7th World Investment Forum high-level panel on multinational enterprises and women's empowerment
19 October 2021
Excellency,
Distinguished panelists,
Dear participants,
It is my pleasure to welcome you to this high-level panel on multinational enterprises and women's empowerment.
UNCTAD’s innovative work on women empowerment and gender equality is a testimony of our commitment to the global development agenda and to shaping a more inclusive post-pandemic world.
Our 15th ministerial conference has just concluded. The outcome document calls on UNCTAD to continue its efforts on gender equality for sustainable development. The Conference included an inaugural Gender and Development Forum with representatives from governments, the private sector and civil society, academics, activists and entrepreneurs. They urged member states to rethink approaches to achieve the Sustainable Development Agenda.
This year, UNCTAD published a report which examined the gender dimension of one of the key driving forces of globalization – Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) – and the role of multinational enterprises and the private sector for gender equality in developing countries. Let me gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Kingdom of the Netherlands which enabled us to produce this report on “Multinational Enterprises and the International Transmission of Gender Policies and Practices”.
This report is the first to present empirical evidence on the indirect spillover effects to local firms and labour markets. It includes case studies from five countries across Africa, Asia and Latin America. It outlines how governments and other stakeholders can ensure that foreign investment by multinationals translates into real benefits for women.
An important finding of the report is that Multinational enterprises bear the potential to improve gender equality. In addition to the impact on local productivity and income through technological spillovers and direct employment in foreign affiliates, MNEs can influence the host economy by transferring best-practice policies towards female employees.
MNE’s adoption of explicit non-discrimination policies ensuring equality in hiring practices, pay and promotion opportunities across their networks of affiliates is an important starting point for a positive impact. Moreover, MNE’s transparency and the adoption of international reporting standards on measurable social indicators across genders and geographies is key to positive gender outcomes.
However, a clear message from the report is that these positive outcomes are not automatic. Policymakers, both in host and sending countries of FDI, as well as a multitude of stakeholders have a role to play to achieve a more equal outcome. One message we would like to emphasize is the importance of involving the private sector to achieve SDG 5. Creating partnerships with MNEs is particularly effective as they work on large scale, have a worldwide reach and, thereby, have the potential for extensive impact.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Ensuring the inclusion of women’s talents, skills, experience and energies requires the concerted actions of the business sector, policymakers and the civil society. At the global level, despite continuous progress towards an inclusive society and economy, gender discrimination, inequality and poverty are still widespread. We still have a long way to go to achieve SDG 5.
We know that the economic and social effects of the pandemic have fallen disproportionately on women.
First, women are more exposed to vulnerabilities and are more likely to lose their jobs than men because their participation in the labour market is often in the form of temporary and part-time employment. Second, women are often less entitled than men to social protection, as eligibility frequently depends upon formal employment. And, third, women, particularly women with young children, are more likely to take on most additional care work due to the closure of schools and day-care centers, which eventually further reduces their employment rate.
The pandemic risks reversing decades of progress towards gender equality and women’s empowerment.
The challenges posed by COVID-19 and the efforts towards recovery could be used as an opportunity to lay institutional foundations for women empowerment and gender equality. Promoting a sustainable, inclusive and resilient recovery requires addressing gender-based inequalities embedded in social norms and labor markets. This means that macroeconomic policies, including investment, social and labor market policies, should embrace gender-responsive recovery actions and policy tools. In this vein, we also commend the work of UN Women’s Economic Empowerment Principles that seek to promote and demonstrate corporate commitments to gender equality.
We will continue working with partners through our different programs and frameworks to address all aspects through which foreign investment can impact gender equality. In addition to research and technical assistance, UNCTAD will continue convening the multi-stakeholder community to debate the issue, particularly through its quadrennial ministerial conference and the biennial World Investment Forum.
I wish you successful discussions, and look forward to continue expanding UNCTAD’s work and initiatives to "mainstream" gender into trade and investment policies and practices.
