In June and July 2021, Roseline Orwa and Valentine Linette visited 5 villages in Siaya, Kenya when Nyanza province region was on a 3-month lockdown. The highly transmissible, more contagious Delta variant of Coronavirus was destroying the region. There were 2 to 5 funerals in each of the villages we visited. An elderly widow from one of the Rona Foundation groups had just …
COVID19: WIDOWHOOD ‘AGENCY’, EXPOSED BURDENS, CULTURE & GENDER ALLIES
Roseline Orwa and Valentine Linet set out in June 2021 to understand how widows in rural Siaya were coping and managing during Covid-19. With majority being survivors of two pandemics – HIV and Covid-19, we asked them how they wanted to engage. From which we employed deep sensitivity and a story telling approach during one-on-one interviews. In this blog, we …
What did Oxfam learn from talking to workers in food and footwear factories supplying M&S?
In 2017 M&S asked Oxfam to carry out a ‘gap analysis’ study to ‘better understand the true worker experience and identify the changes we need to make in our own operations and those of our suppliers’ similar to another undertaken by Oxfam together with Unilever. For Oxfam, the project provided a rare opportunity to hear people’s experience of working in food and footwear factories which supply M&S and other retailers. M&S and Oxfam set …
Betty’s journey: Climate, Covid and Care
“Just because the entire world was on lockdown, doesn’t mean that climate change or the patriarchy was on lockdown. The patriarchy is not on lockdown. Climate change cannot be contained” – Betty Barkha This is the second episode of a new mini-series, in collaboration with the Climate, Covid, and Care: Feminist Journey’s zine which launched on the 24th of August, 2020. This …
Empowering girls and women through ICTs
Empowering girls and women through ICTs isn’t just a question of social justice, it’s also smart economics. Kirsten Bickford explains why. Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) are often cited as the essential backbone behind socio-economic growth. It’s the industry seen to embody the agility and innovation underpinning our future work force and driving improved outcomes for sustainable development. These are …
Gender inequality at work: A call for PhD applications
This is a great opportunity to undertake a fully funded PhD at the University of Manchester in partnership with Oxfam. The research topic is precarious work and gender inequalities in Greater Manchester. It is expected that the research will be inter-disciplinary and involve mixed methods of research design, data collection and analysis. Candidates with a strong interest in the changing conditions …