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Corporate Social Responsibility
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7.22.2008 - 11:59pm ET
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Pioneering BSR Group Offers Simple Solutions to Improve Factory Women's Health
HERproject Outlines Key Actions for Global Companies, Factories and NGOs
(CSRwire) SAN FRANCISCO - July 23, 2008 - By connecting companies, factories and
NGOs, Business for Social
Responsibility (BSR) has developed a list of simple solutions these
actors can take to help factory women around the world improve their
health and access to health services. The benefit to business is clear:
With increased health knowledge, employees are more productive, have
greater morale and miss fewer days of work.
For example, in a recent BSR-sponsored focus group in Pakistan, female
factory workers spoke candidly about their most pressing health needs -
and the results were surprising: Many women confessed that they were
skipping up to three days of work every month due to pain, infections and
embarrassment during their menstrual cycles.
The problem? The women lacked access to sanitary napkins as well as basic
knowledge about proper hygiene during menstruation. As it turns out,
simple health concepts such as the use of sanitary napkins, which many
women in the developed world take for granted, can go a long way toward
improving the health of women in developing countries.
These findings are part of BSR's HERproject, an
initiative that provides health training and services to female factory
workers in China, India, Indonesia, Pakistan and Vietnam. Launched in 2007
in China, HERproject connects multinational brands and their suppliers with
health educators who train women in factories to act as "health
ambassadors" - teaching their peers about reproductive health, maternal
health nutrition, disease prevention and how to access health services.
According to one study that looked at the model upon which HERproject is
based, factories reaped a return of $3 for every $1 invested in women's
health training and services.
At a June strategy session in Vietnam, BSR brought together more than 60
leaders from organizations and companies such as CARE Cambodia, the David
and Lucile Packard Foundation, the International Finance Corporation, Levi
Strauss & Co., Marie Stopes International, Nike, Timberland, Wal-Mart and
the Walt Disney Company. At that landmark gathering, BSR identified the
following steps that companies, factories and NGOs can take to improve
women's health in the workplace:
Seek understanding and alignment of stakeholders' differing
objectives. Due to different demands, factory managers and NGOs
implementing workplace health programs sometimes conflict. For example,
factories with high production demands may want to hold health trainings
after work hours, while NGO staff may face safety - or work-related
limitations for after-hours sessions. To ensure that all needs are met and
a compromise is reached, BSR is working as a facilitator between these
groups.
Establish strong partnerships. To work together effectively,
factories and NGOs must build trust in each other, which often requires a
long-term relationship, with projects extending longer than one year.
Address cultural challenges on a local level. Every country and each
factory have unique challenges that require customized solutions.
Companies should work with local NGOs and factory managers to better
understand the needs of the workers.
Improve access to basic health services. To improve the impact of
health education, the second phase of HERproject will work with NGO
partners and factories to improve existing factory health clinics and
educate workers about health services elsewhere when clinics aren't
available at their factories.
Simple solutions such as these reinforce the successful model of
HERproject. "By engaging the stakeholders in this issue - including global
brands, foundations, factories and the workers themselves - BSR is proud to
create solutions that benefit women and the businesses they work for," said
Chad Bolick, BSR's Director, CSR Strategy.
For more information about HERproject,
visit www.herproject.org, or
email getinvolved@herproject.org.
About BSR
Since 1992, Business for Social Responsibility (BSR) has been providing
socially responsible business solutions to many of the world's leading
corporations. Headquartered in San Francisco and with offices in New York,
Paris, Guangzhou, Beijing and Hong Kong, BSR is a nonprofit business
association that serves its 250 member companies and other Global 1000
enterprises. Through advisory services, convenings and research, BSR works
with corporations and concerned stakeholders of all types to create a more
just and sustainable global economy. For more information, visit www.bsr.org.
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