Thrust on women\\\'s empowerment in corporate sector

A support group for women was launched Wednesday aiming to facilitate positioning the country's women in workplace, family and society.
The Women in Need Group (WIN Group) was announced at a ceremony held at a city hotel, where United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) initiative-Women's Empowerment Principles (WEPs)-was also launched.
Jatiya Sangsad Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury was the chief guest at the function, which was attended, among others, by Professor Dr Mehtab Khanam, Tulsi Byrne of UNGC New York, Green Delta Insurance Company Ltd managing director and CEO Farzana Chowdhury, USAID public affairs officer Anne McConnell, executive director of the campaign for popular education (CAME) Rasheda K. Chowdhury, CEO of CSR Centre Shahamin S. Zaman and managing director of Square Toiletries Ltd Anjan Chowdhury.
Green Delta Insurance CEO Farzana Chowdhury was made president of the WIN Group while Ms Shahamin S. Zaman its vice president.
The group will mainly work to create a platform for the women in a pragmatic and more holistic manner, speakers said.
The newly launched WEP is an UNGC-led effort to empower women in the workplace, marketplace and overall society through seven core principles, they said, adding that the UNGC Bangladesh Network led by the CSR Centre is putting those efforts into action here.
A booklet titled 'Women in Need Directory', the first of its kind in the country, was also unveiled at the event. At the directory, the women will get information on their safety, security, legal rights and empowerment.
The ceremony was arranged by the CSR Centre in support of Square Group.
Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury laid stress on creating right opportunities for the women and building their capacity to grab those opportunities.
For maximum outcome from the WEPs, she called for working for the women in a comprehensive approach and linking up the WEPs with the national women development policy.
The speaker also urged the women rights activists to reach the ultra poor and marginalized women in the country besides discussing the issues among themselves.
Some other speakers highlighted the present scenario of the women's empowerment in different strata of the society including the corporate sector.
Identifying the women's representation in many areas including the corporate sector 'poor', they underlined on valuing and treating both the women and men equally.
They, however, said that the women's representations are there in almost all sectors and professions of the country. The women are moving forward, they added.
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