International Women's Day

March 08, 2021

“The WFTO community is full of exemplary women who are overcoming barriers and inequality.  Our movement embodies the fight for equality and gender justice.  Let’s celebrate International Women’s Day together!”

 

Our women producers. 

We’d like to take this opportunity to talk about our women producers in relation to women’s empowerment and gender equality within our fair trade organization.  We work with a team of around 50 artisans who are full time, permanent employees, about 25% of whom are women.  We also work on a more informal basis with groups of marginalised artisans, up to 100 women at a time, on upcycling projects.  While we realise that 25% for female full time employees is not a high percentage, it is quite an improvement from where we started.  When we first started, we had only men artisans working with us.  In the area of Jaipur where we work, many men felt it would be impossible to hire women and that it would only create ‘challenges’.  Our management disagreed and pushed to hire women and create not only a ‘safe space’, but gender equality in the work space. 

 

We started with only a couple women employees.  Gradually others heard about our company and joined.  Our management team organised and continues to run regular workshops with our full staff to discuss the meaning and significance of non-discrimination, gender equality, and respectful relationships. Over time, our male employees not only adjusted, they have become strong advocates for women’s rights and gender equality. There is a great deal of pride amongst our staff now (women and men) that we have a safe and equitable working space for everyone.

 

We have a foundation offering training both in life skills and specific work skills to women.  It is both necessary and challenging as many of the women we’ve worked with have little formal training or education and struggle with literacy. Many of the women artisans we’ve worked with also face difficult home situations.

 

We also run regular skills development training sessions for women artisans in the areas of quality checking, needle skills, product development.  Currently, most of our quality checkers are women.  They check the garments for stitching quality, finishing, measurements.  If flaws are found, they return them typically to a male stitcher for changes.  The men had to adjust to this and learn to work with the women as a team.  It did take time to achieve this, but we currently are proud to be able to say we’ve achieved this.  It is a small thing in the big picture, but gender equality can be won through a series of small steps taken on a daily basis.

 

Our women employees receive all the same rights and pay as men employees.  This includes equal pay for equal work, a safe and clean working environment, skills development, on time payments, transparent working relationships, no forced labor.  We have set up bank accounts, health insurance and pension funds for all employees. Women, by having a bank account and debit card in their own name, receiving salary payments into their own account, are able to control their finances and make better, more informed decisions, save money and spend it at their discretion.  They can receive micro loans through their employment with us, which helps pay for education, medical care, home improvements.  Not only are access to these services the same as our male employees, what it means in everyday life, is the gradual closing of the gender gap.  Women have more control over their money, their life circumstances and those of their daughters.  Yes, it is a slow, gradual process. We believe this is how lasting change is affected, by creating opportunities for women to empower themselves.   

 

While larger scale social changes take time, often a generation, the positive effects for women artisans within fair trade can be seen both now and in next generation.  For example,  both our men and women artisans have the financial means and strong commitment to keeping their daughters in school (for as long as their sons), to giving their daughters the same opportunities and support.  We have seen instances of fathers who themselves may only have a sixth grade education, supporting their daughters in finishing high school, in avoiding child marriage, supporting their daughter’s pursuit of job training.  We see mothers investing in the lives and well being of their daughters with as much commitment as their sons.  This is a huge social change, which comes largely from a combination of having financial stability and an equitable working environment through fair trade standards.  It is a powerful testimony to the ways in which people, individually and collectively, raise themselves up, when paid fairly for their work and treated with dignity and respect.

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