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Nestlé Pakistan and UN Women hold Panel Discussion on Gender Equality

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Lahore

Nestlé Pakistan and UN Women held a panel discussion on the topic of “Gender Equality in the Corporate Sector – Challenges and Opportunities for Women”. Nestlé Pakistan, as global signatory to the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEP), has joined hands with UN Women Pakistan to enhance implementation of the WEP within Nestlé and promote gender equality in the corporate sector. The objective of the panel discussion was to raise awareness on the participation of women in the corporate sector, the challenges and opportunities they are facing and identify successful policies and practices for enhancing women’s participation.

“UN Women Pakistan foresees the adoption of the WEP as key to providing guidance to companies on how to empower women in the workplace, marketplace and the community. We welcome Nestlé’s commitment to the WEP and hope that more corporate bodies will join us in this endeavor.” said Sangeeta Thapa, Deputy Representative/OIC of UN Women Pakistan in her opening remarks.

Sue Johnson, Global Head of Gender and Diversity at Nestlé, was one of the key speakers at the event. “Nestlé has been making steady progress in enhancing the participation of women in its work force. It has also offered benefits aimed at ensuring they can strike a balance between their professional and personal lives, without compromising productivity in the work place,” said Sue Johnson. “Nestlé envisions a long and fruitful association in promoting the cause of women in the corporate sector. As a global signatory to the Women’s Empowerment Principles, Nestlé seeks to be recognized as a global steward in terms of women’s empowerment,” she added.

Other panelists included Justice (retd.) Nasira Javaid Iqbal, Mr. Salman Asif, Former Advisor to the United Nations System in Pakistan and Ms. Ambreen Waheed, Advisor of the Responsible Business Initiative. Justice Nasira Javed highlighted legal issues pertaining to the advancement of women in the corporate sector, while Ms. Waheed spoke about women focused CSR initiatives of the corporate sector. Mr. Salman Asif discussed the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEP) in detail.

Nestlé Pakistan, one of the biggest multinational employers in the country with an annual turnover of over PKR 80 billion, believes strongly in promoting gender equality in the workplace. This panel discussion is a reflection of Nestlé’s commitment to women empowerment in Pakistan, where women’s participation in the workforce is limited as evident in the low labor force participation rate which is only 15.5%, compared to almost 50% for men. Empirical evidence regarding women’s participation in the corporate sector is even more limited with almost no research data existing on the subject.

UN Women Pakistan provides technical advice and support to the delivery and implementation of gender equality and women’s empowerment agenda in Pakistan. It works with various stakeholders including the public sector to promote women’s human rights with a special focus on their economic security, political participation and freedom from violence. UN Women is committed to advancing women’s economic empowerment through engagement with business organizations, as it recognizes the significant potential of the private sector and its pivotal role in expanding diversified livelihoods options for women, enhancing their skills as workers, providing them with more managerial opportunities and promoting a decent, harassment-free work environment.

About Nestlé Pakistan
Nestlé Pakistan is the leading NHW Company in Pakistan; meeting and exceeding all the international standards in manufacturing of their products. Nestlé Pakistan believes in creating shared value for the communities in which it operates with the focus being on Nutrition, Water and Rural Development. Nestlé Pakistan works with more than 190,000 farmers for collecting milk and engages in a number of rural development programs for community development.

For further information, please contact:

Aatekah Mir-Khan  
Corporate Media Relations Manager, Nestlé Pakistan  
Phone: 042-35988119   
Email:  [email protected]  


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