Global Leaders Pledge Gender Equality Action at WEP APAC Forum

• 2025 UN Women Asia-Pacific WEPs ​‍​‌‍​‍‌Forum witnessed more​‍​‌‍​‍‌ than 200 leaders from 15 different countries.
• The forum was themed on “Business. Innovation. Impact.” Which continued for 2 days.
• These business leaders made a commitment to intensify their efforts for gender equality.

During the closing of the 2025 UN Women Asia-Pacific WEPs ​‍​‌‍​‍‌Forum, over​‍​‌‍​‍‌ 200 business leaders, entrepreneurs, capital market participants and policymakers from 15 countries have pledged to ramp up their collaborative work to implement gender equality initiatives in real actions.

The​‍​‌‍​‍‌ celebration was held on November 18-19 and the central idea was “Business. Innovation. Impact.”. The event was a UN Women initiative and was supported by two significant regional projects on women's economic empowerment funded by the Australian Government's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and implemented by UN Women - the Gender Action Lab and WE RISE Together. Besides that, the event was also financed by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Talent Corporation Malaysia Berhad, a government ​‍​‌‍​‍‌agency.

Australian High Commissioner to Malaysia Danielle Heinecke said in a statement, “The 2025 Asia-Pacific WEPs Forum brought together remarkable leaders and innovators committed to advancing gender equality in the workplace, marketplace and communities. Australia is proud to support the Women’s Empowerment Principles across the region through targeted programmes. Together we are shaping economic systems that work for women - in all their diversity - and the progress showcased at this year’s Forum give us great confidence for what we can achieve together.”

​‍​‌‍​‍‌ The Asia and Pacific region have achieved significant advances in gender equality, and over 3,000 companies in the region have pledged to the Women's Empowerment Principles, which were set up by UN Women and the United Nations Global Compact to provide guidelines for companies to make improvements in the conditions of women workers. However, the participation of women in the labor force is still at a standstill, and gender disparities continue to exist in workplaces, marketplaces, and capital markets. ​‍​‌‍​‍‌