AS Watson Supports Gender Equity and Women Empowerment

AS Watson, the world's largest international health and beauty retailer, announced its support to Women's Empowerment Principles, a global movement under UN Women (United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment) dedicated to advancing gender equity and women's empowerment. AS Watson reiterates its commitment to foster an inclusive workplace, marketplace, and community for women.

"At AS Watson, we are dedicated to empowering women to be more beautiful and confident," said Malina Ngai, CEO of AS Watson (Asia & Europe). "With over 80% of our 160 million members and over 70% of our 130,000 colleagues being women, our top priority is to inspire and support every woman to become the best version of themselves."

She also added, "We are also proud to create an inclusive work culture where women are valued and offered equal opportunities for career growth. AS Watson aspires to leverage our scale for good and inspire every woman to radiate beauty from the inside out. We believe in The New Beautiful- a new kind of beauty that exists within everyone."

Resonating with the "Inspire Inclusion" theme of International Women's Day, AS Watson and its 12 retail brands across 28 markets will launch a series of women empowerment activities for both their people and customers. 

Its "Our Time is Now" International Women's Day campaign encourages women to be their true selves. This campaign also highlights activities within the community.

AS Watson's commitment to women's empowerment is demonstrated through its partnership with Operation Smile in the Women in Medicine program, which empowers women in the medical and healthcare fields by providing them with educational opportunities and specialty training for them to become global leaders in medicine, healthcare, and surgery.

This program has successfully trained 30 female plastic surgeons through all-women surgical and educational programs and thousands of smiles will be reconstructed every year. AS Watson is committed to sponsoring a total of 10,000 surgeries by 2030.

In Asia, Watsons will sponsor YWCA's "ChariTea" program in Hong Kong. This event supports women in marital adversity, young mothers, and strengthening elderly services while Watsons Thailand is organizing the "Green Ribbon" campaign, that encourages women to unleash their full potential and donating all proceeds to the Association for the Promotion of the Status of Woman, helping women and children with mental and physical issues. In the Philippines, Watsons is collaborating with Punlaan to offer an Apprenticeship program, which provides young women from vulnerable communities the opportunity to jumpstart their careers as Assistant Pharmacists at Watsons. It aims to support 400 young women this year and helping them with professional growth and development. 

For Europe, Superdrug will feature the health and beauty brands founded by women across its stores and organize a series of programs to empower its female colleagues including photo competitions and podcasts. Drogas will host the Ladies' School event, sharing skincare and makeup tips with female customers to inspire them to lead confident and beautiful lives. The Perfume Shop on the other hand, has inspiration videos for its female colleagues, empowering them to become the best versions of themselves. 

"We believe that empowering women is not only our responsibility but also our passion for creating a world with equality and inclusion, where everyone's uniqueness is recognized and valued. We cannot achieve it alone, so we will continue to advocate women empowerment and encourage more customers, colleagues, and business partners to join us in contributing to a better world."