Business Partnerships as a Force for Good | High Level Event 1: Summary Briefing

About the Programmes Business Partnerships for Global Goals (BP4GG) is an FCDO programme which partners with businesses and not-forprofit organisations to test and scale shared value business initiatives that contribute to the Global Goals. The programme is addressing challenges from COVID-19, with a focus on the most disadvantaged people. This includes women across garments and agricultural supply chains to improve their access to incomes, jobs, and markets in 7 countries in Africa and Asia.

The Work and Opportunities for Women (WOW) programme is FCDO’s flagship programme on women’s economic empowerment. WOW implements partnerships with corporates to improve economic opportunities and outcomes for women in supply chains including improving the visibility of women through better data.

Business Partnership for Global Goals Learning Event Series

Business Partnerships as a Force for Good: Partnerships empowering women during the pandemic 3rd March 2021 | 10:00-11:30am (GMT)

Introduction to the event To mark International Women's Day, FCDO programme Business Partnerships for Global Goals (BP4GG) organised a cross-programme learning event together with the Work and Opportunities for Women (WOW) programme.

The event showcased how partnerships between the FCDO, business and not-for-profits have empowered women in Africa and Asia, before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

For this event, Marks and Spencer, CARE International, Primark, Impactt, Fairtrade Foundation, MM Flowers, and The Body Shop showcased their current partnership projects under BP4GG and WOW to a cross-HMG audience.

Flower worker with gerberas at Flamingo farm, Naivasha © Karen Smith BP4GG

Key learnings How can business partnerships empower vulnerable women during crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic?

1.

Design interventions with women at the centre, and regularly check they continue to address women’s needs as intended Incorporate the view of women as direct beneficiaries from the beginning. Check-back directly with them as initiatives are deployed to ensure the intended outcomes are being realised, and adapt activities accordingly.

BP4GG example: Fairtrade Foundation working with MM Flowers to conduct a vulnerability assessment of female flower workers to understand how they can best be supported through the pandemic.

2.

Plan interventions that cover the transition from recovery to resilience In responding to the acute supply-chain shocks of the pandemic, consider a spectrum of interventions that address women’s needs. These could range from immediate relief (e.g. cash transfers, food aid, PPE, health packages) to those that build longerterm resilience (e.g. future income diversification, advocacy for women’s rights).

BP4GG example: Primark working with Impactt to deliver direct cash transfers to female garment workers who suffered instability of income.

Using the leverage of the cash transfers to ensure factories provide training on gender-based violence and women’s advocacy in the workplace.

3.

Build on existing partnerships to fast-track initiatives Where possible, partner with businesses and NGOs who have already collaborated and formed a successful working relationship. Prioritise businesses with close supplier relationships and/or boots-on-the-ground in the target country, to make use of their reach to workers and dependents. This could mean building upon an existing programme and using this ready-made infrastructure to rapidly get new initiatives started and delivering benefits to vulnerable people.

BP4GG example: working with Marks and Spencer and CARE International to build a successful COVID-19 response on the foundation of the 5-year HALOW+ initiative.

A view from the FCDO Joining the discussion was the keynote speaker Mita Samani, Head of Private Sector Development at the FCDO. Mita emphasised that COVID-19 has pushed between 143 million and 163 million additional people into poverty this year, 47 million of them are women and girls, and serious reversal of decades of development outcomes is expected. Partnerships remain important for FCDO in this scenario.

Mita stressed the unique position the private sector plays in not only advancing women’s economic empowerment but championing decent work and taking forward the SDG agenda. Amidst the pressures placed on supply chains by the COVID-19 pandemic, BP4GG has demonstrated how shared value initiatives can 'build back better' by increasing social and environmental sustainability while maintaining jobs and keeping products on the shelves in the UK. Through WOW, the FCDO has seen the value of gender-targeted approaches, and how the private sector is pivotal in addressing deep-rooted issues such as unpaid work and care and promoting women's leadership.

The private sector has the scale and resources to deliver the SDG agenda. MNCs also have presence and employ thousands of poor people in many FCDO priority countries. If MNC influence and leverage can be harnessed by FCDO, as shown with these two programmes, they have the potential to impact hundreds of thousands of the world’s poorest.

Looking ahead, development remains central to the mission of the FCDO, as a newly-merged department. Advancing gender equity also remains a priority, as does supporting countries on the path to sustainable financing, to develop green and resilient capital markets, and to break down barriers to free trade.

Partner Presentations

Outcomes from the "Agenda for Change" Session (Mentimeter)

How are businesses supporting women’s empowerment during the pandemic through partnerships with FCDO?

Question 1:

Question 2:

What is key to a successful partnership between donor/s (FCDO) and businesses, especially for initiatives that aim at empowering women?

From the examples of innovative measures presented, which aspect could you draw inspiration from to inform your work to support women’s empowerment ?

Question 3:

Question 4:

What is the most effective way (according to you) in which businesses can support / have supported women in the examples given?

What do you think should be the highest priority FCDO policy / intervention for women economic empowerment both during and emerging from COVID-19?

Impactt & Primark Presented by: Adam Cole & Lindsey Block "Bridging the gap: Supporting the tranision from crisis to resilience"

Fairtrade International & MM Flowers Presented by: Caroline Downey & Louisa Cox "Gender in resilient flower supply chains"

The Body Shop Presented by: Lee Mann "The power of project partnerships"

More from BP4GG INFORMATION: For more information on the BP4GG and the latest newsletter from the programme please visit us here.

EVENTS: This is the first of a series of learning events which will be held by BP4GG. Please look out for invites to future forums. Coming next will be a round-table discussion with BP4GG’s private sector partners to explore the partnerships modality in greater depth.

CARE International & M&S Presented by: Justin Dell & Lydia Hopton "Vulnerable supply chain facility, Bangladesh"

To contact the BP4GG team, please email either the Project Director: Mehnaz Bhaur mehnaz. bhaur@mottmac.com, or the FCDO Senior Responsible Officer: Solene Bryson solene.bryson@ fcdo.gov.uk For more information on Work and Opportunities for Women and to see reports and guidance produced by the programme, please visit their website, or contact Elin Carmichael elin. carmichael@fcdo.gov.uk