BRINGING DOWN LEGAL
BARRIERS TO WOMEN’S
ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT
Monday, 16 January from 9:30am – 12pm
International Trade Centre
Rue de Montbrillant 54 | 1202 Genève | Switzerland
The UN Global Compact, the International Trade Centre, the East-West Center,
the International Geneva Gender Champions, and UN Women with the support
of partnering organizations invite you to a high-level event on bringing down
legal barriers to women’s economic empowerment.
While there is data to support that closing the gender gap would increase the
GDP of countries around the world and advance sustainable development globally, women continue to face a range of legal barriers to economic empowerment. According to the World Bank’s, Women, Business and the Law 2016, almost
90 percent of 173 countries researched have at least one legal barrier restricting
women’s empowerment. Bringing down these barriers is an economic and business imperative and critical to achieving a range of Sustainable Development
Goals (SDGs), most notably SDG5 and SDG16.
At the event, which is held in follow-up to the recommendations in the report
of the UN Secretary-General’s High-Level Panel on Women’s Economic Empowerment, we will explore opportunities for government, business, and other
stakeholders to work together to advance gender equality and the rule of law.
To facilitate this conversation, we will bring together a unique group of global
business leaders, UN Ambassadors, and heads of business associations, UN
agencies, and civil society organizations.
For more information on the event, including the agenda, partners, and
featured attendees, please click here. All attendees must register in advance for this event. Please use the following link to register today:
https://goo.gl/forms/09kK2Nmiztj4ilzk2
Agenda
Bringing Down Legal Barriers to Women’s Economic Empowerment:
An Economic and Business Imperative
Date and time: 16 January 2017, 9:30 am to 12:00 pm
Location: International Trade Centre, Rue de Montbrillant 54, 1202 Genève, Switzerland
9:30-10:00
Arrival: Coffee and Networking
10:00-10:05
Welcome Remarks
 Michael Møller, Director-General, United Nations Office at Geneva
10:05-10:10
Host & Moderator Introduction
 Arancha González, Executive Director, International Trade Centre
 Amanda Ellis, Special Advisor for International Programs and Partnerships, East-West
Center (EWC) and former Ambassador of New Zealand to the United Nations
10:10-10:20
Opening Panel: Gender Equality, Business and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
 Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Executive Director, UN Women
 Lise Kingo, Executive Director, UN Global Compact
10:20-11:05
Identifying the Barriers
 Augusto Lopez-Claros, Director, Global Indicators Group, Development Economics,
The World Bank Group
 Simona Scarpaleggia, CEO, IKEA Switzerland and Co-Chair, UN High Level Panel on
Women’s Economic Empowerment
 Linda Kromjong, Secretary-General, International Organization of Employers
11:05-11:50
Business Leader Panel: Defining the Opportunity
 Sheila Penrose, Chairman of the Board, JLL
 Paul Rawlinson, Chairman of the Executive Committee, Baker & McKenzie
 Inez Murray, CEO, Global Banking Alliance for Women
 Monique Villa, CEO, Thomson Reuters Foundation
11:50-12:00
Closing Panel: Building Partnerships
 Hanna Birna Kristjánsdóttir, Chair of the Executive Board, Women in Parliaments
Global Forum
 Ambassador Pamela K. Hamamoto, Permanent Representative of the United States
to the United Nations and other international organizations in Geneva &
International Geneva Gender Champion
Supporting Partners
Global Compact
Network Switzerland