BNP Paribas asked by UNIFEM (United Nations Development Fund for Women) to sign the CEO Statement of Support for the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEP)
BNP Paribas has been a member of the United Nations Global Compact since 2003. The Compact’s ten principles are embedded in the Group’s policies and guide all operating decisions.
Baudouin Prot, Director and Chief Executive Officer of BNP Paribas, signed the CEO Statement of Support for the Women’s Empowerment Principles on 1 March 2011. The seven WEP principles are:
Principle 1: Establish high-level corporate leadership for gender equality.
Principle 2: Treat all women and men fairly at work – respect and support human rights and nondiscrimination.
Principle 3: Ensure the health, safety and well-being of all women and men workers.
Principle 4: Promote education, training and professional development for women.
Principle 5: Implement enterprise development, supply chain and marketing practices that empower women.
Principle 6: Promote equality through community initiatives and advocacy.
Principle 7: Measure and publicly report on progress to achieve gender equality.
This statement outlines general steps for companies to take to empower women in the workplace.
BNP Paribas joins many other leading businesses that have signed the principles (Total, Deloitte, Accenture, Alcatel, Carlson, Novartis, Heidrick and Struggles, among others).
By signing the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEP), BNP Paribas:
– Confirms its commitment to gender equality on an international scale.
– Joins a community that shares best practices on implementation of the WEP principles.
– Makes a formal commitment to a path of continuous improvement.
Elisabeth Karako, Group Head of Diversity, and Rachael Akohonae, Global Head of Diversity, CIB, represented BNP Paribas at the first meeting of signatory businesses in New York on 9-10 March.
In 2009, BNP Paribas general management made a commitment to have at least 20 percent women in senior management positions by the end of 2012. This target was nearly achieved already by the end of January 2011.
