The UK supports women in business and shares its women’s empowerment principles

The British Embassy has carried out a collaboration with UN Women to share its Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEP) in Guatemala.

This was announced under Sunak’s Conservative government for 2022-2024.

The British Embassy and UN Women hosted representatives from leading companies, chambers of commerce and the Guatemalan Ministry of Labour to discuss ways to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment in the workplace and in the community within the framework of the WEPs.

Participants were able to share experiences on business practices that empower women and how to strengthen them. The Government of Guatemala underlined its determination to continue recognizing the fundamental role that women play in the development of a more prosperous and equal country.

The representative of UN Women highlighted the benefits of equality for companies as it brings economic opportunities for them and contributes to the development of countries. The seven principles of the WEPs that were highlighted at the event were:

Establish high levels of corporate leadership for gender equality; Treat all women and men fairly in the workplace and respect and support human rights and non-discrimination; Ensure the health, safety and well-being of all female and male workers; Promote education, training and professional development for women; Implement enterprise development, supply chain and marketing practices that empower women; Promote equality through community engagement and advocacy; Measure and publicly report progress towards achieving gender equality.

With 9,000 companies globally already having established the principles, and 48 in Guatemala, UN Women hopes to continue mentoring more companies on the WEPs, including UK companies operating in Guatemala in sectors such as life sciences, agriculture, renewable energy, fintech and law.

One of the UK Government’s priorities is to improve the lives of women and girls around the world through a Women and Girls Strategy, launched in 2023 and aligned with the WEP. The strategy includes programmes to help women access economic opportunities through business interventions, to increase the competitiveness of women-owned businesses, and education programmes to enable them to build professional relationships and expertise.

British Embassy Charge d’Affaires Paul Huggins said:

“We are pleased to see UK and local businesses learning more about women’s empowerment through WEP. Investing in women and supporting women’s rights drives economic and social development in local communities and is beneficial for businesses around the world.”