Gender Equality: It's Your Business

Gender equality gives businesses the opportunity to hire from a wider pool of talent, gain greater insights into consumers’ needs, and improve the security and quality of supply. Is your business taking it seriously?

Enlightened businesses are realising that enabling women’s full potential delivers returns. For business, equal treatment of women and men means access to the most talented pool of workers, a more balanced and talented board, greater appeal to the consumer base, an enhanced corporate reputation, and even a more stable supply of basic commodities.

This Briefing for Business is intended for senior managers in global and national companies, especially those retailing and producing food and fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), and which source goods or labour in developing countries. Although many companies already do much to protect human rights in their operations and value chains, there is more that they can and must do.

The resource concentrates on gender equality and the responsibilities of business to uphold and promote it, in recognition that business can have a positive impact on the lives and status of women as well as men, while enhancing companies’ own productivity and reputation.