COVID-19 Could Drive Millions of Women into Poverty, When They are Agents of Recovery
Women working in garment factories have already lost their jobs, often their households’ only income, while the pandemic is exacerbating other families’ food insecurity. For those living in areas of conflict, COVID-19 is exacerbating an already terrible situation. Like an earthquake exposing a fault line, as the pandemic plays out it is exposing deep structural inequalities. […]
Three Promises Lidl Has Made to Protect its Food Workers
But there is another group of frontline food workers doing the same, hidden from view, those who produce the products we are all trying to buy, such as tea, coffee, prawns, fruit and vegetables. Even before Coronavirus, Oxfam research highlighted workers’ vulnerability, earning low wages on insecure contracts, often with poor sick pay and hygiene arrangements. In 2018, we launched the Behind the […]
COVID-19 and the Garment Industry: Protect Workers, Transform the Industry
What is the Impact of COVID-19 on Women in the Garment Industry? Brands and retailers are cancelling orders from their supplier factories and many governments are imposing restrictions on travel and gatherings. As a result, a large number of garment factories are suspending production and either firing or temporarily suspending their workers. Over 1 million […]
How Can Business Respond to the Increase in Domestic Violence During COVID-19?
There is a 30% increase in reported cases in France and a 25% increase in calls to emergency lines in Spain. In the UK, the charity Refuge reported a 700% increase in calls to its web helpline over a 24 hour period. The pandemic is also likely to increase the amount of online harassment and abuse […]
COVID-19: Delivering Critical Information and Behaviour Change at Scale
Endcornavirus.africa and endcornavirus.co.ke are interactive one-stop-shops for COVID-19 prevention and management information in English for users across Africa using WHO guidelines, with the first language localised site in kiswahili for Kenya. Abi Gleek, Our Director of Digital Strategy, will be presenting the sites at the online ICT4D Conference in a session called ICT for COVID-19 Response: […]
Covid-19: ‘We Won’t Get Back to Normal Because Normal was the Problem’
The crisis is set to generate a loss of at least 1.5% or $1 trillion worldwide, which would technically mean a global recession with all major regions affected and a devastating impact on the poorest countries. Plans for recovery are already being discussed, with a focus on the financial stimulus needed to help economies recover. But […]
An Old Movie For Our Times
The first op-ed I ever published, with The Chicago Tribune, applied Albert Camus’ The Plague to corporate scandals in the early 90s. Later I watched the film version of the novel and showed it to several of my ethics classes. Frankly, I had not considered it as something for this series of the Cultural Foundations […]
Coronavirus measures will hit women harder than men, charities warn
Although death rates appear to be slightly higher among men, a study by aid organisations CARE International and International Rescue Committee (IRC) found women were more at risk of suffering domestic violence while quarantined. They were also more likely than men to take on the burden of caring for family members who were sick, and […]
COVID-19 Requires Gender-Equal Responses to Save Economies
Why are women so at risk? Firstly, women are more likely to lose their jobs than men. In many countries, women’s participation in the labour market is often in the form of temporary employment. Across the world, women represent less than 40% of total employment but make up 57% of those working on a part-time […]
Three Priorities for Business on the Coronavirus
On 11th March 2020, the Director-General of the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared novel coronavirus (COVID-19) a pandemic. At time of writing, there are more than 118,000 cases in 114 countries, and 4,291 people have lost their lives. It is likely that many more countries will be affected, with particularly devastating impacts for countries with […]
The Morning Show: How Business and Television Can Help Us See Possible Contributions to Peace
The Morning Show aired its first ten episodes in Fall, 2019 and quickly gained multiple nominations and awards in Hollywood’s award season. The show centers on the kind of morning program popular in the U.S. and elsewhere that features a mix of news, interviews, weather, and special segments, usually including some goofy or cute ones. […]
How to Profitably Serve the Last Mile
High cost of maintaining a single brand distribution network While some of the most profitable companies in the world are working on solutions for the last mile, the costs of maintaining these distribution networks remains a challenge, given the low profit margins. Even when product costs are low, maintaining a network of sales reps to […]
Reflections from the UK-Africa Investment Summit
Last week’s UK-Africa Investment Summit brought together a wealth of businesses, governments and international institutions to showcase and promote the breadth and quality of investment opportunities across Africa. Involving over 800 delegates, 21 African countries, dozens of side events, and hundreds of meetings, the summit meant that 2020 started with a bang. Having invested in […]
Gender Equality is Everyone’s Business: How Can Companies Engage Men as Allies Across the value chain?
Our new report reveals how companies have a unique opportunity to positively influence gender norms at scale by engaging #MenAsAllies to advance gender equality. The global community has only ten years to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goal 5 on gender equality. Yet reports suggest that at current rates, the target is unlikely to be […]
Refugee Food Entrepreneurship: How the Business Community Can Support Sustainable Livelihoods
The global refugee population is at the highest level on record and there is no sign of the crisis abating. The most common private sector response is donations to address immediate humanitarian needs. But, with the average displacement ranging from 10 to 26 years, support is also needed to build sustainable livelihoods for refugees, especially […]
Is Davos Signalling the End of Business as Usual?
From the vast bushfires of Australia to the not-so-snowy mountains of Davos, the impacts of climate change are impossible to ignore. This week, the world is watching the annual World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting to gauge how global leaders will react. Government and business leaders are already responding to the need for concrete action – including UK leadership and commercial giant Microsoft – by […]
Fintech Opens New Opportunities for Private Sector to Support Cash Transfer Aid in Developing Countries
A new global network of blockchain-based community currencies, announced very recently, demonstrates how fintech is creating new ways for public and private sector partners to work together to help the most vulnerable. The two-year project will test, develop and distribute eVouchers, or Community Inclusion Currencies, held in mobile wallets on feature phones in some of […]
Invictus: A Reflection from Kelley School of Business and Indiana University
Like Gandhi, Nelson Mandela’s life has become a rallying cry for justice, equality and peace. His story is well-known; after decades of imprisonment, he becomes the President of South Africa. As he is leaving prison, he realizes that to not forgive means that he will continue to be in prison and so his presidency is […]
Top Stories of 2019
While the social impact and business agenda is shaping up for 2020, we first wanted to share the most popular stories we published in 2019 with you. A huge thank you to the authors featured in this list and to all of you who made contributions. We hope these stories inspire you and welcome your submissions this year*. 10 Seven Key Learnings for Corporate Partnership Leads in […]
10 Trends That Should Be on Your Board’s Radar
Ten things that caught my attention on the topic of business and social impact: 1.Climate change goes social: Global CEOs rank it as the biggest threat to business. But it has taken Greta Thunberg leading six million people to strike for the climate on one day to generate a feeling of real action. The global […]