A Human Rights and Justice Aspect in Gender Diversity in Supply Chains

Written by Jedida Mupako

Introduction

Supply chain refers to the system of people and organisations that are involved in creating a product and delivering it to the consumer.[1] The process of supply chain begins with producers of the raw materials in different sectors. In these sectors, there is a need for equal opportunity and equal treatment between men and women because the general diversity ratio favours men over women. This paper explores the gender diversity in the raw material production stage of the supply chain, specifically the undertreated and emerging forms of violence in different sectors, that is in textile factories, agri-foods, and mining sectors as well as recommendations to raise awareness in the supply chains in Southern Africa.

The Undertreated and Emerging Forms of Violence in the Supply Chain

Supply chains offer various employment opportunities, with the majority of the workers being women. These jobs are mostly in factories, farms, and packing houses that supply the world’s clothing, goods, and food. Gender is a key dimension of inequality regimes in organisations and an organising principle to reproduce inequalities.[2] Whilst these jobs offer an economic independence for women, the reality is that the power imbalance between men holding most of the supervisory positions and women predominantly providing the labour makes women the most vulnerable gender. Women are vulnerable and face adverse challenges such as forced labour, health and safety, working hours, and harassment and these issues will be addressed in this blog. This is the case in most Southern African supply chain sectors, the focus in this blog is on Lesotho, South Africa, and Mozambique. These challenges deprive them of certain rights such as access to adequate healthcare services, and workplaces that are free of violence or threats of violence. Some employers use precarious work arrangements to evade obligations related to social security provision, pensions, maternity and family leave, overtime payments, as well as occupational health and safety.

Forced labour

Gender is an important factor that determines the likelihood of being in forced labour, especially in supply chain sectors. Women are usually associated with forced sexual exploitation and domestic work. The issues of forced labour are highly reported in sectors where women workers outnumber men. A 2019 survey at Nien Hsing factories in Lesotho,[3] found that across all three Nien Hsing factories women workers were regularly coerced into sexual activity with supervisors as a condition of gaining or retaining employment or job promotion and were otherwise harassed sexually, via both verbal statements and unwanted sexual contact, on a persistent basis.[4] This reflects the need to recognise methods towards decent working conditions and environments that are safe for women workers in particular. Such progress requires State Parties to adopt a holistic approach to monitor whether supply chain organisations abide by legislative measures on a national level as well as international conventions such as the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (hereinafter Maputo Protocol). Article 13(c) of the Maputo Protocol provides that, “State Parties shall adopt and enforce legislative and other measures to guarantee women equal opportunities in work, career opportunities and other economic activities. In this respect, they shall ensure transparency…. and punish sexual harassment in the workplace.”[5] These abuses documented in Lesotho represent one of the undertreated and massive problems of women being compelled to forced labour through sexual exploitation and coercion in the region of Southern Africa.

Health and Safety

Most supply chain sectors are faced with occupational hazards. Having a look at occupational safety and workplace roles, it is important to consider that women and men are generally exposed to work-related hazards differently. There are specific vulnerabilities that are related to the female reproductive system that are of crucial importance and need to be recognised in supply chain sectors. Article 26 of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Protocol on Gender and Development (hereinafter SADC Protocol) provides that, “States shall, in line with the SADC Protocol on Health and other regional and international commitments by Member States on issues relating to health, adopt and implement legislative frameworks, policies programmes and services to enhance gender-sensitive, appropriate and affordable health, in particular, to address mental, sexual and reproductive health needs of women and men and also ensure hygiene and sanitary facilities and nutritional needs for women.”[6] This has not been recognised by most member states of the SADC Protocol. In Maputsoe, Lesotho, textile industrial women workers end up forgoing essential health care services due to the lack of paid leave. This area, Maputsoe is recorded to have 22 garment factories, with an estimated 20,000 workers and 80 percent of them being women.[7] These women face sexual and reproductive health needs that are dismissed most of the time. With such dismissal of important health issues, for example, pregnant women workers may have recurring serious health conditions such as maternal health complications and sexually transmitted infections that are life threatening and may result in them being absent from work for a long time with no source of income. The more a workplace recognises these differences and addresses them, the more equitable the situation is for women workers.

It is also important to understand how the physiological and social difference between women and men have disproportionate impacts, specifically on women workers and their work life. In South Africa, not enough information is provided on the health and safety concerns and issues of women in the mining sector. Currently, there is resistance by their male counterparts to fully accept and regard women as equal partners.[8] Supply chains must offer information on, among others, the availability of welfare facilities underground, physiological changes and psychological vulnerability inherent among women that may affect their health and safety at work, and the impact of shift work on women’s family lives. This information is vital to assist the drafting and implementing of programs or agreements that may change the working conditions and environment in the mining sector.

Working Hours

The vulnerable working positions that women in supply chain sectors hold often result in them having to work longer hours than men. In the Mozambique cashew-processing factories,[9] there is a clear gender division of labour that bears implications on the working hours and wage payments. Men are often positioned in storage spaces or other sectors as mechanics whereas women are in the manual work sectors.[10] The significant difference of the work roles determines the length of the working day, which is longer for women because they must reach the daily production target, therefore work as long as possible.

Furthermore, women must balance between having to work long hours to make a decent income and bear their domestic responsibilities of being caregivers. Article 16(1)(a) SADC Protocol addresses this issue and provides that, ‘State Parties should adopt policy measures to promote shared responsibility between men and women within the household and family to ease the burden of multiple roles played by women.’[11] Most states do not practically implement policies that promote shared responsibilities hence these measures have been ignored in most indigenous communities in Southern Africa.

Harassment

Harassment is a common form of violence that most women experience in the workplace. With women occupying most of the short-term contract job positions and likely to be on probation indefinitely, they are usually harassed. These job positions make them vulnerable to harassment when they make errors, fall sick, fail to meet production targets, or ask for a leave. Women must also endure abusive behaviour such as offensive explicit language and physical acts. Harassment, mostly in sexual form, becomes an assertion of power and is used to intimidate, coerce, or degrade women workers. These women often stay silent rather than risking their jobs and their reputations, damaging their marriage prospects, or upsetting their partners.

Recommendations

Decent work rights are often dismissed in supply chains. It is important to recognise that women have different needs to men, and policies such as maternity leave, sexual harassment, empowerment, and professional growth are a must for women. It is also imperative to provide access to childcare and decent housing in their communities for women. There is a need for programmes and by laws in various sectors that promote opportunities for work that is productive and deliver fair income, security in the workplace and social protection for families .[12] These programmes and supply chain by laws should also recognise human rights such as freedom for people to express their concerns, organise and participate in the decisions that affect their lives; better prospects for personal development and social integration; and equality of opportunity and treatment for all women and men.

Conclusion

Some of the ways to raise awareness that will be effective in dealing with unequal and unfair gender diversity in the supply chain include, condemning violence against women, engaging men to be active in conversations about these matters and maximising existing and supporting proposed policy frameworks. Promoting gender equality and diversity in supply chain sectors will take a collective effort. The ultimate goal should not be simply to comply with legislation measures however, but to also develop and implement career paths for women in supply chains in roles that are unlimited. To do so, certain changes must occur, that is in traditional culture sector, stereotypes and mindsets need to be challenged. Women and men are not the same, but these differences are what makes the addition of women immensely valuable. By encouraging women to participate more fully in the supply chain sector, they can boost innovation and contribute to the growth and ongoing relevance of the industry.

Bibliography

[1] Cambridge Dictionary.

[2] Acker, J. (2006). Inequality regimes: Gender, Class, and Race in Organizations. Gender & Society, 2006.

[3] Worker Rights Consortium, “Worker Rights Consortium Assessment RE: Gender-Based Violence and Harassment at Nien Hsing Textile Co., Ltd (Lesotho)”, 15 August 2019.

[4] Ibid.

[5] Article 13(c) Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People's Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa, 11 July 2003, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3f4b139d4.html

[6] Article 26 of the Southern African Development Community Protocol on Gender and Development, 17 August 2008.

[7] Maisane “For busy garment workers in Lesotho, health care comes on wheels” 18 October 2016.

[8] Brandt, Driving Gender Equality in the Mining Sector, African Mining, August 2021.

[9] Stevano, S. (2023). The Workplace at the Bottom of Global Supply Chains as a Site of Reproduction of Colonial Relations: Reflections on the Cashew-Processing Industry in Mozambique. Gender, Work & Organization 30(2), 496– 509. https://doi.org/10.1111/gwao.12757

[10] Ibid.

[11] Article 16(1)(a) SADC Protocol, 17 August 2008.