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*Translations are unofficial and provided by Google translate
About the WEPs Awards
The UN Women Asia-Pacific WEPs Awards is the first regional awards initiative that recognizes companies who are taking action for gender equality in the region aligned to the Women’s Empowerment Principles, with the ultimate objective to make good practices visible and encourage more business to take action by joining the WEPs.
The 2024 WEPs Awards is part of the new UN Women program Gender Action Lab (GAL): Innovation and Impact for Gender Equality in Asia-Pacific, powered by the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs), supported by the Government of Australia Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Under GAL, the WEPs Awards will become part of a two-year cycle with the WEPs Awards happening one year followed by a WEPs Forum the next year. The first cycle will begin with the 2024 WEPs Awards and culminate with the 2025 WEPs Forum.
May 2 - July 31
Applications open
September
Shortlisted applications notified by email
October - November
National WEPs Awards Ceremonies in India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam
December
Regional WEPs Awards Ceremony
Key Dates
2024 Categories
In each of the following categories, one Winner, 1st Runner Up and 2nd Runner up will be awarded.
2024 Highlighted Category
Special Recognition
While organizations of any size or sector can be awarded, to recognize the valuable contributions of SMEs to the regional economy, three applicants from SMEs (smaller enterprises (< 200 employees)) across the 5 categories will be awarded as a WEPs Awards SME Champion.
Eligibility
Afghanistan
Australia
Bangladesh
Bhutan
Brunei
Cambodia
China (including Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan)
Cook Islands
Fiji
India
Indonesia
Japan
Kiribati
Laos
Malaysia
Maldives
Mongolia
Myanmar
Nauru
New Zealand
Nepal
Niue
Pakistan
Palau
Philippines
Papua New Guinea
Republic of the Marshall Islands
Samoa
Singapore
Solomon Islands
South Korea
Sri Lanka
Thailand
Timore-Leste
Tokelau
Tonga
Tuvalu
Vanuatu
Vietnam
*The WEPs Awards is a public recognition from UN Women and aligned to UN Women’s corporate standards and due diligence. As such, awards cannot be granted to companies that produce or sell alcohol, tobacco, armaments, adult entertainment and gambling products. The majority of these companies are still eligible to become WEPs signatories, and we encourage all of them to make the commitment and showcase their efforts for gender equality through engagement with the WEPs community.
Selection Process
All applications will be submitted online and assessed through a standardized process that includes verification of supporting documents, due diligence, and judging by an external panel of neutral experts. The judging panel will be composed of external professionals with knowledge of the WEPs and private sector practices that promote gender equality and women’s empowerment. They will act on a voluntary basis and receive detailed guidance for scoring in an effort to maximize consistency and objectivity.
The awards will follow a multi-stage approach with national awards ceremonies in October in China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam (countries in which UN Women has active WEPs programming), followed by a wider Asia-Pacific regional awards ceremony. Winners from the national awards ceremonies will be combined with a shortlist of applications from all other Asia-Pacific countries to form the nominee pool for the Regional Awards in November.
*The UN Women Asia-Pacific WEPs Awards represents recognition of exemplary company efforts for gender equality and is limited to a designated category and a specific location and time period. Awarded organizations, alongside their products and services, receiving awards are not endorsed or affiliated with UN Women or WeEmpowerAsia and being recognized as an Awardee does not constitute a partnership. Claims, statements, or endorsements made by awardees are solely those of the individual or organization and do not represent official policies or positions of UN Women.