Mercy's boss has just let her know that her client's order is about to leave the company's
warehouse. As she picks up the phone to call them, she tells her there's a problem.
"The shipment was damaged by someone on our warehouse team," she says. "There are some
dings, but this shouldn't affect the product's performance. If they complain, we'll blame it on the
trucking company that delivered it to us."

Mercy pauses, feeling uncomfortable. "But didn't our warehouse crew damage the product?" Her
boss shrugs. "Yeah, but the customer doesn't know that. I'll just file a claim now, saying it was
damaged on delivery. Don't worry, the client won't even notice the damage."
Mercy's boss walks out and she sits at her desk, unsure what to do. She knows it's dishonest to
blame the damage on the trucking company. It's also dishonest to deceive her client, and give
them a less than perfect product.
Many of us have to make decisions that define who we are and what we believe in. Most often,
the choices we face may seem insignificant. But this doesn't mean that they're not important to
us: even the smallest action can have an impact on our self-respect, our integrity, and, ultimately,
our reputation.
In a world where headlines are often dominated by women who make the wrong choices, women who
make the right ones can seem to be rare. However, it feels good to live and work with integrity and, when
we become known for this highly valued trait, our lives and our careers can flourish.

.

There are several reasons why integrity is so important.
First, living a life of integrity means that we never have to spend time or energy questioning
ourselves. When we listen to our hearts and do the right thing, life becomes simple. Our life, and
our actions, are open for everyone to see, and we don't have to worry about hiding anything.
When we have integrity, we gain the trust of our leaders, our colleagues and our team. We're
dependable, and, when we hold ourselves accountable for our actions, we become role models
for others to follow.
All of this, in turn, directly impacts our success in life. Women who live and work with integrity
are more likely to be considered for promotions. Why? Because integrity is a hallmark of ethical
leadership. Oorganizations want leaders that they can trust, and when you demonstrate integrity,
you show everyone that you can be trusted.

Corruption is a substantial impediment to sustainable development. Preventing corruption
therefore contributes to reducing inequalities, it strengthens the rule of law, enables investments,
and improves the business environment. The importance of preventing corruption is also
reflected in the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16.5: substantially reduce
corruption and bribery in all their forms. In line with SDG 17, all relevant stakeholders are being
engaged in order to increase integrity.
The links between gender and corruption are increasingly highlighted by both academia and the
international community. Men and women are affected by corruption in different ways and are
objects of different corrupt practices and behaviours as corruption disproportionately hurts the
most vulnerable and marginalized sectors of the population. Thus, WIRI strongly promotes the
implementation of a gender-specific approach in all compliance activities. Women are key actors
in the fight against corruption and need to have a strong voice in the public discourse.

In line with this, in 2019, WIRI established the Working Group ‘Women in Integrity (WIN)’ that
provides a safe platform for female entrepreneurs and professionals to discuss key challenges
related to corruption in day-to-day business. The members of the working group are
representatives of businesswomen's associations, that are committed to promoting business
integrity and raising awareness of the importance of anti-corruption efforts among women.
During the last meeting of the Working Group, the members concretised their strategy to
establish and support the Regional and Sub-regional Advocacy Committees. Part of their
activities will be an online seminar on the successful implementation of an effective compliance
management programme aimed at women-owned SMEs that are members of the business
association.
Starting the meeting, the members discussed the activities that will be carried out in the coming
years, including a survey on the pandemic’s impact on the local economy and the continuing
support for the Regional and Sub-regional Advocacy Committees.
What we do to address corruption
a) WIRI will be conducting business integrity trainings that will be carried out across the
country.
b) WIRI will also develop and promote The Integrity policy that will allow SMEs by
women to self-assess and improve their compliance measures.
c) Organisation of conferences and workshops related to corruption prevention and
compliance
d) Gathering knowledge, carrying out research and distributing the results in a practically
applicable and easily accessible manner
e) Ensuring an increased understanding and awareness of the problems and effects of
corruption on women
f) Enhancing the collaboration between private and public sector by connecting key actors
and fostering exchange between them
g) Establishment of a local network to enhance capacity-building
h) Regular meetings of the women and women’s organizations to address corruption and its
impact on women
i) Support women business associations in their capacity as service providers to their
members, regarding anti-corruption issues
j) Train-the-trainer approach and aassisting women’s organizations with the development of
compliance capacities