Advancing gender equality across the Sustainable Development Goals requires collaboration across issue areas and sectors – including the private sector. The Deliver for Good Business Ally Network is breaking down barriers and fueling effective engagement between civil society partners and leading multi-national companies to accelerate progress for girls and women. Founding members of the Network include:
Since launching in 2016, the Deliver for Good Campaign has grown to more than 400 supporting organizations — largely represented by leading advocates across civil society. We know that gender inequality is complex and cross-sector in nature – which means our solutions must be too. Strengthening the Campaign’s engagement with the private sector through the Business Ally Network demonstrates a clear understanding that:
- Cross-sector partnerships can drive progress forward by bringing people with diverse skill sets, experiences, and resources together to addresses common challenges.
- The private sector is a powerful partner in advancing gender equality, with the ability to leverage a variety of strengths, including corporate expertise, products, voice, financing, ability to innovate, and share and scale solutions.
- Gender equality is everyone’s business, and it can’t be business as usual.
- When equality increases – businesses perform better, economies thrive, communities are healthier – and the world is a better place for all. It benefits all of us – and it will take all of us – to deliver for girls and women.
- The private sector has a vested interest and a significant role to play in advancing women — who represent their employees, producers, suppliers, partners, and community members. Businesses must be creative in their approaches to partnerships to amplify the impact of their efforts toward gender equality.
- To fuel change and unlock the economic gains of development and growth, policies and pledges to invest in girls and women must be backed by sustained resourcing and programming that become practice.
Announced at the Women Deliver 2019 Conference, two long-time private sector, gender equality champions – Merck and P&G – have signed on as founding members of the Business Ally Network. As the Network expands, the Business Ally Network members will work alongside civil society partners to leverage the voice, expertise, and scale of the private sector to contribute to the Campaign’s three strategic pillars.