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*Translations are unofficial and provided by Google translate
UN Women 2022 Asia-Pacific WEPs Awards:
Meet the Regional Winners
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We are excited to announce the Regional winners of the UN Women 2022 Asia-Pacific WEPs Awards!
Big congratulations to all the winners who have committed themselves to advancing gender equality and women's economic empowerment. These gender champions from different countries, sectors, and fields are acknowledged respectively for their outstanding Leadership Commitment, Youth Leadership, Gender-inclusive Workplace, Gender-responsive Marketplace, Community and Industry Engagement, and Transparency & Reporting.
*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 WeEmpowerAsia 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.
Winners
Fujitsu Global Delivery Center, Philippines.
Fujitsu Global Delivery Philippines’ D,E& I pillar aims to attract diverse talent, and ensures that there are equal opportunities for everyone, with leaders modeling inclusive behavior. A key part of this is reporting, including measuring and analyzing gender data to foster an inclusive workplace culture.
Fujitsu GDC Philippines is a responsible business focusing in the area of technology and is committed to implementing policies that support women – be it with their employees, suppliers, stakeholders or communities – ensuring that efforts are measured, reported, and aligned to significant target areas.
Fujitsu GDC Philippines is a responsible business focusing in the area of technology and is committed to implementing policies that support women – be it with their employees, suppliers, stakeholders or communities – ensuring that efforts are measured, reported, and aligned to significant target areas.
Roshni Ravindranathan, Biocon Limited and Biocon Biologics.
Roshni Ravindranathan conceived of the strategies, operations and drove forward Biowin initiative for advancing job opportunities, workplace safety, work-life balance and career development for women. The Biowin platform offers meaningful ways in which women at Biocon can build rewarding careers in science and business.
She established Biocon women network chapter leads, back to work & people with disabilities ERG’s which were composed of and led by women employee creating leadership opportunities for women. Some of the actions implemented include- gender sensitization programmes for employees, creating Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), where like-minded colleagues could connect and bond, working closely with senior management to make Biocon a better place to work for women professionals, especially those returning from career breaks and people who are differently abled
Roshini aims to increase the gender diversity in leadership to 50% women (currently placed at 23%) by 2030.
She established Biocon women network chapter leads, back to work & people with disabilities ERG’s which were composed of and led by women employee creating leadership opportunities for women. Some of the actions implemented include- gender sensitization programmes for employees, creating Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), where like-minded colleagues could connect and bond, working closely with senior management to make Biocon a better place to work for women professionals, especially those returning from career breaks and people who are differently abled
Roshini aims to increase the gender diversity in leadership to 50% women (currently placed at 23%) by 2030.
PT. SRC Indonesia Sembilan (Gender-Inclusive Workplace)
Jazz Pakistan
In the context of Pakistan, where women are underrepresented in the labor force and the telecommunications industry, Jazz recognized and addressed these challenges by launching its DE&I Strategy “Power to Be You.” This aimed to increase women’s representation in leadership, empower women in the workplace and provide more career development growth opportunities to women.
The DE&I strategy has been able to succeed by applying a three-pronged approach: 1) Intentional Inclusive Hiring Practices ensure an unbiased recruitment process to include at least one male and one female at each step of the recruitment and eliminate any potential gender bias 2) Gender Intelligence Training & Internal Communication is implemented to raise awareness on the importance of gender equality 3) The ‘Development Programs for Women’ incorporated three learning interventions to empower women with leadership and technical skills.
Through these programmes, Jazz has successfully reached 31% women representation in executive leadership and decreased the female turnover rate by 14.3%. Moving forward, Jazz is targeting to reach 50% female hiring for all positions.
Sekisui House, Ltd.
Despite the Japanese governments extension of paternity leave provision, the extremely low rate of men taking paternity leave motivated Sekisui House to test an initiative requiring all eligible male employees with children under the age of three to take at least one month of paternity leave.
To shift the mindset of male employees from ‘to take or not to take’ to ‘how to take’, Sekisui House promulgated several measures. In order to maintain a 100% take-up rate of at least one-month paternity leave, the paternity leave is fully paid in the first month and will not affect bonuses, retirement allowance calculations, salaries and promotions. Paternity Leave Forums were held to raise awareness on the benefits of taking paternity leave and to change the ingrained perceptions of traditional gender roles.
From the start of the full-scale operation of the system in February 2019 to May 2022, all 1,319 male employees whose children reached their third birthday took at least one month of paternity leave, maintaining a 100% take-up rate. In a post-acquisition survey, 98.4% of male employees and 97.8% of their partners gave positive feedback on the system. Sekisui House is determined to maintain the 100% take-up rate and will hold Paternity Leave Forums annually.
Ibu Emma Sri Martini, PT. Pertamina (Persero) Indonesia
Coming soon
Unilever Thai Trading Limited
Coming soon
1st Runners Up
PT. Amartha Mikro Fintek, Indonesia.
Coming Soon
Unilever Vietnam International Company Limited.
‘Sunlight’, an initiative by Unilever Vietnam and Vietnam Women’s Union, initiated the "Women Do Business" programme to advance women economic empowerment in Viet Nam by inspiring and enabling their women to follow their entrepreneurial dreams through business knowledge sessions, skills education and financial support. By 2025, the program aims to enable 1 million Vietnamese women to follow entrepreneurship, contributing towards the gender equality in Viet Nam.
Since it was established in 2020, the program has been re-developed year on year to scale up and include more women across Viet Nam through the support of various partnerships and organizations that share the same mission, to create a strong support system for women entrepreneurs.
Their partnership with Vietnam Women's Union delivered offline training courses locally with trainers specialising in supporting women start-ups. Through these classes, women, especially in rural areas, are equipped with the knowledge and skills required to create small businessess such as setting up grocery stores, restaurants, tailor shops and more, in a way that best suits their practical needs.
Since it was established in 2020, the program has been re-developed year on year to scale up and include more women across Viet Nam through the support of various partnerships and organizations that share the same mission, to create a strong support system for women entrepreneurs.
Their partnership with Vietnam Women's Union delivered offline training courses locally with trainers specialising in supporting women start-ups. Through these classes, women, especially in rural areas, are equipped with the knowledge and skills required to create small businessess such as setting up grocery stores, restaurants, tailor shops and more, in a way that best suits their practical needs.
Nishat Mills Limited (Apparel Division).
Due to entrenched perceptions of traditional gender roles and stereotypes in Pakistan, Nishat Mills Limited (Apparel Division) was faced with problems attracting and retaining female talent in the workforce. Ms. Wajeeha Khalid, Business Head of Nishat Mills, implemented various strategic actions and activities to address the issue.
Wajeeha set up campaigns in the villages to change people’s mindsets on respecting women’s choice to work in safe factories like Nishat Mills. To provide these female workers with financial security, Ms. Khalid brought Muslim Commercial Bank on board to open bank accounts for women employees and guided them to better utilize their income and savings. Women are also engaged in training to strengthen their skills and are provided with free and safe transport. The Personal Advancement & Career Enhancement (P.A.C.E.) program Nishat Apparel started with the collaboration of its customer GAP in 2018 provided supervisory skill training and has more than 200 female graduates.
The strategic actions Ms. Wajeeha Khalid took have brought fruitful results for Nishat Apparel: the ratio of women to men was increased to 6%, the percentage of women was raised to 13%, and the retention rate of women has remained 46.44% over the past year.
Wajeeha set up campaigns in the villages to change people’s mindsets on respecting women’s choice to work in safe factories like Nishat Mills. To provide these female workers with financial security, Ms. Khalid brought Muslim Commercial Bank on board to open bank accounts for women employees and guided them to better utilize their income and savings. Women are also engaged in training to strengthen their skills and are provided with free and safe transport. The Personal Advancement & Career Enhancement (P.A.C.E.) program Nishat Apparel started with the collaboration of its customer GAP in 2018 provided supervisory skill training and has more than 200 female graduates.
The strategic actions Ms. Wajeeha Khalid took have brought fruitful results for Nishat Apparel: the ratio of women to men was increased to 6%, the percentage of women was raised to 13%, and the retention rate of women has remained 46.44% over the past year.
PT. AMAAN Indonesia.
Coming Soon
St Barbara, Australia.
As a gold mining company, St Barbara situates in an industry that faces significant gender pay gaps and underrepresentation of women in the workplace and in leadership roles. In order to attract and retain the best talent and increase the representation of women in the mining industry, St Barbara took several actions.
The company tasked their Board to set targets and review the company’s progress on all diversity objectives. Recognised every year since 2014 as an Australian Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) Employer of Choice for Gender Equality and the only mining company in Australia with this citation, St Barbara was listed in the Bloomberg Gender Equality Index in 2020 and scored 100% for their Disclosure Score. The company sets, monitors, reviews and reports diversity objectives regularly, which includes monthly data analysis of the Group’s representation of women in leadership and pay equity. St Barbara designed programs for all levels of leadership to ensure women have the opportunity of career development and progression; the company also provides parental leave with no eligibility criteria. In their PNG and ….operations, St Barbara also conducted Gender Safety Audits to identify factors impacting the safety of women in the workplace; raise awareness of gender-based risks; and ensure the safety of women working in a remote mining site environment.
St Barbara will continue to stay transparent with internal and external reporting on gender statistics to identify opportunities for improvement.
As a gold mining company, St Barbara situates in an industry that faces significant gender pay gaps and underrepresentation of women in the workplace and in leadership roles. In order to attract and retain the best talent and increase the representation of women in the mining industry, St Barbara took several actions.
The company tasked their Board to set targets and review the company’s progress on all diversity objectives. Recognised every year since 2014 as an Australian Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) Employer of Choice for Gender Equality and the only mining company in Australia with this citation, St Barbara was listed in the Bloomberg Gender Equality Index in 2020 and scored 100% for their Disclosure Score. The company sets, monitors, reviews and reports diversity objectives regularly, which includes monthly data analysis of the Group’s representation of women in leadership and pay equity. St Barbara designed programs for all levels of leadership to ensure women have the opportunity of career development and progression; the company also provides parental leave with no eligibility criteria. In their PNG and….operations, St Barbara also conducted Gender Safety Audits to identify factors impacting the safety of women in the workplace; raise awareness of gender-based risks; and ensure the safety of women working in a remote mining site environment.
St Barbara will continue to stay transparent with internal and external reporting on gender statistics to identify opportunities for improvement.
The company tasked their Board to set targets and review the company’s progress on all diversity objectives. Recognised every year since 2014 as an Australian Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) Employer of Choice for Gender Equality and the only mining company in Australia with this citation, St Barbara was listed in the Bloomberg Gender Equality Index in 2020 and scored 100% for their Disclosure Score. The company sets, monitors, reviews and reports diversity objectives regularly, which includes monthly data analysis of the Group’s representation of women in leadership and pay equity. St Barbara designed programs for all levels of leadership to ensure women have the opportunity of career development and progression; the company also provides parental leave with no eligibility criteria. In their PNG and ….operations, St Barbara also conducted Gender Safety Audits to identify factors impacting the safety of women in the workplace; raise awareness of gender-based risks; and ensure the safety of women working in a remote mining site environment.
St Barbara will continue to stay transparent with internal and external reporting on gender statistics to identify opportunities for improvement.
As a gold mining company, St Barbara situates in an industry that faces significant gender pay gaps and underrepresentation of women in the workplace and in leadership roles. In order to attract and retain the best talent and increase the representation of women in the mining industry, St Barbara took several actions.
The company tasked their Board to set targets and review the company’s progress on all diversity objectives. Recognised every year since 2014 as an Australian Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) Employer of Choice for Gender Equality and the only mining company in Australia with this citation, St Barbara was listed in the Bloomberg Gender Equality Index in 2020 and scored 100% for their Disclosure Score. The company sets, monitors, reviews and reports diversity objectives regularly, which includes monthly data analysis of the Group’s representation of women in leadership and pay equity. St Barbara designed programs for all levels of leadership to ensure women have the opportunity of career development and progression; the company also provides parental leave with no eligibility criteria. In their PNG and….operations, St Barbara also conducted Gender Safety Audits to identify factors impacting the safety of women in the workplace; raise awareness of gender-based risks; and ensure the safety of women working in a remote mining site environment.
St Barbara will continue to stay transparent with internal and external reporting on gender statistics to identify opportunities for improvement.
Sharon Vaswani, PanOpthalmics Enterprise.
Sharon Vaswani is the founder and CEO of Panophthalmics Enterprise, a platform for eye care practitioners both in private clinics and hospitals in the Philippines to source their ophthalmic needs. Through the Tech2Transform programme, Panopthalmics has contributed to the development of 27 women-led MSMEs. The Tech2Transform Digital Series was a 5–month long series of lectures that addressed gender inequalities in the STEM field and empowered women-led business to make use of tools in gathering data, marketing and finance. Sharon offers mentorship and training through the Women Strong Network, a consortium of over 120 women-led MSMEs. The program will have another run this year (2023) and plans to reach out to more women.
ONOW (Gender-Inclusive Marketplace)
The rapid demographic transition in Myanmar has displaced millions of migrants, mostly young women, to flee from conflicts and work in dangerous factories. ONOW is determined to empower these young women through an incubation program and improve their lives that are exacerbated by COVID-19 and political crisis.
ONOW casts a wide net to reach as many interested women as possible and delivers digital services and individualized support to lay the foundation for Foundational Skills development, Business and Livelihoods training, Social Support, and Onward Support Services.
This incubation program reached hundreds of women from underserved communities. Out of which, 170 women started using digital financial services, 63 women built a business model, 56 women joined peer group sessions, 38 women referred to service providers, 958 women accessed digital training tools, 346 women coached. Of 958 women who accessed the digital tools, 518 accessed the Foundational Skills training, and 490 accessed the Business and Livelihoods training.
2nd Runners Up