On December 12 we hosted an engaging conversation on how business can invest in women to lead the way on the SDGs. We believe that by creating strategies and making investments that support women’s leadership on the SDGs, we’ll not only deliver on SDG 5 (Gender Equality), we’ll advance progress on all of the SDGs more quickly.
In a discussion moderated by GlobeScan CEO Chris Coulter, Gail Klintworth, Business Transformation Director, Business & Sustainable Development Commission, Katja Freiwald, Global Partnerships and Advocacy Director for Women & Livelihoods, Unilever, and Femke de Man, Director, GlobeScan, explored key questions on the barriers and opportunities for women to expand leadership toward the SDGs, and the role for business to promote and support women’s leadership.
In advance of the webinar, we encouraged registrants to review a discussion paper released by our co-presenters from the Business & Sustainable Development Commission. The paper (available here) highlights existing research about women’s leadership styles, which mechanisms help mobilise more women into leadership roles, and compelling case studies from around the world showcasing women who are already driving the sustainable development agenda.
One goal of this webinar was to invite substantive feedback, ideas, and stories of women who are leading on the UN Sustainable Development Goals across regions and sectors to include in a final report, to be released ahead of International Women’s Day 2018. With that in mind, the discussion sought responses to specific questions including, but not limited to:
- What is the evidence that shows more gender-balanced leadership teams are important to unlock the Global Goals ‘prize’?
- What are the barriers preventing women from leading the way toward the SDGs?
- What are the opportunities and drivers that are supporting women’s leadership?
- Which programs and partnerships are supporting women’s leadership toward the SDGs? In what ways are these programs working, and in what ways could they be improved?
- What actions are companies taking to engage women—including employees, business partners and suppliers, civil society partners, policymakers, customers, and others—to advance the SDGs? In what ways are these programs working, and in what ways could they be improved?
- Who are the unsung women who are leading the charge on a range of social, economic and environmental issues?
Via the links below you can explore the full recording, presentation slides, and the reports many of the findings in this webinar were based upon:
