RISE

Digital wages are changing women workers' lives, this International Women’s Day and beyond For millions of workers in the garment industry, including women, receiving their wages digitally instead of in cash is a gateway to financial security and independence. In Cambodia, the impact is undeniable. After receiving tailored financial training from RISE, 96% of garment workers prefer digital payments over cash (up from 62%). Why? Because digital wages are safer, more convenient, and make it easier for workers to manage their money. Training is key Women who gain financial knowledge are empowered to make decisions about their wages and participate in discussions around the use of household income. They are also better equipped to handle emergencies and plan for the future. The results in #Cambodia speak for themselves: ✅ 84% of women and 75% of men in the RISE Financial Health program now save regularly - up from just 46% and 36% respectively before the program. They are saving for expected expenses, emergencies, and even long-term goals like buying a house or land. ✅ 80% of women and 81% of men feel confident managing a financial emergency in the next two years, compared to only 55% before. Encouraged by their success, women are also sharing their knowledge and financial habits with family, friends, and neighbors. This ripple effect helps strengthen entire communities. Since 2018, RISE and the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth have partnered to scale wage digitalization and improve workers’ financial health in the garment, footwear, and home textiles industries. A far cry from when RISE started this work in 2012, paying wages digitally has become the business norm. Today, over half a million garment workers, most of whom are women, receive their wages digitally in Cambodia. But the work doesn’t stop there - buyers, suppliers, and financial service providers all have a role to play in multiplying these results. 💡 Find out how you can be part of the change: https://lnkd.in/dUjPHCnU #WhenWomenRISE, everyone thrives.   #IWD #InternationalWomensDay #FinancialInclusion #AccelerateAction #WageDigitalization

🟡 RISE is connecting organizations working on gender equality and integrating their expertise into workplace programs in the Guatemala garment supply chain. Last month, we brought together women with backgrounds in #FinancialHealth and in addressing gender-based violence and harassment (GBVH) as part of our upcoming rollout of the RISE Financial Health and RISE Respect programs.  We convened trainers from local NGOs Pro Mujer and FUNDATED for an interactive forum, where they shared best practices and experiences. We are scaling up our collective impact by coming together and learning from each other. Pro Mujer shared insights into the state of financial inclusion for women in Guatemala. CARE Guatemala then outlined their experience implementing RISE Digital, our app-based program that improves digital literacy and provides tools to improve health, finances, relationships, and stress management. During the RISE Respect sessions, we explored the challenges and opportunities women workers face in garment, footwear and home textiles factories. Women’s rights organizations AMUCV and ATRAHDOM introduced their work to promote the rights of women factory workers over the past 15 years. Additionally, a lawyer from Fundación Sobrevivientes provided insights into local legislation related to GBVH. During the Financial Health session, ACCION, a global organization dedicated to financial inclusion, delivered a presentation on the financial ecosystem.  The trainers are now going to work with factories selected by our members to train workers, the majority women, and managers, and strengthen factory systems and equip them with essential skills to manage and improve their financial health and to identify and address GBVH.

Meet the speakers! Ahead of next week's OECD Forum on Due Diligence in the Garment and Footwear Sector side session on “How Addressing Business Practices and Gender Norms in Global Garment Supply Chains Can Help Tackle Gender-Based Violence and Harassment”, we are delighted to introduce the full panel: 🟡 Laurent Arnone, PhD | Senior Advisor – Apparel & textiles, Ethical Trading Initiative 🟡 Krishanti Dharmaraj | RISE Independent Chair and Chair of the Dindigul Agreement to Eliminate Gender-Based Violence. 🟡 Dr Jane Pillinger | Global expert in gender-based violence and harassment in the world of work and Senior Fellow in the Department of Social Policy & Criminology, The Open University, UK 🟡 Sunzida Sultana | Additional Executive Director Karmojibi Nari (KN) কর্মজীবী নারী 🟡 Julia del Valle | OECD - OCDE Policy Analyst – Garment and Footwear Sector 🟡 Isadora Loreto | Global Lead RISE Respect, RISE (moderator) 📅 Wednesday, 12 February, 12 pm https://lnkd.in/gXpyp-6q In recent years, gender-based violence and harassment (GBVH) in the garment industry has received increased recognition amid growing awareness of the problem. GBVH is rooted in unequal gender norms and exacerbated by structural factors that increase women’s risk while also preventing reporting and prosecution.  This session will explore how the industry can effectively join efforts to tackle GBVH. The panel will discuss structural factors and the root causes of GBVH, with a focus on gender norms and the links between business practices and the immediate GBVH risks that women workers face. The panel will also address the importance of meaningful collaboration between brands, suppliers, women’s organizations, workers’ organizations, trade unions, and other stakeholders to collectively address GBVH in garment supply chains, including by identifying risks and focusing on prevention and remediation. #DueDiligence #HRDD #ResponsibleBusinessConduct #GarmentSupplyChain #GBVH #OECDForum

🟡 Join us for a Side session at the OECD - OCDE Forum on #DueDiligence in the #Garment #Footwear Sector | ‘How Addressing Business Practices and Gender Norms in Global Garment Supply Chains Can Help Tackle Gender Based Violence and Harassment’ We will explore how the industry can effectively join efforts to tackle gender-based violence and harassment (GBVH). The panel will discuss structural factors and the root causes of GBVH, with a focus on gender norms and the links between business practices and the immediate GBVH risks that women workers face. https://lnkd.in/djdCq5cX To attend, please register https://lnkd.in/gC9fdfNh and select 'I will attend in person on-site' by this Friday 31 January. 🟡 10 February: Join our workshop on applying a gender approach to Corporate Human Rights Due Diligence https://lnkd.in/dx68dEea, followed by a networking reception. https://lnkd.in/d9q4JCEn Both events are invite-only, please contact us if you are interested in attending. #LabourRights #Transparency #SupplyChain #HumanRights #InclusiveBusiness #WorkerEmpowerment

We look forward to connecting with long-term partners and members and meeting new collaborators at the OECD - OCDE Forum on Due Diligence in the Garment and Footwear to discuss how to advance gender equality in our sector together.     Get in touch with us to organize a meeting with our team, or find us at the events below: 🟡 10 February: Join our workshop on applying a gender approach to Corporate Human Rights Due Diligence https://lnkd.in/dx68dEea, followed by a networking reception. https://lnkd.in/d9q4JCEn  Both events are invite-only, please contact us if you are interested in attending.     🟡 12 February: Side session | ‘How Addressing Business Practices and Gender Norms in Global Garment Supply Chains Can Help Tackle Gender Based Violence and Harassment’ https://lnkd.in/djdCq5cX Christine Svarer Lisa Staxäng Subindu Garkhel Isadora Loreto Katharina Doets Sreya Nath   #HRDD #HumanRightsDueDiligence #DueDiligence #GenderNorms #GenderEquality

🟡 Ahead of next month’s OECD - OCDE Forum on Due Diligence in the Garment and Footwear Sector, we are co-organizing a workshop on how to apply a gender approach to corporate human rights due diligence with Women Win, Resilience Fund for Women in Global Value Chains and the Universal Access Project at the United Nations Foundation.    📅 10 February 2025 | 15:30 CET | Paris    In this workshop we will get practical about what it means to add a gender approach to the various steps of the corporate human rights due diligence process. Participants will walk away armed with examples, talking points and arguments on how to practically identify and address gendered impacts in their supply chain. We will be joined by experts with lived experience from global garment supply chains, as well as representatives from buyer companies, who will share their expertise.    https://lnkd.in/dx68dEea #HRDD #HumanRightsDueDiligence #DueDiligence #GlobalValueChains Business and Finance at the OECD

Tackling Gender-Based Violence and Harassment in Bangladesh’s Garment Industry This month, RISE, Ethical Trading Initiative Bangladesh, and the Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies (BILS) jointly organized a multi-stakeholder event in Dhaka focused on the prevention and remediation of gender-based harassment and violence (GBVH) in the garment industry. The honourable secretary Mr. A H M Shafiquzzaman, Ministry of Labour and Employment, Bangladesh, was the main guest. Mr. Syed Sultan Uddin Ahmed, Chief, Labour Rights Reform Commission & Executive Director, BILS provided the opening remarks. This was followed by: ✅ A presentation by RISE on social norms analysis. ✅ A participatory workshop with industry stakeholders to develop collective actions. ✅ A multi-stakeholder panel discussion moderated by ETI Bangladesh, featuring representatives from women’s rights organizations/trade unions (Ms. China Rahman, IndustriALL Bangladesh Women’s Council), government institution (Mr. Md. Matiur Rahaman, Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments, DIFE), brand (Ms. Tanjila Akter, H&M Bangladesh) and a factory representative (Ms. Roksana Bilkis Lucky, Aman-Unifil Group). Key Takeaways: 1️⃣ The Bangladesh Government is committed to initiating the ratification of ILO C190 and reviewing current laws to align with international standards. 2️⃣ Law reform alone is not enough—collaborative efforts among factory management, trade unions, brands, government, and NGOs/INGOs are essential. 3️⃣ Functional grievance mechanisms and survivor protection are vital for effective remediation. 4️⃣ Shift from “zero tolerance to GBVH” to “zero tolerance to inaction” to enhance transparency, encourage reporting, and support survivors. 5️⃣ Industrial awareness campaigns are needed to break the culture of silence and stigma around GBVH. 6️⃣ Brands must reflect on their purchasing practices, collaborate with their networks, and find sustainable solutions with suppliers and trade unions. 7️⃣ Engaging top factory management is critical to successful interventions. Read our full report: https://lnkd.in/dZtrN-ie

Our 2024 Annual report, highlighting the power of collaborative action in advancing gender equality, is now out! Key highlights from the year include: 🟡 Reaching nearly 400,000 garment, footwear and textile supply chain workers with gender equality programs, 65.7% of them women. 🟡 Increasing the number of workplaces and geographies where we deliver our work.   🟡 Supporting the expansion of wage digitalization by helping financial providers understand women and men workers’ needs in Egypt and partnering with national institutions in Cambodia.   🟡 Unpacking the social norms that enable gender-based violence and harassment in garment factories in Bangladesh. 🟡 Rethinking what women’s advancement and leadership means in supply chains. Read the full report to find out more: https://lnkd.in/dkF6U8gK

Which gender norms facilitate gender-based violence and harassment (GBVH) in the garment sector in Bangladesh and limit workers’ ability to report it? What actions can practitioners, buyers, brands and suppliers take to address these norms and GBVH? 🟡 Our new brief on "Gender Norms and the Potential for Transformational Change in the Bangladesh Garment Industry" draws from insights gathered during interviews with 84 women and men workers and managers, in partnership with Mamata and Network for Research and Training (NRT). We found that patriarchal norms that contribute to the prevalence and acceptance of GBVH include defining masculinity in terms of men being physically strong — as leaders, providers, managers, and decision-makers — whereas women are viewed as physically and mentally weak, and are expected to not challenge men in their roles and decisions. Many women are pressured to limit their work outside the home to roles that are considered more menial and/or feminine. The study also showed a culture of silence deeply rooted in harmful gender norms that result in survivor-blaming and shaming. Find out more: https://lnkd.in/dZtrN-ie About Respect: https://lnkd.in/ehhw-STC #16Days #Beijing30 #NoExcuse Isadora Loreto Anne Sprinkel Smita Nimilita Shukrana Ahmed

Our wonderful Vietnam Country Lead Thu Huong Hoang is about to retire. While we’re very sad to see Huong leave, we’re also really excited to see who joins our team next. Could you be our next #Vietnam Country lead? We are looking for a contractor to manage RISE programs in Vietnam. The contractor needs to have significant experience working with the #GarmentSector to develop and deliver #WorkerCapacityPrograms that consider the needs of women. They need to be based in Vietnam and speak Vietnamese. Apply by December 12th. https://lnkd.in/e6r5rrRp