Women’s Empowerment Principles Award launched

At the launching ceremony (Photo: UN Women in Vietnam)

Hanoi (VNA) - UN Women in Vietnam and the Vietnam Women Entrepreneurs’ Council held an online ceremony on May 19 to launch the 2021 Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) Award.

This the second edition of the award, following the first last year.

It aims to recognise companies that are taking action on gender equality aligned to the WEPs and to encourage more companies to take action by joining the WEPs.

Elisa Fernandez Saenz, Country Representative of UN Women in Vietnam, said the award is within the framework of the WeEmpowerAsia programme, a joint effort between UN Women and the EU in a common strategic plan for the 2017-2021 period between the Vietnamese Government and the UN in Vietnam.

The overall aim of the WeEmpowerAsia programme is to enable more women to access job and business opportunities for sustainable development. It is being conducted in middle-income countries in Asia-Pacific, including China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam, and is a set of tools comprising seven principles to support firms in gender equality in the workplace, markets, and communities.

VWEC Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Tuyet Minh said that by joining the award, Vietnamese enterprises will have the chance to connect with well-known partners in the world and improve their prestige.

The award has six categories: Leadership Commitment, Youth Leadership, Gender-inclusive Workplace, Gender-responsive Marketplace, Community and Industry Engagement, and COVID-19 Action.

There will be first, second and third prizes in each category.

The organising board will receive entries from May 31 to July 31 at the website www.asiapacificwepsawards.org.

The award ceremony is scheduled for October in Hanoi./.