Private sector Archives - Oxfam Policy & Practice

Briefing paper

Raising the Bar: Supermarkets must urgently address structural exploitation of cocoa farmers

10/04/2025

1 documents

36 pages long

Languages: English

Keywords

Overview

Most cocoa farmers in main cocoa producing countries Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana are poor, even though they are at the heart of the supply chain for a luxury good: chocolate. For decades they have been receiving low farm gate prices, which don’t allow them to earn a living income for their families. At the same […]

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Briefing paper

Change the Way You Do Business: Leading with women workers voices

18/03/2025

2 documents

43 pages long

Languages: English

Keywords

Overview

This second briefing in the Briefings for Business on Valuing Women’s Work series explores how systemic business practices perpetuate gender inequality through informal work, particularly in feminized sectors with large numbers of women workers, like tea and garments. Through women workers’ voices and case studies, the briefing reveals how patriarchal norms and inequitable practices exacerbate […]

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Case study

From Exploited to Unemployed: The women in Leicester left behind by fast fashion outsourcing, interviews with Leicester garment workers

18/03/2025

1 documents

16 pages long

Languages: English

Keywords

Overview

This case study presents personal accounts from five women working in garment and textile factories in Leicester, UK. As migrant women in global supply chains, they experience intersectional vulnerability to exploitation, and their stories demonstrate the gendered impact of the buying choices made by fashion brands.

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Case study

Tea Leaves a Mark: The voice of survivors of sexual and gender-based violence in Kenya’s tea estates

18/03/2025

1 documents

23 pages long

Languages: English

Keywords

Overview

Female labourers in Kenya’s tea estates face sexual and gender-based violence, precarious employment and systemic inequality. Grounded in personal testimonies, this case study highlights the resilience of women navigating exploitative conditions and intergenerational poverty. Based on the women’s words, it advocates for actionable reforms, including strengthening reporting mechanisms, enhancing mental health resources, ensuring fair wages, […]

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Briefing paper

Innovative Pathways: When and how to use alternative approaches to Human Rights Impact Assessments

21/02/2025

1 documents

14 pages long

Languages: English

Keywords

Overview

Human rights violations are widespread across global supply chains, with companies increasingly exposed to risks like forced labor and environmental degradation. While audits and certifications have proven insufficient in preventing such abuses, a more robust approach is necessary. A Human Rights Impact Assessment (HRIA) is an essential tool that helps businesses identify and assess human […]

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Guidelines and toolkits

Private Sector Rapid Care Analysis Toolkit

29/10/2024

3 documents

78 pages long

Languages: English

Keywords

Overview

A Private Sector Rapid Care Analysis toolkit (PS RCA) is a rapid process for businesses and workers to understand the heavy responsibility and long hours of unpaid care and domestic work (UCDW), usually done by women workers. The guide also makes the case for why private sector companies should address UCDW as part of workers’ […]

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Briefing paper

Right-sizing Corporate Voice: A briefing for business on responsible political engagement

30/07/2024

5 documents

40 pages long

Languages: Arabic, English, French, Spanish

Keywords

Overview

Businesses dominate the policymaking process, mostly prioritize short-term financial interests and provide minimal transparency, creating an inherent risk of corporate policy capture that has been exacerbated by practices across lobbying, advocacy and political spending. A new approach to corporate political engagement – building on existing frameworks and based on the familiar experience of developing human […]

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Research report

Essential but Invisible and Exploited: A literature review of migrant workers’ experiences in European agriculture

05/06/2024

4 documents

73 pages long

Languages: English, Spanish

Keywords

Overview

This report – derived from work implemented by Oxfam Intermón and the University Institute for Studies on Migration (IUEM) of Comillas University in the EU SafeHabitus project – is based on a review of academic and non-academic literature from the past five years. It assesses research on working, living, health and transport conditions for migrants working […]

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Discussion paper

Towards Achieving Gender Equity in the Food Sector: What can investors do?

08/02/2024

2 documents

33 pages long

Languages: English, Portuguese

Keywords

Overview

Women and gender-diverse people represent an important constituency in the food value chain. Among all working women globally, about one in three works upstream in the food value chain. These women face increasing barriers to safety, recognition and advancement. Yet very little about their experiences has been documented. In the limited instances where the women […]

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Briefing paper

Inequality Inc. How corporate power divides our world and the need for a new era of public action

15/01/2024

9 documents

71 pages long

Languages: Arabic, English, French, Spanish

Keywords

Overview

Since 2020, the richest five men in the world have doubled their fortunes. During the same period, almost five billion people globally have become poorer. Hardship and hunger are a daily reality for many people worldwide. At current rates, it will take 230 years to end poverty, but we could have our first trillionaire in […]

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Private sector

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