How can companies set up robust systems to ensure they hear and act on workers’ complaints and concerns? Monica Romis of the Oxfam Business Advisory Service introduces a new grievance mechanism toolkit developed for Reckitt that will help tackle discrimination and inequality throughout global supply chains
The UK’s new development strategy shows it’s in the midst of an identity crisis
Despite warm words about doing ‘what works’ for the world’s poorest, there are worrying elements in this new strategy, says Sam Nadel – including what looks like a shift towards aid for trade
A race to the top: how we pushed supermarkets to take human rights seriously
From new gender policies to commitments on living wages, we’ve come a long way since Oxfam published its first supermarkets scorecard in 2018, when retailers lacked the understanding and appetite to do human rights due diligence, says Radhika Sarin. What does the 2022 scorecard reveal – and what more must be done?
‘What is tea without water?’ How a tea firm came to invest in clean water in Niger
On World Water Day, Oxfam’s Private Sector Partnership Manager Katie Edmondson looks back at a decade of partnership with Ahmad Tea, which has supported Oxfam to supply clean water to thousands of people and is training community members to manage new systems in one of the world’s most water-insecure countries.
Want to support women in enterprises in low-income countries? Here’s what Oxfam knows after many years of working with small businesses
In our final blog around International Women’s Day, Anoushka Boodhna, Tamara Beradze and Anais Mangin set out seven things Oxfam has learned about supporting women in new and growing businesses in some of the poorest countries – and what we need to do differently
Informal work traps millions of women in poverty: let’s back the labour movements that can fight for decent jobs
Low pay, long hours, no sick or maternity pay, unsafe workplaces… That’s the reality for hundreds of millions of women, mostly in the global south – which is why informal workers are going to be at the heart of Oxfam’s drive to value women’s work, says Leena Patel in the third blog in our series around International Women’s Day
Is your business serious about gender justice? Here’s what you need to do
In the second blog in our series to mark International Women’s Day, Jiselle Steele of the Oxfam Business Advisory Service shares five tips for firms that want to make a real difference when it comes to gender inequality and gender justice in supply chains
‘Make us feel uncomfortable…’ Three tips from Paul Polman on how charities should work with business
Business leader and campaigner Paul Polman has long been a proponent of the idea that business should be a force for good. Today, he says people in organisations campaigning for change must seize the chance to connect with a new generation of ‘Greta Thunbergs in every company’ to help drive social impact. Claudia Codsi reports back on his recent talk to Oxfam staff
3 steps to linking farmer livelihoods with business benefits
Often, livelihoods projects in smallholder-based supply chains – such as tea or cocoa – aim to create solutions that benefit all links in the chain: by addressing a challenge in the supply chain (e.g. crop productivity or quality) the projects aim to improve conditions for smallholder farmers (e.g. increased income) as well as for the buyers and commercial partners (e.g. improved quality or security of supply). But demonstrating this ‘win-win’ can be challenging as monitoring and evaluation systems need to be designed in a way that captures the benefits …
The Food Fight Continues
In 2013 Oxfam launched the Behind the Brands campaign which sought to influence the sourcing policies of the world’s ten biggest food and beverage companies. Over the three years, the campaign achieved a series of significant wins; catalyzing company commitments on land rights, women’s empowerment and climate change while mobilizing a significant number of supporters in the process. While the campaign itself ended in 2016, the work …