Integrating gender equity into socially sustainable sourcing strategies, standards and certifications, and even supplier codes of conduct is an often overlooked but critical component in creating more resilient and inclusive supply chains.
This is particularly important in agriculture, where both male and female farmers and workers play vital roles in on-farm management, yet women’s contributions are frequently undervalued and unrecognized. Gender disparities in access to resources, education, and decision-making, along with unequal distribution of unpaid care work, are risks that limit women’s contributions to the environmental and social sustainability of their communities and ultimately contribute to supply chain vulnerability.
Research shows that when women have equal access to resources and opportunities, productivity can increase and poverty can decrease. Women farmers are often more efficient and innovative, and more likely to reinvest a significant portion of their earnings back into their families and communities. Simply put, investing in gender equality isn’t just the right thing to do, it’s a smart business strategy.
Sourcing strategies, certifications, standards, and codes of conduct each provide a systemic framework for ensuring social sustainability practices are implemented across supply chains. By integrating gender equity into these standards, companies can not only create business value and mitigate supply chain risks but also promote the health, rights, and well-being of women and their communities. However, while current approaches may indirectly promote gender equity, more explicit measures are needed to further advance gender equality within supply chains.
In 2021, CARE Impact Partners (“CIP”) worked with a large herbs and spices company that procures nearly 200 botanicals from countries around the world to provide guidance and recommendations on standard criteria that can promote and strengthen commitments to positive outcomes for farmers, workers and their communities when it comes to gender equity and long-term resilience. This included revising existing criteria and introducing new measures to address gender inequities systematically such as:
- Enforcement of explicit non-discrimination policies
- Protocols around the prevention of sexual harassment, exploitation and abuse
- Infrastructure modifications (including gender segregated bathroom and nursing rooms)
- Collection and use of gender and/or sex-disaggregated data
- Appointment of representatives to address discrimination
- Conducting annual gender assessments