– commits to Women’s Empowerment Principles to advance gender equality
PROMOTING gender equality and eliminating gender-based violence were the focal points during the recent launch of the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) under the EU-funded Spotlight Initiative in Guyana.

Ms Tonni Brodber, the Representative of the UN Women Multi-Country Office – Caribbean, emphasized the importance of addressing gender-based violence as part of a comprehensive approach to achieve development goals, health outcomes, and economic and social growth.
Highlighting the correlation between gender equality, lower levels of violence, and increased social cohesion, Ms. Brodber stressed that societies with greater gender equality experience fewer instances of violence.

Citing research conducted by UN Women in another Caribbean country, she pointed out that gender-based violence has significant economic costs, leading to output loss in the private sector due to its impact on employee health and performance.
The Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs), established by UN Women and the UN Global Compact in 2010, provide guidance to businesses on promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment in the workplace, marketplace, and community.

At the launch event, 17 private sector companies, who are signatories to the WEPs, announced their commitments to implementing the principles. These commitments include workplace policies supporting domestic violence victims/survivors and the introduction of paternity leave.

The participating companies encouraged more private sector entities in Guyana to endorse and take action on the WEPs.
The launch event also witnessed discussions on the recent tragedy in Mahdia, where 19 children, mostly Indigenous girls aged 12 to 18, lost their lives in a fire. Attendees expressed concern and urged collective efforts to prevent and eliminate violence against women.

Ms. Evelina Melbarzde, Deputy Head of Delegation of the European Union to Guyana, Suriname, and with responsibility for other territories, commended the collaboration between the UN, the government, and various stakeholders in addressing violence against women. She emphasized the importance of preventive measures and creating a safe environment that empower women and fights gender-based violence.
Eight private sector companies in Guyana have already developed Gender Action Plans aligned with the WEPs and are implementing policies that promote gender equality. The launch event showcased two videos highlighting the actions taken by these companies.

By signing the WEPs, these companies have committed to implementing several key principles, including establishing high-level corporate leadership for gender equality, treating all employees fairly and promoting human rights and non-discrimination, ensuring the well-being of workers, promoting education and professional development for women, empowering women through enterprise development and supply-chain practices, driving equality through community initiatives and advocacy, and measuring and publicly reporting progress towards gender equality.

The event was conducted as part of Pillar 3 of the ongoing Spotlight Initiative Project in Guyana, which aims to challenge gender-inequitable social norms, attitudes, and behaviours, and prevent violence against women and girls. The initiative aims to create an inclusive future for men, women, boys, and girls in Guyana.