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*Translations are unofficial and provided by Google translate
About the Asia-Pacific WEPs Awards
About Us
The UN Women Asia-Pacific WEPs Awards are the first regional awards recognising companies that are advancing gender equality in alignment with the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs). The initiative aims to highlight good practices across the region and encourage more businesses to take action for gender equality by joining the WEPs.
The 2026 Asia-Pacific WEPs Awards will open for applications across six main categories. You can apply for up to two of these categories.
In addition, the Asia-Pacific WEPs Awards will recognise three SME awardees from the overall pool of applicants, and will also be considering three categories of special mentions this year. Special Mentions are not standalone award categories - rather, they recognise applicants from across applications, who demonstrate a particularly strong initiative in any of the given areas.
Beyond the Regional Asia-Pacific WEPs Awards, National WEPs Award processes will be taking place in 9 countries from across the region: Cambodia, China, Indonesia, India, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. Winners of national awards are automatically shortlisted for the Regional WEPs Awards.
Learn more about the categories and award types below.
2026 Categories
In each of the following 6 categories, the Asia-Pacific WEPs Awards will award one Winner, 1st Runner Up and 2nd Runner up.
2026 Additional Awards
2026 Special Mentions
Recognising applicants from across the full pool who demonstrate a particularly strong initiative in any of the following areas.
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Leadership Commitment and Action
(Aligned to WEP 1):
This category recognizes business leaders of any age who have been instrumental in setting strong corporate commitments inclusive of progressive polices, regulations or practices that aim to promote gender equality in the workplace, marketplace and/or community. This may include company leaders taking specific roles and responsibilities in promoting gender equality within the company and making public commitments or delivering gender sensitive messages to the public. This Award is not intended only for C-level executives but may be granted to employees at director and management level, as well as emerging leaders promoting gender equality in corporate settings, and individual entrepreneurs and founders. This award may be granted to a leader of any age and nationality, granted that the business operates in an Asia-Pacific country. Young leaders and enterprise founders below the age of 35 who display particularly innovative solutions or leadership qualities may also be considered for the Youth Leadership Special Mention award.
Photo: PT Pertamina Indonesia
Gender-Inclusive Workplace
(Aligned to WEPs 2,3 and 4):
This category recognizes achievements that corporations have demonstrated in adopting relevant gender-inclusive measures in the workplace. This may include innovative approaches to equal recruitment, support to provide flexible work arrangements, addressing specific needs of female and male employees, transformational initiatives to support family responsibilities of female and male employees to address the unequal care burden, and accelerative actions to guarantee the safety and well-being of female and male employees, accelerating progress towards equal pay, and promote women’s career development and leadership. This can also include efforts towards creating broader diversity and inclusion within the workplace by addressing additional considerations such as disability, age, ethnic background, and/or sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, among others.
Gender-responsive Marketplace
(Aligned to WEP 5):
This category recognizes corporations for embracing a gender lens throughout their value chain and taking proactive steps to embed gender equality throughout their respective marketplace. This may include actions such as upskilling, financial literacy, safe working environments, sexual and reproductive health and rights education, or leadership development for women working in supply chains. It may include innovative financing mechanisms or employment generating opportunities to promote gender equality in a wider industry or sector marketplace. In addition, this category also awards actions and programs that promote gender equality and women’s empowerment through advertisements and other sales and marketing activities. Finally, this category also recognizes organizations that integrate a gender lens and consider the promotion of gender equality into product and service design.
Photo: UN Women India/Unstereotype Alliance
Inclusive Procurement
(Aligned to WEP 5):
This category recognizes corporates that actively support gender equality and women’s empowerment through inclusive procurement practices. This may include developing supplier diversity policies and practices and setting targets to increase procurement spend on women-owned and -led businesses and/or suppliers promoting gender equality, providing gender-inclusive procurement (GRP) training to procurement and supply chain employees, supporting women entrepreneurs in accessing corporate procurement contracts. This category also recognizes broader diversity and inclusion efforts within procurement, including support for businesses led by or working with women with disabilities, ethnic minorities, LGBTQI+ people, and rural women.
This category is championed by WE RISE Together, a UN Women programme funded by the Australian Government through the Mekong-Australia Partnership which promotes women's economic empowerment by leveraging procurement opportunities to expand market access for women-owned businesses and gender-responsive enterprises in the Mekong subregion and beyond.
Photo: UN Women /Courtesy of VCCI
Community Engagement and Partnerships
(Aligned to WEP 6):
This category recognizes corporate champions that promote gender equality through community engagement and partnerships. This engagement may include integrating gender equality into their sustainability strategies, CSR or philanthropy programs, and especially supporting and collaborating with NGOs, international organizations, or other organizations committed to promoting gender equality within wider communities. Beyond community engagement, this category will also award actions to promote transformational action or systemic change through partnerships. This can include individual companies participating in any advocacy or multi-stakeholder platforms to promote gender equality, such as the Unstereotype Alliance, or also Industry Associations, Chambers of Commerce, and Stock Exchanges working with others working to promote change within an industry or among a large group of companies.
Tech and AI for Gender Equality
(Aligned to all WEPs):
Building on the growing recognition that technology digital transformation, including artificial intelligence (AI), can catalyze progress on gender equality when designed, applied and regulated with a gender-responsive lens, this category highlights organizations that harness technology to advance women’s empowerment and broader inclusion across the workplace, marketplace and community. This includes developing or deploying digital tools, platforms, products or systems that remove barriers, expand opportunities, or improve access to information, finance, services, or markets for women and underrepresented groups. This category also celebrates innovative and scalable technological solutions that not only align with the WEPs Principles but also demonstrate meaningful involvement in the design, implementation, and measurement of tech-driven initiatives that promote gender equality.
Photo: UN Women Pakistan
Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SME) Awards
While organizations of any size or sector are eligible for the awards, special recognition is given to the valuable contributions of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to the regional economy. For that reason, three SME applicants (companies with fewer than 200 employees) across all six award categories will be recognized as WEPs Awards SME Champions, in addition to the main award recipients.
Special Mentions
The 2026 Asia-Pacific WEPs Awards will also consider special mentions among the whole pool of applicants, displaying exemplary practice in any of the following areas. Special Mentions are not standalone award categories - rather, they recognise applicants from across applications, who demonstrate a particularly strong initiative in any of the given areas.
The special mention on Youth Leadership recognises leaders under the age of 35 years old, who have been instrumental in setting strong corporate commitments inclusive of progressive polices, regulations or practices that aim to promote gender equality in the workplace, marketplace and/or community.
The special mention on Gender Equality, Disability & Social Inclusion recognises companies that drive initiatives to break down barriers and create opportunities for all people - irrespective of genders, abilities, and backgrounds - to fully participate and thrive across the workplace, marketplace, and/or wider community.
The special mention on Transparency and Reporting recognises organisations that demonstrate openness and accountability in tracking and communicating their progress on gender equality. It highlights those that go beyond minimum requirements to share clear, credible data and insights, and that use reporting to drive continuous improvement, build trust, and advance gender equality across their value chain.
Eligibility
Afghanistan
Australia
Bangladesh
Bhutan
Brunei
Cambodia
China (including Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan)
Cook Islands
Fiji
India
Indonesia
Japan
Kiribati
Laos
Malaysia
Maldives
Mongolia
Myanmar
Nauru
New Zealand
Nepal
Niue
Pakistan
Palau
Philippines
Papua New Guinea
Republic of the Marshall Islands
Samoa
Singapore
Solomon Islands
South Korea
Sri Lanka
Thailand
Timore-Leste
Tokelau
Tonga
Tuvalu
Vanuatu
Vietnam
The WEPs Awards is a public recognition from UN Women and aligned to UN Women’s corporate standards and due diligence. As such, awards cannot be granted to companies that produce or sell alcohol, tobacco, armaments, adult entertainment and gambling products. The majority of these companies are still eligible to become WEPs signatories, and we encourage all of them to make the commitment and showcase their efforts for gender equality through engagement with the WEPs community.
Selection Process
All applications will be submitted online and assessed through a standardized process that includes verification of supporting documents, due diligence, and judging by an external panel of neutral experts. The judging panel will be composed of external professionals with knowledge of the WEPs and private sector practices that promote gender equality and women’s empowerment. They will act on a voluntary basis and receive detailed guidance for scoring in an effort to maximize consistency and objectivity.
The awards will follow a multi-stage approach with national awards ceremonies in October and November in Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam (countries in which UN Women has active WEPs programming), followed by a wider Asia-Pacific regional awards ceremony. Winners from the national awards ceremonies will be combined with a shortlist of applications from all other Asia-Pacific countries to form the nominee pool for the Regional Awards in December.
Disclaimer: The UN Women Asia-Pacific WEPs Awards represents recognition of exemplary company efforts for gender equality and is limited to a designated category and a specific location and time period. Awarded organizations, alongside their products and services, receiving awards are not endorsed or affiliated with UN Women or Gender Action Lab and being recognized as an Awardee does not constitute a partnership. Claims, statements,
or endorsements made by awardees are solely those of the individual or organization and do not represent official policies or positions of UN Women.