender-inclusive and sustainable supply chains.

The Coalition – a partnership between UN Women and the German Federal Government – builds on WEPs Principle 5 and highlights the power of procurement to drive change for gender equality. 

At the event, representatives from Schneider Electric, Empower Brazil, and the E+ Energy Transition Institute shared insights on workforce gaps, local challenges, and opportunities for a just energy transition.

The discussion highlighted the urgent need to strengthen women’s access to skills and leadership.

Updates from around the world

Building Capacity

Bolivia 

From June to October, over 50 companies and organizations participated in the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) Community Bolivia: “Dialogue for Equality”, led by UN Women and the Global Compact Network Bolivia, with support from the Center for International Studies and Cooperation (CECI), an active WEPs Ally, and Banco FIE. 

Over eight sessions in two cities, companies received tools, technical guidance and built on each other’s experiences to create more inclusive and equitable workplaces. As part of the process, 24 companies completed the WEPs Gender Gap Analysis Tool and developed an organizational-level Gender Action Plan.

Photo: UN Women Bolivia and Global Compact Network Bolivia

Georgia 

UN Women Georgia hosted a workshop on “Managing Without Bias” for 40 companies, sharing practical tools—including a new guide on unconscious bias designed specifically to help private-sector leaders recognize and eliminate bias in the workplace.

On 29 October, the International Day of Care, 24 Georgian WEPs signatories completed the UN Women Certificate Program on Care-Responsive Workplaces. The training transformed their commitment to gender equality into actionable company policy, equipping leaders to integrate care economy principles into business strategies, HR systems, and workplace policies—from parental leave and flexible work to family-friendly practices that support work–life balance.

Photo: UN Women Georgia

Global and Regional Webinar Series

Multiple regions and country offices offered training opportunities, including the Global 2025 WEPs Deep Dive Series, Ciclo WEPs in Latin America, the 2025 Caribbean WEPs Journey, and the Gender Action Lab in Asia Pacific.

In addition, new publications were added to the WEPs Knowledge Hub

• 2025 WEPs Global Survey Report
• Roadmap for the Implementation of the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) and Regional Good Practices (in Spanish)
• Marketing and Communications Guide on the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) (in Spanish)

Driving Change

Uzbekistan

WEPs Signatory Korzinka, a large supermarket chain marked the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence with UN Women Uzbekistan.

By sharing the campaign message “#NoExcuse for online abuse” across all 150 Korzinka stores and on their mobile app, they reached more than 350,000 people in one day.

This demonstrates how retailers and businesses can use their platforms to drive social change. 

The next global campaign is planned for International Women’s Day on 8 March 2026 – connect with UN Women to see how you can be a part of it.

Photo: UN Women Uzbekistan

Zimbabwe

This summer, UN Women Zimbabwe, in partnership with OmniContact, a WEPs Signatory under the Econet Group, launched Project IGNITE. The programme is a bold initiative to equip women and youth with digital skills, tools and opportunities in the digital economy.

Project IGNITE, guided by the WEPs, aims to close the gender digital divide, empowering thousands of women and youths to become digital leaders, entrepreneurs, and contributors.

Project IGNITE showcases the power of strategic partnerships in driving inclusive and innovative tech-enabled development.

Engaging & Collaborating

Ukraine

During the Women’s Entrepreneurship EXPO 2025 over 100 companies from Ukraine came together for gender equality. UN Women presented the first-ever Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) Award in Ukraine.

The winners were Lika Comfort, a company specializing in air conditioning and heating systems, and RIVOLTA, a family-owned coffee shop in Ternopil, one of the major cities of western Ukraine.

Photo: UN Women/Serhii Piriev

Asia Pacific 

The 2025 Asia-Pacific WEPs Forum brought together more than 200 participants from various industries and organisations, highligting that business, innovation and impact are no longer separate conversations.

More than 2,700 of the almost 12,000 WEPs signatories are in Asia-Pacific showing strong commitment to implementing the principles across leadership, workplace culture, and supply chains.

Picture: Katja Freiwald, UN Women’s Regional Lead for Women’s Economic Empowerment in Asia and the Pacific delivering her remarks. Credit: TalentCorp

Donate and support our work in 2026 and beyond.

For more ways to support WEPs reach out to the Secretariat.