Using Data to Promote Equity in the Supply Chain
By Marissa Brock
In the U.S. alone, the pandemic caused as many as 4 million women - particularly mothers of young children - to downshift their careers or leave the workforce altogether over the course of 2020. So far, more than 2 million have not yet returned. This has the potential to affect gender diversity in the workplace for years to come. Global supply chains depend on women, with women making up as much as 60-80% of the workforce in textile supply chains around the world.
Many companies are making sustainable supply chains a priority. It's time for gender equity and inclusion to be considered when assessing whether a supply chain is sustainable in the long-term. Achieving gender equality is one of the United Nations' 17 Sustainable Development Goals to be achieved by 2030. Over 1,100 CEO’s from the world’s most profitable companies are signatories to the Women’s Empowerment Principles agreed upon by the United Nations. Even when gender equity is part of a company’s goals, it can be challenging to know where to start, what programs to put in place, and what to look out for in a complex global supply chain.
Making gender equity a priority can not only make a supply chain more sustainable but also more competitive. There are several steps that companies can take to prevent this loss of essential workers and support the women that make their supply chains possible.
Data as a tool for meaningful change
Data can be a powerful tool in understanding what changes need to be made to better support women in the supply chain. The first step to gender inclusivity is having the tools to monitor the diversity amongst your suppliers. Using data, companies can arm themselves with the tools they need to understand where inequalities are taking place within their supply chains, and where the programs that they’ve implemented are creating a more equitable and sustainable workforce. They can then use this information to promote positive benefits for the communities that support their supply chain by implementing the following programs and standards:
Prioritize suppliers who have programs are in place that support working parents, such as accessible daycare and nearby schools. Keeping track of worker turnover in your supply chain can help ensure that female workers are not being penalized for having children.
Women around the world are more likely to make up the informal workforce, which leaves many with no protections against sudden loss of income. Ensure that all workers represented in your supply chain are accounted for, and have contractual agreements with their employers.
Are the women represented in your supply chain in positions of leadership and key decision-making roles? Companies can set internal goals around sourcing from women-owned suppliers and businesses.
To ensure that workers are not being exploited, it is important that at every factory and farm in your supply chain employment is freely chosen and hours are reasonable. Are the women in your supply chain being paid a living wage? Furthermore, do you have systems in place to ensure that the right people are getting paid all the way down your supply chain? Setting internal benchmarks and standards can help guide your company towards the suppliers who are doing it right.
Audit the factories and farms in your supply chain to ensure that they are complying with international standards for safe and healthy working conditions.
Having a diverse, equitable and inclusive supply chain should be essential, not aspirational. Responsible companies support their workers from the factories to the farms, and that begins with having the tools to monitor gender diversity and worker turnover.
To learn how Sourcemap can help your company manage its responsible sourcing, get in touch.