Programme Overview

Target Gender Equality

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Target Gender Equality Accelerator is a nine-month programme offered to companies participating in the United Nations Global Compact, who are looking to set and reach ambitious corporate targets for women’s representation, equal pay and leadership in business.

Through facilitated performance analysis, capacity building workshops, peer-to-peer learning and multi-stakeholder dialogue at country, regional and global levels, companies participating in Target Gender Equality Accelerator have the opportunity to deepen implementation of the Women’s Empowerment Principles and to strengthen their contribution to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Led by the UN Global Compact, this programme aims to support businesses in taking meaningful action towards SDG 5.5, which calls for equal women's representation, participation and leadership in business globally, and SDG 8.5, which aims to achieve equal pay for work of equal value by 2030. Companies will be equipped with the latest data and research supporting the business case for gender equality, gain insights from UN partners and experts on how to accelerate progress on gender equality and develop an action plan for putting their learnings into practice.

Programme Benefits:


  • Unpack the business case for gender equality and understand the benefits of diversity and inclusion
  • Gain the knowledge you need to increase gender equality related legislation and diversity requirements
  • Understand your current gender equality performance through the facilitated use of the Women’s Empowerment Principles Gender Gap Analysis Tool
  • Confidently set ambitious and realistic targets for gender balance, women's leadership and equal pay for work of equal value
  • Engage in accelerated learning opportunities specific to your country context
  • Showcase women in your company who are driving business success, sustainability and contributions to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
  • Demonstrate commitment and action for gender equality to your employees, investors and other stakeholders
  • Build a network of peers, UN partners and experts to support your gender equality strategy and work collectively to tackle persistent barriers to gender equality
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:

  • Committed to learning about corporate target setting and taking actions to advance gender equality at the workplace
  • Willing to appoint two representatives to participate in programme activities and events and an executive-level “ambassador” to follow programme developments, provide support and participate in high-level events
  • Currently engaged with a Global Compact Local Network or willing to join if required by the Network.

Target Gender Equality primarily focuses on private-sector participants. If you are a non-business organization interested in Target Gender Equality, you can contact your Global Compact Local Network to explore potential opportunities to get involved in the initiative.


Information Sessions

To better understand the inner workings of the Accelerator and get answers to any questions you might have, view the recording of our information sessions. Select the session that works best for your language:

English   |    Spanish   |    French


Programme 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:

Onboarding webinar to meet your peers
Performance analysis and aggregate results discussions based on the WEPs Gender Gap Analysis Tool and Policy Development workshops
Three capacity building workshops: Global Expert sessions
  • An Action Planning Guide to support participants to apply learnings within each company’s context
  • Exclusive access to practical toolkits, good practice collections and learning opportunities through the UN Global Compact Academy
  • High-level global events including a ‘Countdown to International Women’s Day’ every February
Advocacy opportunities to jointly raise the bar for gender equality
Watch the video to learn more
What past Participants are saying

Sophie Desvaux de Marigny
Head of Sustainability
ENL CORPORATE SERVICES LIMITED - Mauritius


"The TGE accelerator was a great opportunity to meet other professionals who are committed, like me, to advancing gender equity in the company and in society at large. It provided us with a broad overview of the tools, metrics and inspiration to build a strategy that makes sense for us."
 



Julian Solorzano
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Manager
AVIANCA - Colombia
 


“The participation of women is not only a fundamental right for them, it is also a highly competitive value for companies. The Target Gender Equality Accelerator program gave me the content and tools necessary to build a strategic work plan in favor of gender equality.”
 
 



Andrea Restrepo Guzmán
Human Talent Specialist
SURA Group - Colombia
 


" The knowledge and tools that TGE programme makes available to us are of great value to the extent that they enable a deeper reflection about diversity and inclusion in our companies. These notions, more than a goal, must be a fundamental part of an organizational culture that recognizes and enhances the value of each person from their individuality."



Interested in Participating?

Companies participating in the UN Global Compact and based in the following countries have the opportunity to sign up to Target Gender Equality Accelerator through their Global Compact Local Network.

Francophone Africa Track: The Francophone Africa track will bring together companies from Francophone Africa and deliver the programme in French. Please apply for this option if you're located in a country from Francophone Africa that is not listed above.

Global track: Facilitated in English, the global track will offer the same curriculum content as the in-country track delivered through a series of live and on-demand sessions. This global track will be available in countries where an in-country programme is not available. Space is limited.

For any questions, please contact targetgenderequality@unglobalcompact.org.


The following Local Networks have confirmed their participation in 2024:

  • Argentina
  • Bangladesh
  • Bolivia
  • Central America
  • Chile
  • China
  • Colombia
  • Democratic Republic
    of the Congo
  • Egypt
  • Finland
  • France
  • Georgia
  • Germany
  • Greece
  • Indonesia
  • Italy
  • Jordan
  • Kenya
  • Korea
  • Lebanon
  • Malaysia & Brunei
  • Mexico
  • Morocco
  • Nepal
  • Netherlands
  • Paraguay
  • Peru
  • Poland
  • Portugal
  • Russia
  • Saudi Arabia
  • Serbia
  • Spain
  • Sri Lanka
  • South Africa
  • Sweden
  • Thailand
  • Tunisia
  • Türkiye*
  • United Kingdom
  • Uruguay
  • United States
  • UAE

*contact local network for exact recruitment dates


Timeline

Target Gender Equality

Company registration: 13 March 2024 – 31 May 2024
Registration deadline may vary by country. Please reach out to your Local Network to inquire about registering after 31 May.

Programme begins: June 2024
(Please check exact dates with your Global Compact Local Network)

Programme ends: March 2025

Applications close between May 31st and June 12th, depending on the track.
Get in touch with you country network for more information

Patron Supporters

Target Gender Equality
Target Gender Equality Global Coalition

The Target Gender Equality Global Coalition brings together expert organizations that are committed to advancing women’s business leadership to support the roll out of Target Gender Equality across the globe and help amplify the call for ambitious corporate target setting for women’s representation and leadership in business.

The Target Gender Equality Accelerator was developed with feedback from a global coalition of stakeholders. The coalition brought together expert organizations that are committed to advancing women’s business leadership to support the development and roll out of Target Gender Equality across the globe and to help amplify the call for ambitious corporate target setting for women’s representation and leadership in business.

Join the UN Global Compact

Not a participating company of the UN Global Compact? Fill out this form to learn more about how to join.

If you have further questions, please contact targetgenderequality@unglobalcompact.org.