The UN Women Asia-Pacific WEPs Awards are the first regional awards recognising companies that are advancing gender equality in alignment with the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs). The initiative aims to highlight good practices across the region and encourage more businesses to take action for gender equality by joining the WEPs.
The 2026 Asia-Pacific WEPs Awards are open for applications across six main categories. You can apply for up to two of these categories.
In addition, the Asia-Pacific WEPs Awards will recognise three SME awardees from the overall pool of applicants, and will also be considering three categories of special mentions this year. Special Mentions are not standalone award categories – rather, they recognise applicants from across applications, who demonstrate a particularly strong initiative in any of the given areas.
Beyond the Regional Asia-Pacific WEPs Awards, National WEPs Award processes will be taking place in 9 countries from across the region: Cambodia, China, Indonesia, India, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. Winners of national awards are automatically shortlisted for the Regional WEPs Awards.
Learn more about the categories and award types below.
The 6 main categories include:
- – Leadership Commitment and Action
- – Gender-Inclusive Workplace
- – Gender-responsive Marketplace
- – Inclusive Procurement
- – Community Engagement and Partnerships
- – Tech and AI for Gender Equality
