Life did not stop when the pandemic seized the world. And neither did gender inequality, especially in the workplace, whether it’s at home or in the office.

This 2020, to honor precisely those who pursued exemplary business practices for gender equality despite and amid the COVID-19 threat, UN Women launched the Asia-Pacific WEPs Awards.

WEPs, or Women’s Empowerment Principles, are a set of seven tenets that guide businesses to become more gender-responsive across their value chain. Partnered with WeEmpower Asia, the awards—which are divided in national chapters—encourage businesses to be more visible in their efforts in driving gender equality, inspiring others to do the same, and thus generating global momentum. WeEmpowerAsia is a UN Women program supported by the European Union. Its goal is to push for more inclusive and equitable economies in Asia Pacific and Europe.

For unfailingly continuing to champion opportunities for women, Connected Women was awarded first runner-up in the COVID-19 Action category at the inaugural UN Women WEPs Awards streamed on November 11 on the UN Women Asia Pacific Facebook page.

The social impact startup and community is dedicated to promoting technology-adoption by women and women-led enterprises. It was first launched in Singapore in 2013 and its business model was replicated in the Philippines in 2017. Since its inception, it has trained thousands of women for remote-work prospects, and since the pandemic, it has shifted its focus to upskilling and preparing women towards more tech-led careers, offering free training in skills such as Artificial Intelligence Data Annotation.

Bagging the category’s top prize was AGREA Agricultural Systems International, Inc. while PeoplePods Philippines was named second runner-up.

Empowering women at home

In a press release UN Women Philippines program manager Ma. Rosalyn Mesina said: “With the WEPs Awards, we want to underscore the value of investing in gender mainstreaming in the workplace and the culture of empowerment it builds for both men and women.” According to Mesina, recognizing advocates of inclusion and equality was the best way to celebrate the WEPs’ anniversary. It was also a chance to “introduce [these advocates] as trailblazers to neighboring countries with similar goals.”

All applicants of the Philippine chapter of the WEPs Awards will have an opportunity to win at the larger-scale Regional Asia-Pacific WEPs Awards on December 10.

Gender inequality, according to UN Women, worsened in the context of COVID-19, with working women finding themselves shouldering the domestic load in the current largely work-from-home scheme. “The awards [are] timely because it will also become a platform to highlight and share business policies that alleviate the disproportionate impact of the crisis on women,” Mesina explained.

The COVID-19 Action category, specifically, considered companies that adopted gender-sensitive responses to the economic effects of the pandemic, such as bolstering women-owned SMEs, raising awareness of women-specific needs, and supporting girls and women in general amid the new normal.

***

Connected Women is a social impact tech startup, which offers technology skills development and remote work opportunities to women.

We provide affordable talent for businesses globally while creating an impact for Filipino women and their families.

Connected Women is proud to be recognised for creating meaningful progress towards achieving the sustainable development goals: Finalist – MIT Inclusive Innovation Challenge (ASIA), Finalist – RSA Future Work Awards (UK), Champion for e-Employment – WSIS (Geneva), Finalist – COVID-19 Action, UN Women, WEPs Awards (Philippines).

To partner with Connected Women on our initiatives, contact us at:
[email protected] or visit www.connectedwomen.com