The need for bold commitment and action from the private sector The private sector – whether global multinationals or local businesses – has a huge impact on livelihoods and living conditions worldwide. But all too often, the actions (or inactions) of private sector actors can reinforce the systems that trap people in poverty. We urgently need fairer business models that …
Collaborating through crisis
How are Oxfam partnering with the private sector to respond to the coronavirus pandemic? We have been getting creative and resourceful in our partnerships with Unilever, Burberry and ASOS.
Working with companies on women’s economic empowerment in value chains
Salimata Kone (pictured) is a cocoa farmer and lives with her husband and children near Divo, a city in southern Côte d’Ivoire. She took part in a project to improve her family income and financial resilience through crop diversification, producing other crops alongside her cocoa harvest. Through the project, Salimata not only managed to increase her family’s income by harvesting more than 450kg of …
Why businesses are addressing unpaid care work
Sarah Hall, Oxfam’s Women’s Economic Empowerment and Care (WE-Care) Programme Manager, explores what businesses stand to gain from easing the burden of unpaid care and domestic work. A productive, healthy workforce is the backbone of any successful business. A ground-breaking new report from Oxfam and Unilever shows how businesses are identifying and addressing the challenges that limit workers’ full participation. A hidden, and often underestimated barrier, is the unequal responsibility for unpaid care and domestic work that frustrates the progression and productivity of women employees. For many businesses globally, the first …
How businesses can tackle the social norms that limit women
Across the world, women make a significant contribution to global supply chains, in spite of complex hurdles that limit their inclusion and their leadership. How can businesses make it easier for women to fulfil their potential? Claudia Canepa shares some ideas from Oxfam’s private sector partnerships. The UN High Level Panel on Women’s Economic Empowerment (HLP) recently identified seven key …