New York The 4th UN Global Compact Leaders Summit, taking place 19-20 September in New York City is fast approaching! The summit will bring together Chief Executives of the private sector with leaders from civil society, Government and the United Nations to unveil a new global architecture for corporate sustainability. Gender equality and women’s empowerment, which growing evidence shows is a key component of corporate sustainability, will be featured prominently throughout the Summit.

Simultaneously, the annual UN Private Sector Forum convened by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will be held during the opening session of the General Assembly to bring the voice of the private sector to inter-governmental negotiations. This year, the Private Sector Forum is being organized as the high-level luncheon of the UN Global Compact Leaders Summit. The Forum will focus on the role of the private sector in the post-2015 development agenda, with an emphasis on Africa. UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka will attend the event.

At the Global Compact Summit, in addition to the plenary and executive sessions on 20 September, two women’s empowerment-focused side events are being organized on 19th September (details below). UN Women works in partnership with the private sector to advance women’s rights and gender equality, and senior officials Lakshmi Puri and John Hendra, will participate in the events. While the Leaders Summit is an invitation-only event, the side events are open to the public.

Please visit the website (http://www.leaderssummit2013.org/home) for featured attendees, programme and participation information.