BPW International

1. BPW International Freda Miriklis, 2nd Vice President Chair UN Committee Status of Women

2. Women and poverty Education and training of women Women and health Violence against women Women and armed conflict Women and the economy Women in power and decision-making Institutional mechanisms for the advancement of women Human rights of women Women and the media Women and the environment The girl child Beijing Platform for Action BPW International Freda Miriklis, 2nd Vice President Chair UN Committee Status of Women

3. How do we focus our UN advocacy on issues of relevance to business and professional women? How do we empower women to change how business is conducted? The Women’s Empowerment Principles – (WEPs) The UN Global Compact introduced in 2000 Calvert Women’s Principles developed in 2004 but not implemented Partnership between UNIFEM and Global Compact develops WEPs through multi-stakeholder consultation; launch March 2010 BPW International finds WEPs highly relevant to BPW’s agenda Linking our UN advocacy to BPW BPW International Freda Miriklis, 2nd Vice President Chair UN Committee Status of Women

4. The WEPs require businesses to: treat all fairly at work – respect and support human rights and non-discrimination secure the health, safety and well-being of all workers promote education, training and professional development for women ensure women's participation in corporate management and governance implement supply chain, enterprise development and marketing policies and practices that empower women promote equality through community initiatives and advocacy measure and publicly report on progress to achieve gender equality Women’s Empowerment Principles BPW International Freda Miriklis, 2nd Vice President Chair UN Committee Status of Women

5. The Women’s Empowerment Principles are a basket that contains many of the issues that BPW clubs are already working on such as: Equal Pay Day Paid maternity leave Violence in the workplace Harnessing emotional intelligence Equal representation in decision-making ................? What other policies is your civil society organisation working on that also belong in the WEPs basket? Women’s Empowerment Principles BPW International Freda Miriklis, 2nd Vice President Chair UN Committee Status of Women

6. Women now drive the world economy* Globally, they control about $20 trillion in annual consumer spending, and that figure could climb as high as $28 trillion in the next five years Total yearly earnings of $13 trillion could reach $18 trillion in the same period In aggregate, women represent a growth market bigger than China and India combined—more than twice as big Harvard Business Review Article *The Female Economy by Michael J.Silverstein and Kate Sayre The Female EconomyHarvard Business Review Article BPW International Freda Miriklis, 2nd Vice President Chair UN Committee Status of Women

7. The US research organisation Catalyst, and McKinsey & Company have delivered the first studies suggesting a link between gender balance and performance The Catalyst Report reveals: Fortune 500 companies with 3 or more women on the Board gain a significant performance advantage over those with the fewest RETURN ON EQUITY: + 73% return on sales + 83% return on equity + 112% return on invested capital *CATALYST REPORT: Linking Performance and Gender Balance on the Board Better Bottom lineMore women in leadership = stronger financial returns BPW International Freda Miriklis, 2nd Vice President Chair UN Committee Status of Women

8. According to Catalyst, the average percentage of board directorships held by women is just: 9.7% in Europe and 15% in the U.S. BPW International Freda Miriklis, 2nd Vice President Chair UN Committee Status of Women

9. It passed legislation in 2003 mandating that public companies address gender imbalance on their boards with the requirement that women hold 40% of the board seats by 2008. Five years later, Norway now boasts unprecedented board representation for women - 44.2% in 2008 Norway is blazing the trail BPW International Freda Miriklis, 2nd Vice President Chair UN Committee Status of Women

10. Sweden has a comparable equality measure already in place. Spain also passed similar legislation in 2007 (Tarzian, 2007). The Spanish government gave companies eight years to increase the gender balance with the goal of 40-60% representation 50% of the government's ministers are women Australia and New Zealand are currently considering gender parity legislation BPW International Freda Miriklis, 2nd Vice President Chair UN Committee Status of Women

11. A nation driven by conflict…. The lower house of parliament in Rwanda is 55% female, the highest in the world Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and other female leaders provide a laboratory for the positive change that is possible when women achieve critical mass in political leadership India convenes it’s first all women’s parliament Women’s political leadership BPW International Freda Miriklis, 2nd Vice President Chair UN Committee Status of Women

12. Convenor, Women's Parliament  Project  Executive Director of Women's Resource and Advocacy Centre, India Vice President, National Alliance of Women (NAWO) Convenor, South Asia Women's Watch (SAWW) Dr Pam Rajput BPW International Freda Miriklis, 2nd Vice President Chair UN Committee Status of Women

13. In her speech on gender on the 6th of January, Hilary Clinton, acknowledged that “women and girls are one of the world’s greatest untapped resources She characterised women as “the most responsible for growing the world’s food, caring for the world’s sick and raising the world’s children” This clearly highlights the enormity of the problem – and the opportunity for real solutions… Secretary of State addresses gender BPW International Freda Miriklis, 2nd Vice President Chair UN Committee Status of Women

14. The Gates Foundation Exxon Mobil Ernst and Young Goldman Sachs The Nike Foundation And many others integrating gender considerations into the collective conversations Reframing the A-Gender BPW International Freda Miriklis, 2nd Vice President Chair UN Committee Status of Women

15. In a bill submitted to the French parliament during December, all companies listed on the Paris stock exchange would have to ensure female employees made up 50% of their board members by 2015. If passed, a gradual implementation of the law would see businesses obliged to have women in 20% of board seats within 18 months, and 40% within four years. A bold plan to impose gender equality BPW International Freda Miriklis, 2nd Vice President Chair UN Committee Status of Women

16. World Economic Forum in Davos Switzerland, considered the Gender Agenda A special televised debate challenged two teams of global business leaders to move beyond good intentions to effective action “Rethink, Redesign, Rebuild and Reframe….” Gender Issues at Davos BPW International Freda Miriklis, 2nd Vice President Chair UN Committee Status of Women

17. Studies consistently show that companies with a high number of female directors and managers exhibit outperformance Greater ‘Gender Diversity’ can reduce the risk inherent in ‘group-think’ and the male tendency towards excessive risk-taking Women are substantially under-represented at boardroom and management level BPW International Freda Miriklis, 2nd Vice President Chair UN Committee Status of Women

18. Australian Government Sex Discrimination Commissioner and Commissioner responsible for Age Discrimination strong advocate for Australia’s national paid parental leave scheme and more recently has championed the changes to the ASX Corporate Governance Principles to increase the number of women at decision making level. Elizabeth Broderick BPW International Freda Miriklis, 2nd Vice President Chair UN Committee Status of Women

19. Warren Buffett said he ‘was privileged to work during a period when it was only necessary to compete against half of the population’ Naissance Capital believes that they can earn higher returns, and fulfil an important social objective, by  investing in companies demonstrating ‘best practices’ with regard to Gender Diversity and By investing in firms which understand the need for greater female representation, and taking an activist stance against those which do not. Women's Leadership Fund BPW International Freda Miriklis, 2nd Vice President Chair UN Committee Status of Women

20. http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?play=1&video=1407973482 BPW International Freda Miriklis, 2nd Vice President Chair UN Committee Status of Women

21. Addressing both the challenges and opportunities associated with the gender gaps will require concerted efforts by governments, businesses and civil society organizations across the world. Best practice exchange, partnerships and collective problem-solving among these groups will be crucial. Future research will be needed to develop a clearer understanding of the policies that are successful and those that are not. BPW International Freda Miriklis, 2nd Vice President Chair UN Committee Status of Women

22. European Commission DG Employment, Social Affairs and Equal opportunities Director for Equality between Men/Women, Action against discrimination, Civil Society Belinda Pyke BPW International Freda Miriklis, 2nd Vice President Chair UN Committee Status of Women