Gender equality, responsible business conduct and human rights due diligence

This one-week course supports practitioners responsible for or with a demonstrated strong interest in policies and programs related to responsible business conduct and gender equality/women’s economic empowerment. Through a series of lectures, participatory exercises, and self-guided eLearning modules, participants will explore international guidance and frameworks in support of gender equality, learn from good practices, and explore practical tools and approaches to advance gender equality and WEE through responsible business conduct and human rights due diligence. OBJECTIVES By the end of the training, participants will be able to: • Understand the normative frameworks and international guidance to support gender equality and WEE. • Analyze international corporate social responsibility instruments and frameworks through the lens of the international labour standards. • Recognize different yet complementary roles of governments, employers’ and workers’ organizations as well as enterprises in creating more inclusive and equitable workplaces where both women and men can thrive at all levels. • Advise on governmental policies, strategies, and actions to promote gender equality, and WEE. • Identify how and in which ways responsible business practices, including through human rights due diligence, can accelerate the progress of closing gender gaps in the workplace and support women’s entrepreneurship. CONTENT Participants will get a deeper understanding and a chance to interact with peers and specialists from ILO and other international organizations on: • How normative instruments and initiatives on different levels aim to advance gender equality and WEE and how can they guide business operations. These include international labour standards and international frameworks such as the ILO MNE Declaration, the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, and the UN Global Compact. • What actions governments can take to create an enabling environment through regulatory frameworks and policies for gender equality in the world of work. • Best practices in human rights due diligence by companies from different geographical, sectoral, and operational contexts. • How responsible business conduct can advance gender equality and which practical tools and approaches can support enterprises in fostering work-life balance, pay equity, women’s leadership, and preventing and eliminating violence and harassment in the workplace among others. • How to best support women in business and management as well as promote women’s entrepreneurship, including through financial inclusion and gender responsive procurement in the private and public sectors.