Preparing Women for Leadership and Board Positions

16 October 2020
LeadWomen invites you to our
WEPs Awareness Training:
5 November
In collaboration with the EU-funded programme WeEmpowerAsia of UN Women, LeadWomen is proud to announce new and expansive commitments, for the economic empowerment of women that will target 300 leading companies in Malaysia by September 2021. The commitments are part of a growing movement in Asia to realise women’s full and equal participation in the economy and the unmet business potential, guided by the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs).

Established by UN Women and United Nations Global Compact, the WEPs promote business practices that empower women. For Malaysia’s companies, signing the WEPs demonstrates a top-down commitment by CEOs, of the highest calibre, to collaborate with multi-stakeholder networks on issues such as increased representation of women in key decision-making roles, equal pay for work of equal value, gender-responsive supply chain practices and zero tolerance against sexual harassment in the workplace.

The WEPs fall directly in line with the work that LeadWomen has been involved in over the past 9 years. Previous progress has been a critical step in the right direction, but the momentum must be maintained. This partnership will permit and accelerate the overarching objective of increasing women’s representation at the leadership level and across entire organisations and the marketplace.

The UN Women WEPs Malaysia Activator Campaign will kick-off with the WEPs Awareness Training and is part of a wider initiative of the regional programme WeEmpowerAsia. The programme is active in 7 countries in Asia, including Malaysia. For more details, visit: http://weempowerasia.org/

WEPs Awareness Training Objective:

The WEPs Awareness Training will bring a wider consciousness of the Women's Empowerment Principles and identify partner companies' strengths, gaps, and determine opportunities to improve their performance on gender equality, using the high-level Gender Gap Analysis Tool across 300 companies in Malaysia.

The session will also be used to identify companies that have an active commitment in becoming WEPs Signatories, who are then eligible to move into the next phase: Implementation.
Event Details:

Date: 5 November 2020 
Time: 9am-1pm or 2:30pm-6:30pm
Venue: Online

Please note:
There will be two Awareness Trainings on the 5th November, that will be run virtually via Zoom. Both slots will cover the same content, so please only register to attend one of the sessions. 
What are the Women's Empowerment Principles?
Principle 1: High-level corporate leadership
This principle publicly signals the CEO’s and executive team’s goals and targets for implementing the WEPs. It also signifies how the seven Principles will become part of the corporate sustainability strategy, day-to-day operations and organisational culture.
Principle 2: Treat all women and men fairly at work without discrimination
Falling in line with International Human Rights principles, the adoption of this principle signifies a solid step in companies' further adoption to the WEPs. It also translates to better talent acquisition, higher employee retention and satisfaction, increased productivity and better decision making.
Principle 3: Employee health, well-being and safety
Sexual harassment and violence signify high costs to women in terms of lost earnings, missed promotions and overall wellbeing. This principle aims at preserving and promoting the physical and emotional health, safety and wellbeing of their female and male employees in order to limit impacts from employee absenteeism and productivity losses on companies.
Principle 4: Education and training for gender equality
The overall aim of this principle is to provide training to all employees about how the company is advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment, so to align everyone around shared values and help ensure compliance with company policies and practices. This principle also promotes the holding of programmes to support women’s professional advancement including education and training that is complemented by networking and mentoring programmes.
Principle 5: Enterprise development, supply chain and practises
This principle surrounds the idea of advertising as a powerful driver in changing perceptions and impacting the social norms that portray women and girls in negative and diminishing lights. It aims to display women and men in modern, authentic and multidimensional roles, with the help of partner companies to influence business partners through inclusive supply chain policies and standards of engagement. 
Principle 6: Community initiatives and advocacy
Following by example from previous company initiatives and investments, this principle promotes the increasing investment in community development programmes to make valuable, effective and responsible contributions to gender equality and women’s empowerment. A key motivation is to respond to consumer preferences to buy from companies with gender-responsive business practices and those who are actively supporting community initiatives. 
Principle 7: Measurement and reporting
This principle upholds the value that transparency and accountability are vital for companies to uphold commitments to gender equality in the workplace, marketplace and community. This transparency and accountability can be achieved through measuring and reporting mechanisms outlined through the WEPs campaign.


Commonly Asked Questions:

Who should attend?

LeadWomen recommends that those in Executive, Human Resources, Corporate Social Responsibility, Accounting and Finance and Procurement of Private Sector Companies roles within Malaysia should attend. We also highly encourage SMEs and women-owned entrepreneurs to attend. 


Who is eligible?

Those who fulfil at least one of the requirements below are eligible to take part in the WEPs Malaysia Campaign:

  1. Your company is listed on Bursa Malaysia; or
  2. Your company is a registered company in Malaysia that is not listed on Bursa, but is listed on an EU Exchange; or
  3. Your company is part of an EU supply chain; or
  4. You are representing a Malaysian registered company with a minimum of 50 employees.


Do you need to be a WEPs signatory?

Those who would like to attend the Awareness Trainings do not have to be a signatory to the WEPs. However, we encourage companies to become WEPs signatories to be able to receive additional support should they wish to implement the WEPs through our Implementation Trainings in 2021. 


Financial commitments?

All sessions offered to attendees are complimentary.


How do I sign up?

To register your interest for LeadWomen's first Awareness Training, on 5 November, please follow this link: https://forms.gle/1ykjqEQ1momm7Qke8


Still needing more information?

If you would like to gain more information before signing up for the Awareness Training, please contact Liza at [email protected] or Helena at [email protected].

Next Steps:

Upon completion of the Awareness Training, should you decide that you would like to implement one or more of the principles, you may move into the next phase and become a WEPs signatory. This requires the signing of a signatory letter by the company CEO, but there are no financial commitments. 

As part of becoming a signatory, we will then work with you through 2 Implementation Trainings, over the course of 3 months, to:
  • Delve deeper into the Gender Gap Analysis to understand what the company are already doing
  • Help the company prioritise which of the Principles they would like to focus on
  • Help the company to address and implement the chosen Principles. 

The entire programme will be completed by mid-2021. 
Join Us at an UN Women WEPs Event
5 November
UN Women x LeadWomen
Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) Awareness Training
Stay tuned for a date in 2021!
UN Women x LeadWomen
WEPs Malaysian Activators Campaign Launch
For more information please visit:
For further enquiries, please email [email protected]