Report on the 2025 Asia-Pacific Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) Forum

Forum Details

• Date: November 18-19, 2025
• Location: Hilton Petaling Jaya and Virtual (select sessions)
• Participants: The forum is scheduled to convene 150 participants, including WEPs signatories, SMEs, corporations, regulators, policymakers, and development partners.

Core Objectives and Alignment with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

The primary objective of the 2025 Asia-Pacific WEPs Forum is to transition from gender equality commitments to concrete, collaborative, and accelerated action. The event directly supports the achievement of several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by focusing on the private sector’s role in creating inclusive and resilient economies.

• SDG 5 (Gender Equality): The forum’s central theme is to advance gender equality and empower all women and girls through private sector engagement.
• SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth): By promoting women’s full and equal participation in the labor market, the forum addresses the need for inclusive and sustainable economic growth.
• SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities): The initiatives discussed aim to reduce inequalities within and among countries by tackling systemic barriers faced by women in the economic sphere.
• SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals): The event is a multi-stakeholder platform designed to build strong partnerships between businesses, governments, and civil society to achieve the SDGs.

Context: The Imperative for Action in Asia-Pacific

Regional Challenges and Opportunities for Sustainable Development

The Asia-Pacific region is experiencing significant megatrends, including demographic shifts, digital transformation, and climate change. These transitions present both challenges and opportunities for achieving the SDGs. If not managed strategically, they risk exacerbating existing gender inequalities. However, they also offer a chance to build more resilient and inclusive economies that advance SDG 5 and SDG 13 (Climate Action). The forum will address how to harness these transformations to ensure women’s equal economic participation, a key component of SDG 8.

The Private Sector’s Role in Achieving the SDGs

The private sector is identified as a critical engine for economic progress and a key driver for achieving the SDGs. UN Women engages businesses to leverage their potential for innovation and collaboration, thereby accelerating progress on gender equality. This engagement is crucial for fostering the systemic change needed to realize SDG 5 and SDG 10.

The Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) as a Framework for Action

A Guiding Framework for Corporate Responsibility

The Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs), a joint initiative of UN Women and the UN Global Compact, provide a foundational framework for private sector action on gender equality. The principles guide businesses in promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment across their value chains.

1. Corporate leadership commitment to gender equality.
2. Fair treatment and non-discrimination for all women and men in the workplace.
3. Employee health, well-being, and safety.
4. Education and training for career advancement for women.
5. Enterprise development, supply chain, and marketing practices that empower women.
6. Community initiatives and advocacy for equality.
7. Measurement and public reporting on progress to achieve gender equality.

With over 3,000 signatories in the Asia-Pacific region, the WEPs serve as a practical tool for businesses to contribute to SDG 5 and SDG 8.

Bridging the Commitment-Action Gap

Despite an increase in commitments, a significant gap persists between policy and tangible implementation. The 2025 Forum aims to address this ‘action gap’ by fostering new partnerships and innovative models that can deepen impact and scale systemic change, thereby accelerating the implementation of the SDGs.

Strategic Partnerships for Sustainable Development (SDG 17)

Key Initiatives and Supporting Programs

The forum is organized under the umbrella of several key initiatives that exemplify SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals) in action.

• The UN Women Gender Action Lab (GAL): In partnership with the Australian Government, this platform uses the WEPs to accelerate gender-responsive business conduct and foster innovative solutions, contributing to SDG 5 and SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure).
• WE RISE Together (WRT): Funded by the Mekong–Australia Partnership, this program promotes Gender-Responsive Procurement (GRP) and strengthens women-owned businesses in the Mekong subregion, directly advancing SDG 5 and SDG 8.

Forum Supporters

Additional support is provided by key development and government partners committed to sustainable and inclusive growth.

• Talent Corporation Malaysia Berhad (TalentCorp): A Malaysian government agency that drives talent strategy, aligning with national goals for human capital development and contributing to SDG 8.
• International Finance Corporation (IFC): As a member of the World Bank Group, the IFC focuses on private sector development in emerging markets, supporting projects that align with multiple SDGs, including SDG 5, SDG 8, and SDG 17.

Analysis of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

• SDG 5: Gender Equality

  The entire article is centered on achieving gender equality and empowering women, particularly in the economic sphere. It discusses the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs), which are a direct framework for private sector action on gender equality. The forum’s goal to move “from commitments to concrete collaboration and accelerated action for gender equality” explicitly addresses this goal.

• SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

  The article focuses on women’s ability to “participate equally and fully in the labor market” and the private sector’s role as an “economic engine” for building “inclusive economies.” It highlights the importance of supporting Women-Owned Businesses (WOBs) and Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), which are crucial for sustainable economic growth and decent job creation.

• SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals

  The article exemplifies a multi-stakeholder partnership approach. It describes the WEPs Forum as a collaboration between “WEPs signatories, SMEs, corporates, regulators, stock exchanges, policymakers, industry associations, investors, government agencies and development partners.” Specific partners mentioned include UN Women, UN Global Compact, the Australian Government (DFAT), Talent Corporation Malaysia Berhad, and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), all working together to achieve common goals.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

1. Under SDG 5 (Gender Equality):
   • Target 5.5: “Ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic and public life.” The WEPs, which are central to the article, begin with a principle on high-level corporate leadership and aim to guide action for gender equality across the workplace, marketplace, and community, directly aligning with this target.
   • Target 5.c: “Adopt and strengthen sound policies and enforceable legislation for the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls at all levels.” The article’s call to shift from “commitments to tangible steps to implementation” within the private sector reflects the adoption and strengthening of corporate policies for gender equality, as guided by the WEPs.
2. Under SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth):
   • Target 8.3: “Promote development-oriented policies that support productive activities, decent job creation, entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation, and encourage the formalization and growth of micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises…” The article’s focus on supporting SMEs and the specific mention of strengthening the capacity of “Women-Owned Businesses (WOBs)” through programs like WE RISE Together directly supports this target.
   • Target 8.5: “By 2030, achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all women and men… and equal pay for work of equal value.” The article’s core issue is tackling the challenges that “impact women’s ability to participate equally and fully in the labor market,” which is the foundational goal of this target.
3. Under SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals):
   • Target 17.17: “Encourage and promote effective public, public-private and civil society partnerships, building on the experience and resourcing strategies of partnerships.” The forum itself is a prime example of this target in action, bringing together UN agencies (UN Women), governments (Australian Government, TalentCorp Malaysia), private sector entities (corporates, SMEs, investors), and development institutions (IFC) to accelerate progress on gender equality.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

• Number of WEPs Signatories: The article explicitly states that “more than 11,000 companies have signed the WEPs globally, of which over 3,000 are in Asia-Pacific.” This number serves as a direct indicator of private sector commitment to gender equality principles, measuring the uptake of policies relevant to SDG 5.
• Transparent Reporting of Progress: The article mentions that the WEPs are “underpinned by a strong emphasis on accountability and transparent reporting of progress.” This implies the use of corporate reporting and data collection as an indicator to measure the implementation and impact of gender equality initiatives within companies.
• Promotion of Gender-Responsive Procurement (GRP): The WE RISE Together program promotes GRP. An implied indicator would be the value and volume of procurement contracts awarded to Women-Owned Businesses (WOBs) and Gender-Responsive Enterprises (GREs) by participating companies and governments, which measures economic empowerment under SDG 5 and SDG 8.

4. Create a table with three columns titled ‘SDGs, Targets and Indicators” to present the findings from analyzing the article.

Source: asiapacific.unwomen.org