shobola – amfori’s women empowerment project in bangladesh

Project Case Study Booklet

Shobola – amfori’s Women Empowerment Project in Bangladesh

2 Shobola – amfori’s Women Empowerment Project in BangladeshShobola – amfori’s Women Empowerment Project in Bangladesh

ContentsSECTION 1: OVERVIEW OF THE PROJECT 4 – Background 4

– Objective of the project 4

– Participating amfori members and producers 4

– Geographical Location 4

– Project Timeline 5

SECTION 2: THE PROJECT JOURNEY 6 – Kick-off Workshop 6

– Baseline Assessment 6

– Multi-Stakeholder Forum 6

– Training for female factory workers and mid-level management 7

– Buddy system 8

– Social Dialogue 9

– Gender Action Plans (GAPs) 10

– Conclusion and impact 10

SECTION 3: RECOMMENDATIONS 12

SECTION 4: TESTIMONIALS 13

– Quotes from the leadership of the Shobola participating producers

and female workers 13

3Shobola – amfori’s Women Empowerment Project in BangladeshShobola – amfori’s Women Empowerment Project in Bangladesh

The two-and-a-half year Shobola project journey allowed amfori to put our commitment to gender equality and women’s empowerment into practice. We are proud to say that we reached more than 100 managers and more than 800 female workers on this quest and achieved a clear commitment from top-level management to continue on this journey to empower women. amfori remains committed to develop tools and opportunities to promote gender equality in supply chains and the workplace to advance performance, sustainability and fairness.

Shobola has enabled confidence within our female workers, which is a primary factor for empowering women. These empowered women now have increased respect and status within society, are participating in decision making, and are even acting as inspiring role models for women.

The Shobola Project has successfully brought mindset changes within the implementing factories in Bangladesh for women’s empowerment. It paves the way for women front line workers to dream and meet the requirements of moving to leadership positions through skill development, mentoring approaches and buddy system. Encouraging women empowerment is beneficial for better business.

Christian Ewert, amfori President

Mohammed Zahidullah, Head of Sustainability, DBL Group

Shahamin S. Zaman, CEO, CSR Centre

AcknowledgementThe Shobola Project was implemented by CSR Centre, with technical advice from the DBL Group and under the supervision of amfori. Special thanks go to the entire project team: Nowrin Nehon, Rifath Rahman, Laila Nur Shemonto, Nujhat Sohani, Zarin Tasnim and Shahamin S. Zaman (CSR Centre), Mohammed Zahidullah (DBL Group) as well as Saiham Chowdhury, Charline Daelman, Paul Frisch, Noemi Gonczar, John McCarrick, Saiful Millat, Adrian Poher, Anthony Regan and Franzis Wimmer (amfori).


BackgroundOver the last 35 to 40 years, Bangladesh’s Ready-Made Garment sector has been a promising entry point for both rural and urban women seeking work. The RMG industry’s historical evolution over the decades has served as a catalyst for the country’s development in terms of foreign trade, jobs, and, most importantly, female worker empowerment. Women who would never have imagined working outside the home or on the farm are now semi-skilled workers who contribute to the national GDP. Except the COVID-19 drop off in 2020, the sector is responsible for 84% of total export earnings and roughly 10% of the country’s GDP1.

amfori unveiled its Women Empowerment Programme in September 2018, which is now part of the company’s Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Strategy, “Enterprise for Equal.” It aims to assist companies in promoting gender equality and empowering women in their global supply chains and workplaces in order to improve efficiency, sustainability, and justice.

The program began with three projects in the three largest sourcing countries for amfori members: Bangladesh, India, and China. amfori, in collaboration with its project partners CSR Centre and DBL Group, launched the Shobola Project in Bangladesh in January 2019.

Objective of the ProjectThe main objective of Shobola Project was to empower women working in the Bangladeshi RMG sector and highlight

the resulting business and operational benefits to amfori members and producers. The Project aimed to develop a systematic approach to raise awareness and train top to mid-level management in gender equality and anti-sexual harassment. The overall goal has been to empower female workers through leadership and capacity building trainings. The Project also aimed to create an enabling environment for female workers in six factories. Through building their confidence towards attaining their full potential and to contribute to the betterment of their personal and professional lives.

Geographical LocationThe factories are located in 2 geographical areas in Bangladesh, these are:

Section 1: Overview of the Project

Participating amfori members and producersThe Shobola Project involved six factories producing for amfori BSCI members:

1 GeoJournal, Md. Saiful Islam (2020) - Ready-made garments exports earning and its contribution to economic growth in Bangladesh: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10708-019-10131-0

Mango

MQ Marqet AB

Tom Tailor Group

ICA Global Sourcing *

Woolworths Limited

DBL Group

Sparrow Apparels Limited

Tosrifa Industries Limited

Globus Garments Limited

Regent Textile Mills Limited

KDS IDR Limited

Mawna Fashions Limited

AMFORI MEMBERS AMFORI PRODUCERS

N/A

*ICA left the project in May 2020, due to a transition of ownership and their business discontinuation with Regent.

2 Factories in Chattogram

4 Factories in Dhaka

https://www.amfori.org/sites/default/files/enterpriseforequal_amfori%20Gender%20Strategy_V2.pdf

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10708-019-10131-0

Project Launch and Kick-off workshop towards CEO buy-in

January 2019

Baseline Assessment

Feb-Apr 2019

Multi-Stakeholder Forum

July 2019

Development of Training Modules

Aug-Sept 2019

Training Roll-Out

Dec 2019- March 2020

Mid-Management Training

Dec 2019-Jan 2020

Female Workers’ Training

Feb-March 2020

Development and submission of draft Gender Action Plans

Feb 2020

Buddy System

Apr-Aug, 2020

Publication of Social Dialogue HandbookAug, 2020

Social Dialogue Training and Roll-outSep-Nov, 2020

Revision and submission of final Gender Action Plans

Dec, 2020

Impact Assessment & Development of Case Study Booklet

Dec 2020- May 2021

Publication of Case Study Booklet & Project Closing Event

June, 2021

Project Timeline



Section 2: The Project JourneyKick-off WorkshopOn January 8, 2019, the “Shobola Project” was launched with a kick-off workshop. The aim of the workshop was to raise awareness for both amfori member representatives and owners / general managers of the producers about gender equality and women’s empowerment. The kick-off workshop was organised with representatives of amfori members, DBL Group, CSR Centre and six project implementing factories. At the kick-off workshop, participants learned about DBL Group’s business case and how to replicate it with fellow project participants. By creating greater opportunities for female workers to reach managerial and supervisory roles through its pilot initiative, the DBL Group had observed a direct positive impact on working conditions and business operations, such as increased worker satisfaction, reduced absenteeism, reduced staff turnover, increased ownership, confidence and skills of female workers, enhanced productivity levels and increased financial turnover.

Multi-Stakeholder ForumOn July 10, 2019, the Shobola Project multi-stakeholder forum was organised. The purpose of the event was to raise awareness about gender equality and women’s empowerment for better business and society and also to disseminate some of the findings from the baseline assessment. A dialogue session between representatives from industry, government and civil society was facilitated and inputs were collected from the participants to incorporate into the training modules.

Baseline AssessmentIn order to identify gaps, issues and set performance targets for the producers involved in the Shobola Project, a baseline assessment was conducted in the six participating factories. Both qualitative and quantitative data was collected through management interviews, worker interviews and focus group discussions with female workers. A total of 59 face-to-face Interviews with management were conducted as well as six Focus Group Discussions consisting of 15-16 female workers and lasting 90-120 minutes. A document review and on-site observation complemented the information from the interviews and focus group discussions. All data was grouped and recorded according to amfori BSCI’s performance areas for analysis.


Training for female factory workers and mid-level managementAfter incorporating the feedback from the multi-stakeholder forum, the following training modules for management and female workers were developed:

• Effective Management and Communication Skills for Supporting Workers

• Gender Equality and Anti-Sexual Harassment

The trainings took place in the six implementing factories of the Shobola Project, where 103 mid-level management and 838 of the female factory workers were trained. The management trainings were held from December 2019 to January 2020 and the trainings for female factory workers took place between February and March 2020. The trainings of Globus Garments Limited were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and completed in October 2020.

To measure the impact of the trainings, management representatives and female factory workers had to complete pre- and post-training surveys. The survey outcomes suggest that the trainings helped management and female factory workers to improve their managerial and communication skills and to reduce conflict and close communication gaps between them. The gender equality and anti-sexual harassment training helped management and workers to understand the topic better and to increase awareness about sexual harassment in the workplace and how to respond to it with concrete actions. The management trainings also enabled the participating factories to develop a dedicated gender action plan responding to the key issues identified in the baseline assessment.

The behavioral assessment showed a positive overall change towards gender equality and women empowerment. A higher number of managers had been persuaded of the value of women in supervisory positions and the importance of enabling a work environment more suited for their female workers.

This positive change has also been observed in the behavioral assessment of the female workers. To assess the confidence levels of women, individual interviews were conducted with five female workers of each trained group as a sample of each cohort. Across all trained groups, all interviewed female workers confirmed that:

• They feel comfortable talking to their managers about issues they may have at the workplace

• They feel confident to become a leader/manager

• If they would experience unwanted sexual attention, comments or gestures, they would report it

• There is a mechanism at their factory to make a complaint regarding gender discrimination or sexual harassment

During the roll-out of the training, the trainers noticed that the confidence level of the participants increased, as well as their knowledge on the addressed issues.

103 mid-level management and 838 of the female factory workers were trained


Buddy systemTo encourage participants of the Shobola training to share their gained insights, a buddy system was installed for the management and female workers training. More specifically, the module on Rights & Responsibilities at Work through Effective Communication & Supervisory Skills also aimed to equip female factory workers with the necessary confidence and skills to pass on their knowledge via a buddy system.

The buddy system foresaw that the directly trained workers and management would communicate the training output with at least three of their co-workers during lunch break and on the way to home after work. Additionally, all workers and management would share their knowledge with two households in their communities. It was implemented upon the completion of the training of the female factory workers. To facilitate the sharing of the Shobola projects’ key messages, female workers received a buddy card (see image below), which allowed them to better memorize what they have learned and to communicate it to their co-workers, families and friends.

The buddy system was readily accepted and implemented by the participants of the Shobola training. Almost every participant indicated to have shared the key learnings of the training with colleagues, members of the community, friends or family members.

According to the survey relating to this buddy system filled in by 115 workers and 78 managerial staff, the content of the Shobola Project had an overall outreach of over 3600 people inside and outside of the factories. As the impact assessment was conducted with a sample of the overall participant group, it is reasonable to assume that even more people were educated by the training participants, helping to maximise the impact of the project.

The workers were responsible for about 3300, averaging a dissemination of 28 people with whom the content was shared per person. In contrast, management members of the factories reached about 300 people, sharing the content with about 3 to 4 people inside and outside the factory.

Shobola Project had an overall outreach of over 3600 people inside and outside of the factories.

Image of buddy card


Social DialogueAs part of the Shobola Project, a Social Dialogue Handbook was produced and all six participating factories were trained based on the guidance. Its main objective was to improve communication between management and workers to create a gender equality enabling work environment by supporting the project partners to carry out effective social dialogues.

Six social dialogues were conducted as part of the “Shobola Project” in the participating factories. The purpose of these social dialogues was to create a space for female workers and managers to openly discuss the issues and challenges faced by women at the workplace and other relevant issues addressed in the trainings. It was also an opportunity for female workers and managers to practice and demonstrate their newly acquired or improved communication skills, while discussing the Gender Action Plans that had been developed by the management. The outcomes of the social dialogue discussions served to revise the Gender Action Plan (GAP) for each factory.

The overall reaction to the social dialogue exercise was very positive, both by management (86%) and female workers (82%). Female workers appreciated the equal environment that was created and felt that management listened to their concerns and implemented them. Some of the female workers understood the added value of constructive dialogue for any issues to be remediated and felt empowered to address future issues similarly.

The social dialogue sessions were respectful and no tense discussions were observed. Some challenges have nevertheless occurred during some exchanges, mostly regarding leave or workload. When workers addressed this issue, some management representatives took this as criticism but were quickly reminded of the purpose of the exercise by the facilitators. Techniques used by facilitators to avert heated discussions included taking snack breaks, giving praise to the person bringing up an issue and referencing techniques learned during training sessions.

It was stressed that there was nothing to be ashamed of and that the goal of the project was to improve the situation for everyone. After that, all parties gained greater sympathy for each other’s positions and the social dialogues were fruitful.

The outcomes of the social dialogue discussions served to revise the Gender Action Plan (GAP) for each factory.

Step-by-Step guidance: implementing social dialogue on gender equality and women’s empowermentThis handbook has been produced as part of the Shobola Project. Its main objective is to improve communication between management and workers to create gender equality enabling work environment by supporting the project partners to carry out effective social dialogues in ready-made garment facilities in Bangladesh.

Social Dialogue Handbook

Step-by-Step guidance

https://www.amfori.org/sites/default/files/amfori-2020-08-26-Social-Dialogue-Handbook-on-Gender.pdf

https://www.amfori.org/sites/default/files/amfori-2020-08-26-Social-Dialogue-Handbook-on-Gender.pdf


Gender Action Plans (GAPs)All six participating factories submitted Gender Action Plans including time-bound actions, responsibilities, and dedicated resources. The GAPs vary in terms of detail and ambition. Similarly, some reached beyond the scope of the Shobola project, as well as working within its parameters. These action plans illustrate the participating factories’ commitment to empowering female workers and to continuous improvement on gender equality.

amfori encourages producers to share these GAPs with business partners, as they can serve as a basis for discussion and a common framework to monitor and evaluate continuous improvement on gender equality.

Conclusion and impactAs part of the Shobola Project, all six participating factories analysed their gender gaps through a thorough baseline assessment and developed a corresponding gender action plan, which they committed to implement throughout the Shobola Project and beyond.

A series of trainings for both management and female workers enabled the participating factories to adopt a more gender-sensitive management approach and make improvements in various performance areas including:

1. Management System

2. Worker Involvement and Protection

3. Occupational Health and Safety

4. Recruitment and Advancement

5. No Precarious Employment

The social dialogues between management and female workers further helped the management to listen to female workers’ concerns and critically assess the robustness of their Gender Action Plans and adjust them where necessary.

The buddy system helped to spread the word beyond the factory floor and into the workers’ communities, reaching more than 3600 people.

While the participating factories still show different levels of maturity when it comes to managing their business operations in a gender-sensitive way, all have made notable improvements in the following areas as summarized in the below table: “Documentation and Data Management”, “Adopting policies”, “Implementing procedures and operations” and “Training and awareness”.

To conclude, the Shobola project activities contributed to reaching the objective of opening a conversation around gender equality. Subsequently, these conversations resulted in concrete actions that enabled a more sustainable, holistic work and home environment for women to achieve their full potential, as the majority of the participating factories reported an increase of seven women on average per participating factory applying for open supervisory positions and a total of thirty female workers being promoted across the six factories since the start of the project.

The COVID-19 pandemicAmidst the COVID-19 pandemic, and to ensure the safety of project partners, factory workers and management, updated OHS Guidelines were introduced and employed in all face-to-face activities. This included the mandatory wearing of face-masks, mandatory use of hand sanitiser, ensuring social distancing and ventilation of the facilities. Some activities were delayed to ensure implementation of the updated OHS guidelines.


Actions Before the Shobola Project After the Shobola Project

Documentation/ Data management

• No systematic collection of gender-disaggregated data in various critical areas (e.g. grievances, female workers’ satisfaction, turnover).

• No gender-sensitive operational grievance mechanism (OGM) that is accessible to all male and female workers or no OGM at all.

• All factories introduced a system to collect and monitor gender-disaggregated data in key areas (e.g. grievances, female workers’ satisfaction, turnover rates).

• All factories have either introduced a gender-sensitive OGM or improved their existing one in terms of gender-sensitivity (e.g. improving the accessibility for female

workers, female Welfare Officer).

Adopting policies• All participating factories had gender and

non-discrimination policies in place, but need-ed fine-tuning.

• Improved clarity on policies regarding collective bargaining rights, non-discrim-inatory recruitment, provisions for paid maternity leave and equal wage payments and total removal of pregnant workers from hazardous work.

Installing Procedures and Operations

• While all factories had OHS committees in place, female workers were generally un-der-represented and none of the factories had operational procedures in place to consult workers in identification of workplace risks and security issues, including travel to work and lodging.

• All factories increased the number of women in OHS Committees.

• All factories reported improved and oper-ational procedures, especially regarding pregnant workers, vulnerable workers, clean washing facilities, changing rooms and toilets, and childcare.

Training and Awareness

• None of the participating factories reported having installed proper training for manage-ment and workers on gender equality and no-discrimination, sexual harassment and leadership skills for female workers.

• The level of awareness and sensitivity towards

gender equality and non-discrimination as well as sexual harassment varied widely among both management and female work-ers of the participating factories.

• All factories have improved their training system to implement gender aspects and trained both management and female workers through the Shobola training modules. A total of 12 management training sessions and 50 worker training sessions were conducted across the six factories, reaching more than 100 manag-ers and 800 female workers.

• Increased awareness among producer management on gender equality and sexual harassment as well as improved leadership skills were observed.

• Female workers reported improved management and supervisory skills and self-confidence as well as an increased awareness of their rights in both work and home environment.

• Improved communication between management and workers in support of building gender equality enabling work environment was observed during social dialogues, which each producer organised.


amfori is committed to support businesses on this journey through gender-sensitive tools that help businesses create better working conditions and improve women’s lives in global supply chains. We remain committed to a holistic approach that includes supply chain mapping, early detection, monitoring, remedy and training.

Section 3: Recommendations

Gain buy-in from their CEO

Assess the gender performance

Develop corresponding gender action plans

Monitor and evaluate the Gender Action Plan’s implementation

Engage workers and other stakeholders

(e.g. by signing the Women Empowerment Principles) and embed gender equality into their social management system approach

in their own operations and their supply chain. A good tracking system that collects gender-disaggregated data is crucial in this regard.

and drafting implementation procedures (with clear responsibilities and timeframe) to ensure that the gender-sensitive social policy is implemented in a systematic way within the daily operations of the business and its business partners

identify areas for improvement and take corrective action

in identifying, preventing, mitigating and remediating any adverse impact on women’s human rights.

The Shobola Project journey allowed us to conclude the following recommendations for businesses:

1

2

3

4

5


Section 4: TestimonialsQuotes from the leadership of the Shobola participating producers and female workers

Business sustainability cannot be obtained without the contribution of women at all levels. Shobola has enabled our women workers’ decent work and economic growth through gender equality.

M. A. Jabbar, Managing Director, Mawna Fashions Ltd, DBL Group

I am confident enough to become a leader/manager. Last month I got promoted from worker to supervisor. So think it is not impossible. We just need our will power.

Bilkis Begum, Designation - Hang Tag Man (Finishing Department), Mawna Fashions Limited

It is a matter of great honor and pleasure to present this project on “Woman Empowerment (SHOBOLA)”. I would like to extend my sincere & heartfelt thanks to all who have led us in this endeavor. It has been a reminder that we should work together towards a better tomorrow for all women.

M Shahid Hossain, Chairman, Globus Garments Limited, Dekko Group

The Shobola Project trainings even helped me to understand myself better. I have learnt how to communicate with other effectively, what to do if I face any kind of sexual harassment. I think the knowledge I acquired from the trainings have been essential to become a supervisor. I am confident I will become a supervisor now.

Ms. Sreemoti Bichitra Rani, Asst. Finishing, Globus Garments Limited


The journey of Tosrifa with Project Shobola has been pretty amazing, the project aimed at empowering female worker to advance their careers beyond the factory floors and raise awareness on gender-related issues. It gave the participants a great hope of achieving whatever they want and work towards making it a reality. Creating greater opportunities, the belief, the dream for female workers to reach managerial positions will increase participating company’s overall sustainability along with supporting the fulfillment of SDG 5- Gender Equality with contribution to SDG 8 (Decent Work & Economic Growth).

We are thankful to amfori & CSR Centre for carrying out such a wonderful work so wholeheartedly.

Mohim Hassan, Managing Director, Tosrifa Industries Ltd, Northern Tosrifa Group

The platform of social dialogue provided an opportunity to share the hidden problems with our management. I am very thankful to the Shobola Project for giving us such a scope.

Rubi, Junior Numbering Women, Tosrifa Industries Limited

We are proud to be part of the Shobola project – it has not only strengthened our female workers with the sense of feeling empowered and the managerial staff being trained on gender equality awareness – it has made the top management, including myself, think again. We now have greater responsibilities towards recognising female workers’ contribution to the industry.

Thanks all at amfori & MANGO PUNTO FA, S.L

Shovon Islam, Managing Director, Sparrow Apparels Ltd

I shared that the workload of our factory is too much to handle. After the Social dialogue session our manager managed to build capacity with one more line and distribute the work load within the previous and new lines. Now I am stress free and enjoy my work. I am really thankful to Shobola Project for arranging the social dialogue session.

Bithi Akter, Quality Inspector, Sparrow Apparels Limited


Thank you for making such a worthwhile experience through “Shobola - amfori’s Women Empowerment Project. You spent many months planning the event and it showed. The workshops were relevant and very helpful.

Mr. Salman Habib, Managing Director, Regent

Throughout my life, I have felt discriminated and never encouraged – no matter whatever I did, after attending this Shobola project – I feel confident in standing on my own feet, first time in my life and maintain my dignity at work and at home.

Kohinoor, Assistant Operator, Regent Textile Mills Limited

This is really a very efficient and effective program for our workers, and we are very much benefited through this program. Our workers are now more confident and enthusiastic about their work and life. By observing this, other female workers will also become interested to develop themselves.

Thanks to CSR center for executing this nicely, our sincere gratitude to Woolworth & amfori for bringing us in to this great initiative.

Asheek Bhuiyan, Vice President, KDS IDR Ltd, KDS Group

I shared the training contents with my husband and my co-workers. My husband appreciated the gender equality topic and also realised the importance of sharing household activities.

Amena Aktar, Quality Section, KDS IDR Limited


Project Partners

As the leading global business association for open and sustainable trade, amfori brings together retailers, importers, brands and associations from more than 44 countries. amfori’s mission is to enable each of its members to enhance human prosperity, use natural resources responsibly and drive open trade globally. In this project amfori is the funding and monitoring partner.

DBL Group is a diversified business entity in Bangladesh which has vertically integrated textile and apparel manufacturing facilities, with concerns in Dredging, VLSI Design, Sewing Thread, Dyed Fiber & Yarn, ICT & Telecommunications and Ceramic Tiles. DBL Group supplies quality apparels to globally renowned retailers. In Shobola Project they will provide in-kind support with its technical expertise.

The CSR Centre encourages and expands Corporate Social Responsibility practices in Bangladesh and globally. Its mission is to create positive change in communities through CSR. One of its main objectives is to create responsible supply chains in Bangladesh. It implements and promotes CSR initiatives in both private and public sectors through research, policy advocacy and trainings. The CSR Centre is the implementing partner of this project in cooperation with amfori.

amfori

The Gradient Building Avenue de Tervueren 2701150 Brussels - Belgium

Phone: +32 2 762 05 51 E-mail: [email protected]

Find and follow us: /amfori

Join us.

Be part of the open and sustainable trade community. Our members benefit from amfori BSCI and many other vital products. Go to amfori.org or contact us at [email protected]

shobola – amfori’s women empowerment project in bangladesh

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