During big holidays such as Christmas, social media buzzes with people struggling to cope without domestic workers. Clearly, the workers make a huge hidden contribution to households and the economy. Yet illegal exploitation of these vital women workers continues – and it’s urgent our government steps in to stop it, says Blandina Bobson.
An ‘Uber’ app for cooks and cleaners? How tech is starting to change the lives of informal domestic workers
On International Domestic Workers’ day, Fatema Tuz Johoora and Tarek Aziz explain how gig economy apps can make Bangladesh’s invisible army of domestic workers visible, as well as offering new opportunities to help them claim their rights to better pay and conditions.
How can we persuade firms to improve employees’ lives? Here’s what I’ve learned during a decade in workers’ rights…
Oxfam’s workers’ rights expert Rachel Wilshaw shares six insights from her experiences of working with companies to drive progress on decent wages and conditions.
Governments know shockingly little about the millions of informal and unpaid women workers – and, in a world that undervalues their labour, that’s no accident
Millions of unpaid care and informal workers too often live in poverty, face long hours with harsh conditions, and see their efforts dismissed as “not real work”. On International Workers’ Day, Alex Bush calls for those in power to find out much more about these women as a crucial first step to valuing their work.
What types of discrimination do women face in your supply chains? Here’s how to get the data you need to find out
Jiselle Steele of the Oxfam Business Advisory Service on three ways firms can take the first step to gender justice in agricultural supply chains – by improving the gender data they collect
Cambodia’s women garment workers have been promised a decent life: now we must support them to claim their rights
The government is now offering maternity leave, a pension fund and other social benefits that could give women stability and security. Sopharith Sin and Roland Chauville explain how a new project will support them to get a better deal
Want motivated workers who feel their rights are respected? You need a proper grievance mechanism
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
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?
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