According to UN Women 1) not a single country has achieved gender equality, 2) gender has a positive impact on
companies’ bottom-line and improves decision-making, yet 95 percent of Fortune
500 CEOs are men and there remains a pay gap in every country around the world, 3) universities have the ability to strongly influence young people under 30 (who make up 50% of the world's population) by addressing campus sexual violence and changing stigmas and attitudes surrounding gender.
HeForShe has launched the IMPACT 10x10x10 initiative which
aims to engage governments, corporations and universities to motivate momentum
in achieving gender equality and women’s empowerment. The initiative is part of
UN Women’s larger goal of achieving full gender parity and economic
participation by 2030. At the rate things are going now, the UN’s projection
for reaching equality at the current pace of change: 2096.
Photo: UN Women
IMPACT 10x10x10 is a 3-5 year effort to advance and achieve gender equality
and women's empowerment by engaging 10 global leaders in government, corporations and at universities to help motivate momentum and
commit to progress within their own institutions. The 10 companies within each category who will
serve as IMPACT 10X10X10 founding Champions will have the opportunity to lead by example. Each have made gender equality an
institutional priority and will help steer the initiative and mobilize their
communities. HeForShe is partnering with a male executive from each of the ten
companies to serve as a public “champion” for the movement and help drive
change from the top. By demonstrating progress in the 10 companies committed to
equality, the initiative aims to identify the successful approaches used in
these institutions and therefore accelerate change.
10 Corporate IMPACT Champions include:
AccorHotels, Barclays, Koç Holding, McKinsey & Company,
PricewaterhouseCoopers, Schneider Electric, Tupperware Brands, Twitter,
Unilever and Vodafone.
10 Head Of State IMPACT Champions Include:
Finland, Iceland, Republic of Indonesia, Japan, Republic of Malawi, Romania, Rwanda, Sweden
10 University IMPACT Champions include:
Georgetown, Univ Hong Kong, Univ of Leicester, Nagoya, Univ of Oxford, Univ of San Paolo, Sciences PO, Stony Brook, Univ of Waterloo, Univ of Witwatersrand
What He Said
Sébastien Bazin, Chairman & CEO, AccorHotels, said:
“I am strongly convinced that women should be free to
realize their career prospects and given the same opportunities as their male
peers. As the CEO of AccorHotels, I have the capacity and the duty to push
further for real change.”
Jes Staley, CEO, Barclays, said:
“As a leader, husband and father, I believe that enabling
true gender equality is a responsibility we all share. At Barclays, our
partnership with the UN and support for HeForShe are indicative of the strength
of our commitment to ensuring women can contribute fully to society, to
industry and global economies.”
Dominic Barton, Global Managing Director, McKinsey &
Company, said:
“Our commitment to diversity and inclusion is a part of our
firm’s history and daily practice. I see it as the business of executives to
set clear goals and strive to reach them, even though we know it won't be
easy.”
Dennis Nally, Chairman, PWC International Limited, said:
“Part of my personal commitment is to move the needle on
gender equality. HeForShe at PwC will harness the immense power of our network
to promote inclusion and foster greater equality.”
Jean-Pascal Tricoire, CEO, Schneider Electric, said:
“Companies have a key role to play as “change agents” to
build a world where gender equality is a reality. It is a question of
determination. Leading by example and engaging more men in these challenges
will be one of my key priorities.”
Rick Goings, CEO, Tupperware Brands, said:
“Some things just cannot wait. Men must stand up now for
women's equality. Why am I a HeForShe Champion? Not just because I can't wait,
but because I will not wait.”
Adam Bain, COO, Twitter, said:
“Twitter is honoured to partner with HeForShe. I look
forward to the day when both my daughter and my son can enter the workforce in
an environment where women have just as much opportunity as their male
counterparts.”
Paul Polman, CEO, Unilever, said:
“I am personally passionate about the HeForShe initiative,
which is in line with Unilever's ambition to empower 5 million women by 2020. I
will use my voice to encourage sons, husbands, brothers and fathers to pledge
their support and take action.”
Vittorio Colao, CEO, Vodafone said:
“At Vodafone, we are committed to greater gender equality
among our employees. I pledge to continue to drive forward these initiatives
with the support of all our employees aligned to the HeForShe campaign and to
champion our commitments personally.”
Tragically, Mustafa Koç, Chair of Koç Holding and an ardent
supporter of UN Women, died at the age of 55 in the days before the event.
