Does she get fair deal?
This month we are bringing awareness to the women behind your weekly shop – from the challenges faced by women farmers and the hidden work of women in supply chains, to the women-led brands championing fairer trade.
Did you know that women make up the majority of people producing our food?
From farms and factories to offices, women are present in every part of the supply chain – but they rarely receive a fair share for their work.
Despite their hard work, 70% of the approximately 700 million people living in poverty are women.
This isn’t fair and needs to be addressed.
Women in agricultural communities often:
- Don’t have control of the money they earn
- Don’t own land or crops
- Have less access to education, training or supplies
- Are discriminated against when applying for credit
- Face sexual harassment or abuse
Fast facts
In India, women are pushed to undergo hysterectomies to continue working on sugar cane fields.
Reports have found that some women sugar workers in India are pushed to undergo hysterectomies to continue working in sugar cane fields. Child marriages are also commonplace in order to form a harvesting pair needed in sugar production.
Women also face sexual harassment and abuse in large estates and can be required to submit to pregnancy tests or fired if found to be pregnant. This CANNOT continue. Women workers deserve to work in a safe and fair environment with equal treatment.
She grows Fairtrade
Hear directly from the hardworking women growing your food 👇 Check back regularly for new stories and updates.
Behind the beauty of flowers
Did you know that 70% of flower farm workers are women?
Across countries like Kenya, Ethiopia, and Uganda, hundreds of thousands of people rely on flower farming for their livelihoods – growing and selling flowers that end up homes and events across the UK.
In our latest report, we shed light on the significant economic benefits that flower workers in Kenya receive through the Fairtrade Premium.
Buy Fairtrade
Did you know there are nearly 5,000 Fairtrade products available in the UK, with options for every budget? By making just a few small swaps in your shopping basket, you can create a big difference to the lives of the people who produce them.
What is Fairtrade doing to address gender challenges?
- Fairtrade Standards require co-operatives to have policies on no discrimination, zero tolerance on abusive behaviour and no testing for pregnancy when recruiting.
- Programmes that support and train women in taking leadership roles within their community like the Women’s Schools of Leadership, which support women in gaining business, negotiation and financial skills.
- Many Fairtrade Premium projects directly benefit women, enabling changes to decision making and governance structures in certified producer organisations, and improving economic opportunities.
- There are also specific initiatives targeted at entrepreneurship and women. For example, the Women in Coffee Project, which encouraged the transfer of coffee bushes to women coffee farmers in Kenya, enabling them to earn an independent income for the first time.
- Close monitoring of gender inequality is crucial to learn what works best and build on successes. Fairtrade undertakes several studies on this matter.
Fairtrade is actively promoting women’s economic empowerment and addressing some of the barriers that women face.
Women’s economic empowerment through Fairtrade: A literature review, 2020, page 15.
How to stand with women farmers and workers 💪🏼
Choose Fairtrade when you shop and encourage others to do the same. A few small swaps to the products you buy can make a huge change to the lives of the people who produce them.
Push our message out into the world! Spread the word on social, tag us, and use the hashtag #ChooseFairtrade.
Ask your MP to sign our pledge to Be The Change, and encourage others to contact their MP too.
