Cape Town - South African multinational retailer Woolworths Holdings Limited (WHL) has become the first major South African retailer to be a signatory to the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, known as UN Women.
WHL announced the news on International Women’s Day on Tuesday, in celebration of International Women’s Day, developed in partnership with the UN Women and UN Global Compact Office.
The Women Empowerment Principles (WEP) are a set of seven guidelines that offer direction to companies on how to promote gender equality and the empowerment of women in the workplace and in communities, said the company in a statement.
“We are very proud to be a signatory to the WEP. It is particularly significant that this has taken place on International Women’s Day. This day is an opportunity for the global community to acknowledge the tremendous value and importance of gender equality and a world free of bias and discrimination.We believe that as an organisation, we have a profound responsibility to be an agent for positive change, within the workplace and within society at large,” said WHL Group CEO, Roy Bagattini.
The company said that as a group, through its Inclusive Justice Initiative, they are striving to address all forms of discrimination and injustice, driving programmes aimed at building an organisation that is diverse, equitable and inclusive, with a very specific focus on inclusive justice for women.
Woolworths said that by acknowledging that this is a journey of listening and learning, while it doesn't have all the answers, the company is committed to taking actions that will have a positive and enduring impact across its organisation and within communities.
Established in 2010, the WEP are informed by international labour and human rights standards and grounded in the recognition that businesses have a stake in, and a responsibility for, gender equality and women’s empowerment. The WEPs are a framework to guide organisations on the delivery of gender equality dimensions of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.
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