UN Global Compact

Women in the Democratic Republic of the Congo are being supported by the United Nations to begin small businesses such as tailoring (file photo).
UNDP DRC

Gender equality means business, Secretary-General tells corporate leaders

16 March 2021
Women

The UN Secretary-General has urged corporate leaders to achieve gender equality, highlighting the benefits for the private sector and society at large. 

A worker at a vertical farm in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (edit)
Courtesy of VFarm

Business sector still far from reaching sustainability goals, UN report shows, 20 years on from landmark summit

4 July 2020
Economic Development

A new UN report on tbe private sector, released by UN Global Compact, shows that progress on bringing about a sustainable future for people and the planet is patchy, and the majority of companies involved in the Compact, are not doing enough to help bring about the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

A time-lapsed scene of a busy street at night in Bangkok, Thailand.
Unsplash/Dan Freeman

What does ‘build back better’ really mean? One of the world’s top CEOs give us his take

11 June 2020
Economic Development

UN chief António Guterres, has warned of an “unparalleled economic shock”, as a result of the COVID-19 crisis. So, going forward, can the private sector “build back better” to reorder the post-pandemic world, or, might the UN’s vision of a sustainable future be relegated to a low-priority aspiration? We put these questions to the CEO of one of the world’s largest conglomerates, who is working with the Organization, towards a better future.

Lise Kingo, CEO and Executive Director, UN Global Compact, speaking at CEO roundtable on resistance and backlash to gender equality.
UN Global Compact/Chae Khin for Joel Sheakoski Photography

Despite progress, companies face gender equality ‘backlash’: UN business body

18 March 2019
Women

Although the drive to reach gender equality has picked up speed, and diversity initiatives have been put into place in companies and organizations, a significant level of resistance and backlash remains, according to a leading UN business group.

Professor Amivi Kafui Tete-Benissan (left) teaches cell biology and biochemistry at the University of Lomé, Togo. She's also a vocal activist who encourages girls to pursue science as a career path.
World Bank/Stephan Gladieu

Without ‘transformative shifts,’ women will wait two centuries for gender equality

27 February 2019
Women

“I think it's almost a joke that it will take the world so long to create women empowerment, particularly as we know that there’s an economic upside in empowering women in the range of $28 trillion.”