Women's Empowerment Principles Recognizes Omnilife-Angelissima with 2015 CEO Leadership Award for Advancing Women's Equality

NEW YORK, March 10, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In observance of International Women's Day and the 20th anniversary of the historic UN World Conference on Women in 1995 in Beijing, over 350 leaders from business, civil society, Government and the UN gathered at United Nations Headquarters in New York City for the Women's Empowerment Principles (WEPs) event, Unlimited Potential: Business Partners for Gender Equality.  

Since 2013, each WEPs Annual Event has included the announcement of the WEPs CEO Leadership Awards, saluting five exceptional CEOs for championing gender equality and the 7 WEPs Principles, in particular Principle One, which urges CEOs to lead by example.  Ms. Angélica Fuentes, Chief Executive Officer, Omnilife; Founder, Angelíssima; Founder and Chair, Angélica Fuentes Foundation was awarded one of the five coveted Awards for her demonstrated commitment to and implementation of policies that advance and empower women in the workplace, marketplace and community.  The 2015 Benchmarking for Change Award recognized Ms. Fuentes for implementing a comprehensive action plan with distinct indicators and measurements that result in a 17 percent increase in new women hires from 2007 to 2013.

"The advancement of women's economic empowerment is a shared responsibility. Business leaders play a significant role in transforming the way women are viewed and treated in society," said Angélica Fuentes, CEO of Omnilife and Founder and CEO of Angelíssima.  "It is an honor for me to receive this award on behalf of the thousands of women who work at Omnilife and Angelíssima. They inspire me everyday in countless ways and represent the best of Latin America and beyond."

Conferring the awards in the historic ECOSOC Chamber of the United Nations, Elizabeth Broderick, Sex Discrimination Commission, Australian Human Rights Commission and Chair, WEPs Leadership Group said: "What I've also come to understand vividly is that women's empowerment desperately needs action on the ground and in the halls of power—be it Parliaments, Departments of Justice, at the UN or in the C-Suite offices around the world.   As these five CEOs and their companies demonstrate, the 7 Principles are a unique gender equality roadmap for tangible actions and measurable results." 

The 2015 WEPS Leadership Awards also recognized:  Alexander Wrabetz, Director General, Österreichischer Rundfunk (7 Principles); Frank Vettese, Managing Partner and Chief Executive, Deloitte Canada and Member, Global Executive Committee Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited (Cultural Change for Empowerment); Jean-Pascal Tricoire, Chairman and  Chief Executive Officer, Schneider Electric (Business Case for Action); and Symon Brewis-Weston, Chief Executive Officer, Sovereign Assurance (Community Engagement).

The two-day WEPs event, held as an official side event of the 59^th session of the Commission on the Status of Women, included keynote speeches from UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Hillary Rodham Clinton who urged business and Governments to work together to scale up investment in women and girls. The Women's Empowerment Principles – Equality Means Business – a joint initiative of UN Women and the UN Global Compact – is currently supported by nearly 900 CEOs and outlines seven steps for business to empower women in the workplace, marketplace and community.

About the Women's Empowerment Principles
The Women's Empowerment Principles – Equality Means Business is a joint initiative of UN Women and the UN Global Compact. The Principles outline seven steps for business on how to empower women in the workplace, marketplace and community. The Principles highlight that empowering women to participate fully in economic life across all sectors and throughout all levels of economic activity is essential to build strong economies; establish more stable and just societies; achieve internationally agreed goals for development, sustainability, and human rights; improve quality of life for women, men, families and communities; and propel business' operations and goals. Learn more at www.weprinciples.org. 

About the 2015 WEPs Leadership Awards
The 6th Annual Women's Empowerment Principles meeting inaugurates the WEPs Leadership Award to salute CEO commitment and innovation to realize gender equality. Since 2013, each WEPs Annual Event includes the announcement of the WEPs CEO Leadership Awards saluting five exceptional CEOs for championing gender equality and the 7 WEPs, in particular Principle One, which urges CEOs to lead by example. The WEPs Leadership Awards Committee is comprised of members of the WEPs Leadership Group, a multi-stakeholder volunteer body that provides strategic guidance to the WEPs partnership of the UN Women and the UN Global Compact. It represents business, academia, civil society, women's organizations and international institutions. For complete information about the Awards, winners and Awards Committee, please visit http://weprinciples.org/Site/WepsLeadershipAwards.

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SOURCE Angelica Fuentes Foundation