DAVOS, Switzerland – At this year’s World Economic Forum, UNFPA and private sector partners Amref, Bayer, Essity, Ferring, and the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) co-hosted an event celebrating ‘Champions for Reproductive Justice in Business’, recognizing organizations that are stepping up to support sexual and reproductive rights in the workplace by adopting metrics to track progress on social issues.
These global organizations, spanning diverse industries from healthcare to shipping and textiles, are leading the charge in building corporate accountability for women’s reproductive health by taking concrete measures to support menopause, menstrual health, maternity leave, and prevention of gender-based violence for over 300,000 employees.
Local Actions in Peru
It is worth highlighting that, as part of the global partnership between Bayer Pharmaceuticals and UNFPA, a dialogue platform has been established in Peru to foster joint efforts. These initiatives focus on promoting the rights and informed choices of adolescents and youth, mainly through initiatives supporting the use of long-acting reversible contraceptives and other related programmes.
UNFPA Peru remains focused on advancing its strategic engagement with key stakeholders, including private sector companies dedicated to the institutional mission of leaving no one behind and promoting sexual and reproductive rights for all. This approach underscores the importance of fostering alliances to ensure progress in addressing national priorities.
Champions for Reproductive Justice in Business:
Global hygiene and health company Essity is committed to advancing menstrual health as a key metric of workplace well-being and gender equality. Their efforts will include fostering stigma-free environments by raising awareness on women’s health, ensuring access to essential menstrual health resources, and promoting initiatives like Courageous Conversations. Essity will also join UNFPA in advocating for systemic change alongside diverse stakeholders at global platforms such as the World Economic Forum, and the United Nations General Assembly.
As a global leader in women’s healthcare, Bayer provides its employees with a wide range of birth control methods as well as therapies for menopause management and gynecological diseases. The company will scale up its awareness-building activities and provide support for its staff undergoing menopause at a global level. As one example, the company currently runs a ‘Bayer Menopause Cafe’, a safe space created for all employees to have discussions on the topic, discuss its impact on their performance at work, and also how it may affect their relationships with their colleagues.
Swiss-based global pharmaceuticals firm Ferring has a strong history of research and innovation in reproductive medicine and maternal health and has been a UNFPA partner since 2019. The company is committed to striving for industry best practices on women’s health. For example, they offer a minimum of 26 weeks of equal paid parental leave for both birthing and non-birthing parents, and paid time off and financial support to access fertility treatments, surrogacy programmes, adoption, egg freezing, counselling and related services. Ferring commits to reviewing and improving policies for their workforce which impact fertility, antenatal, childbirth, and postnatal care.
Amref Health Africa, a leading international health NGO in Africa, is dedicated to implementing comprehensive sexual and gender-based violence prevention policies, as well as advancing sexual and reproductive health and rights across its operations and programmes.
In line with its long-standing company family-based values, MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) has recently partnered with UNFPA to raise awareness around prevention of gender-based violence and access to family planning services, with pilot training programmes soon to be initiated.
In an effort to advocate for investments in women’s health, Shahi Exports has collaborated with UNFPA to develop the case study "The Health and Economic Benefits of Investing in a Menstrual Health Programme in the Workplace," using UNFPA’s return on investment tool, which demonstrates the financial benefits of expanding menstrual health programmes in the workplace.
UNFPA Executive Director, Dr. Natalia Kanem reiterated the organization’s commitment to continue and enhance collaboration to achieve gender equality, saying, “At UNFPA we are in a unique position to work side-by-side with companies that are the employers, in aggregate, of literally millions of women, to show that there is potential in this win-win approach to ensuring dignity and reproductive rights in the workplace.”
Strengthening Partnerships to Leave No One Behind
UNFPA Peru is committed to strengthening partnerships with private-sector companies to promote sexual and reproductive health and rights nationwide. By fostering collaboration with businesses that share its mission, UNFPA Peru aims to encourage innovative solutions that address the unique needs of adolescents, youth, and vulnerable populations. These partnerships are crucial for leveraging resources and expertise, enabling initiatives that can make a tangible impact on the well-being of communities.
The project led by UNFPA in Condorcanqui, in the Peruvian Amazon, presents a significant opportunity to establish partnerships that empower women’s economic autonomy, promote positive masculinities, and improve access to Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) services, while maintaining efforts to prevent gender-based violence. These collaborations could also address the impacts of climate change and crises, fostering sustainable solutions that support women—who are often the most affected—while driving positive social and environmental outcomes.
The project led by UNFPA in Condorcanqui, located in the Peruvian Amazon and focused on preventing gender-based violence, represents a strategic opportunity to build future partnerships. These partnerships could strengthen women’s economic autonomy, promote positive masculinities, and improve access to sexual and reproductive health services. Furthermore, the efforts associated with the project have the potential to address the consequences of climate change and related crises, fostering sustainable solutions that particularly benefit women—who are often the most affected—while generating positive social and environmental impacts.
In line with global efforts highlighted at the World Economic Forum in Davos, UNFPA Peru seeks to align its work with companies committed to implementing Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) policies, offering a pathway to integrate reproductive health and gender equality into their organizational frameworks. This approach contributes to achieving national goals and positions these companies as leaders in sustainable and inclusive development.
