It’s a known fact demonstrating leadership on gender equality through the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) proves to be “better for business.” But beyond just the bottom line, empowering women across all sectors and levels of economic activity to reach their full economic potential is essential to alleviate poverty and create lasting social impact.

Those principles are very dear to Amrita University’s AMMACHI Labs  and through extensive research and field work in women empowerment, sustainability and skill training the labs is at the forefront of social impact.  Of the seven WEPs that have been established by the UN Global Compact, Principle 4: “Promote education, training and professional development for women” is very much in alignment with the work AMMACHI Labs does.

Prof. Bhavani presented the research and work  of AMMACHI Labs at the “Women’s Empowerment Principles in Practice” Conference in Delhi as a panelist and speaker . Co-hosted by the United Nations Global Compact and Global Compact Network India and supported by four champion companies, the event  brought together inspiring leaders from business, government, civil society and academia for a unique exchange on the essential role that business can and must play to realize gender equality and achieve sustainable development.

Her panel was titled:  ‘Investing in the Community to Strengthen Development’. Leveraging inclusive community engagement to build locally-driven solutions have been proven to help strengthen the enabling environment for women and girls to flourish. Other panelists included: Jane Schukoske, CEO, S M Sehgal Foundation, Srimathi Shivashankar, Associate Vice President – Diversity and Sustainability, HCL Technologies, Sharron Botica Chief Officer, People & Community, Sovereign Assurance.

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are hot topics right now and AMMACHI Labs has already joined several conversations on sustainable development and women empowerment on global fronts such as the UNAI-START Conference on “Technologies for Sustainable Development” at the UN in New York City. Later this month, AMMACHI Labs will be presenting a paper on India’s first women toilet builders at ‘The International Conference on Sustainable Development’, also in New York City.

In essence, AMMACHI Labs’ one focus of skill development touches on such important areas such as gender equality, health and sanitation, and education. As AMMACHI Labs continues its relentless ground work  in rural villages in India through the WE: Sanitation Campaign, the wealth of research and experience from the field have already become an important resource for global development leaders like the United Nations and the Government of India.

Photos:

[foogallery id=”1707″]