Programme Overview
Gender equality is a fundamental human right and a powerful driver of business success. Companies have both the responsibility and the opportunity to lead in advancing gender equality across their operations, supply chains, and communities.
The Target Gender Equality Accelerator is a high-impact, six-month programme designed for companies participating in the United Nations Global Compact. In collaboration with UN Women, the programme helps businesses translate their gender equality commitments into concrete actions, aligned with best practices and international standards, such as the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs).
This programme supports companies in moving beyond one-off initiatives and building a holistic, sustainable approach to gender equality. Participants engage in performance analysis, capacity-building workshops, peer-to-peer learning, and receive expert guidance to help them advance gender equality across their workplace, supply chains, and communities.
Whether you’re just beginning your gender equality journey or aiming to scale your efforts, the Target Gender Equality Accelerator offers the resources and support to help your company thrive as a leader in gender equality.
What you will learn
- How to identify gender equality priorities across your operations—workplace, community, and supply chains—based on the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs)
- How to set and align measurable targets tailored to your business environment
- How to integrate gender equality into your organization’s policies, strategies, and operations
- How to understand and prepare for emerging EU gender equality legislation and its impact on your business
- How to communicate your gender equality progress through the Communication on Progress, the annual reporting requirement for UN Global Compact participants
What you will gain
- The expertise to navigate evolving gender equality regulations and position your company as a leader in compliance and best practices.
- Knowledge and strategies to build internal buy-in and drive commitment to gender equality across your organization.
- Insights into emerging & under the radar gender equality topics like inclusive leadership and gender pay gap reduction
- Practical tools, and best practice to measure and address gender equality gaps within your organisation
- Access to a network of peers, UN partners, and experts to support your gender equality journey
Who can participate
In order to take part in Target Gender Equality Accelerator, companies are required to be members of the UN Global Compact or willing to join and meet the following criteria:
- Currently engaged with a UN Global Compact Country Network in your region or willing to join
- Able to designate two working-level representatives to engage in sessions and Accelerator activities, with an additional executive-level representative to track programme developments, offer support, and engage in high-level event
- Ready to participate in a self-assessment using the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) tool to uncover gender equality gaps and opportunities across your operations, supply chains, and communities
- Committed to developing an actionable plan to address the gender equality opportunities and risks identified during the self-assessment
- Committed to completing the programme and integrating gender equality learnings into your company’s strategy, operations, and culture
The Learning Experience
The programme will take place virtually with select in-person engagements depending on the country. The programme is complemented by interactive e-learning tools and optional virtual regional and global engagement opportunities. Programme features include:
Capacity Enhancement
Participants benefit from global sessions, offering expert insights, best practices, and interactive Q&A segments on key gender equality topics, and local sessions, providing hands-on support to build fundamentals, review progress, and develop tailored action plans.
Gender Gap Performance Analysis
Through the WEPs Gender Gap Analysis Tool, participants assess their company’s gender equality performance and identify key gaps. Aggregate results are discussed during the programme to provide a broader understanding of trends and opportunities.
Tailored Advice and Action Planning Support
With the guidance of experts, participants develop customized action plans based on their unique needs and results. These plans are designed to drive strategic and impactful progress in their workplaces, supply chains, and communities.
Cross-Learning and Peer Collaboration
The programme fosters peer-to-peer learning and cross-regional engagement through global expert sessions, onboarding webinars, and advocacy opportunities. Participants can share experiences, exchange ideas, and collectively raise the bar for gender equality within their industries.
What past Participants are saying
Paula Antoun
Business Manager,
HOLDAL Group | Lebanon
〝 Engaging with TGE and the WEPs has been truly eye-opening, driving us to review our Employee Value Proposition and SOPs to foster a more inclusive workplace that prioritizes well-being and equal opportunities.〞
Ferize Gümüş
Human Resources Expert,
BEST Transformer | Türkiye
〝Before this program, our company had a strong awareness of these issues, but the program has significantly deepened our understanding and empowered us to take meaningful action.Previously, we lacked a clear plan or priorities for addressing these challenges. Now, we have successfully created a roadmap, identifying key issues and actionable steps to move forward.〞
Iain Haggis
ESG Officer,
Spire Capital | Poland
〝For some time, we have been thinking about addressing the issue of gender imbalance in the Private Equity sector in which we operate. We have taken certain actions to improve the situation, but they turned out to be insufficient due to the lack of a structured approach to the topic. Participating in the TGE workshops allowed us to design an action plan tailored to our needs, and thanks to it, we are confident that we can make real progress.〞
96%
of past Target Gender Equality Accelerator participants would recommend the programme to their peers
One year after programme completion,
99%
of participants report that they have benefited from Target Gender Equality Accelerator
Interested in Participating?
In-Country Track: In-country tracks are facilitated in the local language and local time zone wherever possible. It will feature a series of live and on-demand sessions, hands-on support, workshops, and peer-to-peer networking opportunities.
In addition to the in-country tracks, there will be several regional tracks.
Africa Track: The Africa track will bring together companies from across the continent and offer the same curriculum as the in-country track delivered through a series of global and on-demand sessions. Peer-to-peer sessions will focus on regional best practice and case studies.
Asia Track: The Asia track will bring together companies from across the region and offer the same curriculum as the in-country track delivered through a series of global and on-demand sessions. Peer-to-peer sessions will focus on regional best practice and case studies.
Latin America Track: The Latin America track will bring together companies from the region and offer the same curriculum as the in-country track delivered through a series of global and on-demand sessions. Peer-to-peer sessions will focus on regional best practice and case studies.
Global Track: Facilitated in English, the global track is available for companies that do not have a Country Network running the Target Gender Equality Accelerator. It will offer the same curriculum as the in-country track, and is delivered in English through a series of live and on-demand sessions. Space is limited. Please apply early.
Participating companies of the UN Global Compact based in the countries below have the opportunity to sign up to the in-country track through their Global Compact Country Network. If your company is not located in one of the countries below, you can still apply to the global track.
For any questions, please contact targetgenderequality@unglobalcompact.org
- Argentina
- Austria
- Bangladesh
- Bolivia
- Central America
- Central Asia
- Chile
- China
- COLOMBIA
- Ecuador
- Egypt
- France
- Georgia
- Germany
- Greece
- Guatemala
- Italy
- Jordan
- Kenya
- Mauritius & Indian Ocean Region
- Mexico
- Netherlands
- UK
- USA
- Nigeria
- Pakistan
- Paraguay
- Portugal
- Saudi Arabia Network
- South Africa
- Sri Lanka
- Thailand
- TURKİYE
- Indonesia
- Lebanon
- Poland
- United Arab Emirates
- Uruguay
Timeline
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