Why Gender Inequality In Your Supply Chains Matters – And What You Can Do About It
Gender inequality in global supply chains is not a new issue for the private sector though the ongoing impact of Covid-19 has seen conditions worsen for workers, particularly women who are often found in the most insecure and lowest paid jobs. The most recent Oxfam Behind the Barcodes report, ‘Not In This Together – How supermarkets […]
Transitioning to net zero whilst economically empowering women in supply chains
The climate crisis is accelerating faster and is more severe than previously anticipated – to avoid the destructive consequences of a world warmed by more than 1.5°C, we must decarbonise the global economy to reach net zero by 2050. At the same time COVID -19 and measures to prevent its spread are driving a disproportionate […]
How to respond to gender inequality issues in global supply chains
Jiselle Steele is Private Sector Gender Advisor at Oxfam Business Advisory Service. Oxfam is an international organisation that works to end global poverty and help to build a world less divided by money, race, borders or gender. In this session, Jiselle explains what has been the impact of COVID-19 on inequality and gender gaps in […]
Family Planning is an Essential Healthcare Service and Businesses Must Make It a Priority
Around 218 million women in developing economies are unable to access effective family planning, with potentially devastating impacts on their health and wellbeing, as well as their opportunities for education and employment. This matters now, more than ever: during the COVID-10 pandemic women and girls are living with an increased risk of domestic violence, early […]
Driving social impact for women in the RMG industry in Bangladesh
The ready-made garment (RMG) industry in Bangladesh has been a catalytic engine of economic development and social impact for the last four decades. It contributes 83% share of the country’s total exports[1] and has been a consistent force behind an impressive GDP annual growth of over 6% since 2005[2]. It has also been a driver […]
Gender equality and a human centric approach to the COVID-19 pandemic: Is there a link and is the fashion industry doing enough?
At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, many of the world’s most loved fashion brands were quick to cancel or postpone their orders due to a shortfall in consumer demand. With high-street shoppers in lockdown, companies made dishonourable use of their force majeure contract clause to delay or avoid payments to suppliers; leaving the thousands […]
World Population and Gender Equality in the Post-Covid Era
The pandemic has caused international upheaval in terms of development aid and gender equality. At a time when low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) need more support than ever before, it has been even more challenging to get the needed funding and assistance. Girls and women in LMICs have been the most impacted, facing challenges ranging […]
Survivors of Domestic Violence Need More Than Sick Days; They Need Practical Tools to Break Free
The Problem: Today nearly one in three women and one in seven men experience violence inflicted by an intimate partner during their lifetime.[1] [2] Tragically, the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent stay-at-home orders have fostered a dramatic increase to these already shocking rates of domestic violence across the globe. A variety of factors such as the […]
5 Principles for Powerful Partnerships: Where Profit meets Social Impact
Know your partner AND Your value proposition Secure buy-in at multiple levels: from front-line staff to the boardroom Unite your business & social goals Define roles and responsibilities Adapt to market shifts A catalytic collaboration here in Vietnam is stimulating business growth for women entrepreneurs by challenging misconceptions and improving access to finance, networks and […]
Business Fights Poverty Fortnightly Round Up
Alongside the many incisive contributions made by members of our community at last week’s Business Fights Poverty Global Summit 2021, we are delighted to be able to showcase practical insights and examples of action through our published content. Articles Our recently-published articles explore key trends that require a robust business response; how companies can support decent […]
A Week of Inspiration and Insight at the Business Fights Poverty Global Summit 2021
It was inspiring to witness the extent of our collective energy and expertise at the Business Fights Poverty Global Summit 2021. This five-day event, held from 21-25th June, brought together over 80 speakers with more than 1000 registered participants to celebrate the successes of our members; share insights and lessons learned; and build our resilience. […]
Corporate Philanthropy Reimagined: The Resilience Fund for Women in Global Value Chains
The emerging post-pandemic world demands both reflection and imagination. Changemakers in the private sector should consider this a strategic moment to transform the way business engages with local communities in their global supply chains, and to advance new solutions to the pressing need for gender equality, health, and economic resilience. The UN Foundation’s Universal Access Project, […]
Leveraging the Power of Small Agricultural Businesses to Address Climate Change and Gender Inequity
Globally, women farmers struggle to access land, credit, and training and bear a heavy double burden of farm and household responsibilities. These gender inequalities pose a serious risk to women farmers in the face of climate change. Growing evidence shows that women’s limited access to farm assets, services, and decision-making power makes them more vulnerable […]
VIDEO: How can business harness technology to support women entrepreneurs?
Hashitha Abeywardana is Senior Technical Advisor at Chrysalis, an organisation that helps communities and institutions to embrace diversity and catalyze inclusive growth for women and youth. In this session, Hashitha explained how companies can harness technology to support women entrepreneurs and to address gender based violence. Also, he listed several good examples of initiatives that […]
UK Aid Cuts Jeopardise Sustainable Development and Multi-Stakeholder Partnerships – Girls’ and Women’s Needs are At Risk
In May 1946, the first 20,000 CARE Packages arrived in France. These critical deliveries of basic supplies such as flour, soup, tinned meat and chocolate, helped feed families in post-war Europe. Around 400,000 had? arrived in Britain when we needed them most. Altogether, more than 100 million CARE Packages were packed and shipped to Europe, […]
Unpaid and unrecognised – tools and examples on how business can tackle invisible labour.
At a time of global economic downturn, when record numbers of women have lost their jobs and with more women than ever having to juggle paid work and unpaid care responsibilities, taking action to support these women and recognise their work has never been more urgent. The excessive amount and unequal distribution of this invisible […]
Women entrepreneurs make changing norms the new norm
As we’ve noted before, success in the social sector is usually seen as “scaling out” — as described by Iman Bibars, regional director of Ashoka Arab World. This male-dominated “franchise model” often results in big budgets and large numbers of beneficiaries. But many women take a different, incredibly successful approach: “scaling deep.” “When women adopt a […]
Business Partnerships as a Force for Good
Business Partnerships for Global Goals (BP4GG) is a UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office programme which invests in partnerships with businesses to test and scale shared value initiatives that support achieving the SDGs. Managed by Mott MacDonald, the programme hosts the Vulnerable Supply Chains Facility, a rapid COVID-19 response facility partnering with 20 international agricultural […]
Business Fights Poverty Fortnightly Round-up
Last week, our Rebuild Better Virtual Summit on Gender brought together experts and practitioners from across sectors and continents to ask what business can do to support women, particularly in view of the disastrous impacts of COVID-19 on gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls. Between 9-11 March, we explored three subject areas that […]
A day in CottonConnect’s Women in Cotton programme: Practical training, tangible changes
International Women’s Day is always a day for celebration at CottonConnect, as we recognize the capable women leaders within our own and partner organizations, and renew our focus on improving the lives of women in cotton farming communities. This International Women’s Day, we want to give an insight into a day in our Women in […]