Page 333 - Ministry of Economy - December 2017

12/26/2017 Startup MGZN – Concrete steps are taken at WEEGS to promote women’s leadership in economic growth, find out how
Gender-responsive procurement of goods and services by increasing the number of

products procured from women-owned and run enterprises, and making it a mainstream 
trade practice instead of an exception, was one of the summits key focus areas, as per the
UN Report’s recommendations. Currently, only 1 percent of goods procured globally fall in

this category.

st
“We learnt a lot about how education in the 21 century offers us limitless possibilities, and
for the rst time it seems like there is a real possibility to make access to education
universal. We connected the dots and identi ed the gaps. We were cautioned about not
being simplistic about how we will use technology to address learning. We had an

opportunity to learn a lot about violence against women, and in the process we oranged
Sharjah. We were able to listen in on the experiences of many leading women in their elds
who have already achieved what they were talking about.

“I want to thank the UAE government and the Emirati leadership who have played a pivotal
role in different ways,” said Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, the Under-Secretary-General and
Executive Director of UN Women.

“We are left with only 13 years before 2030 by which time we should have reached
substantive equality. We are making a case and argument that gender equality is not an
open-ended journey; it has an expiry date. What would the world look like in 2030 if it lived

up to the expectations of the Agenda 2030? Violence against women will not be a norm;
society will not tolerate child marriage or tra cking. Everywhere, we will have mechanisms
to ensure these practices do not thrive. In 2030, we will want to ensure that equal pay is a

norm, and women enjoy greater representation in a diverse set of economic and leadership
roles. Is this too much to ask, or is this rocket science,” she added.

The important role of technology speci cally in addressing women’s entrepreneurship
issues was highlighted, in context of its role in creation and marketing of products,
accessing nance, increasing the reach of companies and enhancing pro tability.

WEEGS raised the bar on the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) by being a platform
where 20 organizations, public and private, demonstrated leadership on gender equality by
adopting of two WEPs each under the ‘WEEGS Pledge’. The summit emphasized that this
initiative was a step towards ensuring that by 2030, businesses around the world will

promote gender equality, and empower women in the workplace, marketplace, and
community as a norm and not an exception. Big international conglomerates like Ernst and
Young, Mubadala Investment Company, Citi, Accenture, and Procter and Gamble (P&G) have

signed up to WEPs at the summit.

Joelle Zilliox, IMEA Purchase Leader at P&G, shared the company’s experience, saying:

“P&G wanted to expand diversity and inclusion beyond the walls of their o ces for a

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