Inclusive Business Seminar...
On 23 September 2020, SNV and ICCO Cooperation are supporting the Dutch-Bangla Chamber...
The Ready Made Garment (RMG) industry is a mainstay of the Bangladesh economy, accounting for 81% of the country's total export income. Bangladesh is the world’s third largest garment producer with more than 3,000 factories currently employing around 4 million workers, an estimated 85% of them women. Most RMG workers are migrants from disadvantaged backgrounds and lack access to products and services related to Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR).
The Working with Women-II project aims to improve the health and wellbeing of garment workers in Bangladesh through Inclusive Business practices across the RMG value chain. Working with Women-II builds on the success of a three-year pilot project (Working with Women-I) and is funded by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Drawing on SNV’s extensive experience of engaging with business communities to promote responsible and inclusive business, the Working with Women-II project will integrate three Inclusive Business (IB) models in 10 partner factories to harness market mechanisms for delivering win-win solutions for businesses and their workforce. In the next four years (2017-2021) the project will involve 200 factories in Gazipur, Tongi, Savar and Narayanganj to ensure access to health facilities for garment workers, including SRHR.
Key activities in Phase- II (2017-2021):
The new phase of the project will involve NGOs, service providers and businesses to set the ground for a self-sustaining sectoral change that will safeguard the healthcare rights of workers, including SRHR. This will be achieved through three IB models selected during the piloting phase:
Key achievements of pilot phase (2014-2017):
To help incorporate and implement workplace laws and policies on SRHR
To increase RMG workers’ access to SRHR information, products and services
To help the private sector provide/introduce solutions to ensure SRHR for RMG workers