UN Women launches private sector advisory council

A group picture of members of United Nations Women private sector advisory council. Photo by: U.N. Women

U.N. Women is tapping private sector leaders to advise the agency and provide expertise to better tackle challenges facing women and girls.

This week U.N. Women, the United Nations organization dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women, announced that it has created a private sector leadership advisory council.

“This Council’s focus is to accelerate economic and social progress for women and girls worldwide by combining our expertise, reach and resources for greater results,” Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, executive director of U.N. Women, said in a statement.

The council has 10 founding corporate members and will focus on women’s economic empowerment, ending violence against women and the funding for U.N. Women.

The council members were invited and represent companies that have a global footprint and have shown a strong commitment to supporting women and girls. The plan is to eventually expand the council to include a broader range of company size and region, and to bring on more female members.

The members are: Jean-Paul Agon, chairman and CEO, L’Oréal; Dominic Barton, CEO, McKinsey & Company; Lloyd Blankfein, chairman and CEO, Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.; Maureen Chiquet, global CEO, Chanel; Mark Cutifani, CEO, Anglo American plc; Rick Goings, chairman and CEO, Tupperware Brands Corporation; Christopher Graves, global CEO, Ogilvy Public Relations; Sally Kennedy, CEO, Publicis Dallas; Muhtar Kent, chairman and CEO, The Coca-Cola Company; and Paul Polman, CEO, Unilever.

Published in partnership with U.N. Women as the global development community revisits the Commission on the Status of Women 20 years after its inception. Beijing+20 is expected to take place in March 2015.

Join Devex, the largest online community for international development, to network with peers, discover talent and forge new partnerships — it’s free. Then sign up for the Devex Impact newsletter to receive cutting-edge news and analysis every month on the intersection of business and development.