The Responsible Business 101 (RB101) Webinar Series ended on a high note in May 2018, with the last two (2) webinars on the topics of business integrity and anti-corruption and gender equity in business.

Successfully launched in April 2018, the series began with an introductory first part about the concept of responsible business. The second part was made up of four (4) webinars on key topics related to responsible business in ASEAN, starting on the latter part of April 2018 and ending in May 2018. (Read more about the RB101 webinars conducted in April 2018 here.)

Led by Senior Manager - Advocacy, Research, and Communiction Ms Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao, the Business Integrity and Anti-Corruption webinar was conducted on 3 May 2018.  With the goal of shedding light on the systemic problem of corrupt business practices in ASEAN, the session aimed to create a shared understanding about corruption, the challenges and opportunities of fighting corruption in ASEAN, with a focus on the role of the private sector.

 During the webinar, the participants were asked why they think business integrity is important to their organisation. Most the participants reported that it it is important to reduce business risks, as well as to build trust, confidence, and build competitive advantage.

They were also asked who holds the power to create or to influence a culture of integrity in their organisation. The results show that the board members, CEO, and the managers all have the power, according to the participants.

The last webinar of the series is entitled Gender Equity in Business, and it was conducted on 10 May 2018.  Led by Programme Director Ms Lynda Lim, the webinar aimed to provide an overview of the importance to mainstream gender lens into responsible business policies and practices, to promote gender equity and women's empowerment. The topic is relevant to responsible business due to the current lack of the analysis of issues under the lens of gender and how that impacts business.

A poll conducted during the webinar shows that the participants found the Women's Empowerment Principles (WEP) useful to address gender equality issues in their companies. 

The last two (2) poll showed that a majority of the participants currently have a gender equity/equality policy in place in their companies, and that they think their companies can support women empowerment initiatives better by ensuring fairness in hiring, promotions, and reviews, and by giving employees flexibility to fit their work into their lives.

These results reflect the apparent need to structure work operations with sensitivity to the needs and concerns of all genders.

Given the success of the webinar series, ACN will definitely launch more similar series with other relevant themes, hopefully going deeper into the analyses of more topics of interest. The RB101 series attracted hundreds of participants from all over the world, making clear the demand for more information about responsibles business practices in the region and its related concepts.