Respect

The mission of RISE Respect is to promote gender equality and prevent gender-based violence and harassment (GBVH). The program provides a unique opportunity for garment industry stakeholders to turn commitments into action.

Many female workers in global supply chains experience high levels of harassment and violence, both in the workplace and in their personal relationships. This violence, which can be economic, emotional, physical, or sexual, deprives women of their basic human rights and compromises their well-being. In addition, an increasing amount of evidence shows that when the well-being of workers suffers, businesses and economies are negatively impacted.

RISE Respect delivers through three main workstreams:

Capacity strengthening

Through its Workplace Program, RISE Respect promotes gender equality and cultivates more equitable relationships and attitudes among women and men in global supply chains, which ultimately help prevent violence and harassment in the workplace and in intimate relationships.

Market transformation

RISE’s objective is to provide a safe space for brands, suppliers, and worker representatives to reflect on business practices and compliance approaches and define mutually agreed-upon strategies for prevention and remediation of GBVH.

Influencing

RISE Respect supports alignment with existing legal frameworks and aims to generate new evidence to help inform progressive public policies on combating GBVH and ensuring women workers’ voices are heard. RISE supports the idea of bringing these various stakeholders together to co-create, exchange learnings, and examine ways to take meaningful action on GBVH.

Results & impacts

After the workplace program, respondents reported a 39% decrease in acceptance of supervisors shouting in the workplace.

After the workplace program, there was a 46% decrease among respondents who believed more rights for women resulted in men losing out.

The most important lesson I learnt is that being a woman is great! We do not realise that women have multiple roles to play both at home and at work and roles are equally important. I always saw myself as just another woman, someone who is viewed as a burden by society. I have two sons at home and I keep telling them about gender and create an opportunity for them to learn at home. Over the course of the project, I have understood that men and women are equal. We shouldn’t care much about what the society thinks of us anyway! RISErespect taught me to be myself and this realization is necessary for every being."

Chandana

Female Worker, Bangladesh