LS&Co. Unzipped
Aug 16 2011
For Women, An Investment With a Positive Return
It’s a safe bet all of the clothes you’re wearing right now were made by women. In factories around the world, it’s largely women who cut the patterns, sew the seams and make the buttonholes.
So it makes sense that giving these women the information they need to live better, healthier lives would be in the best interest of the factories that hire them.
That’s the idea behind HERproject.
We first told you about it in March. Now, we have some new information to share.
A study just released shows that advancing women’s health education pays off not only for the women, but also for the businesses that employ them.
BSR and the Levi Strauss Foundation sponsored the study, in four factories in Egypt and Pakistan. It examined absenteeism and turnover rates to determine HERproject business benefits.
Our findings clearly reinforce the value of investing in women’s health.
In one factory in Ismailia, Egypt, absentee rates fell from 19 percent to 10.7 percent, and turnover decreased from 14.5 percent to 8.1 percent. This represents an estimated savings of US$48,000 -- an impressive figure considering it's four times greater than the original investment.
This was not an isolated result. Three out of four factories in the study achieved reductions in absenteeism and turnover. They also saw decreased production errors as a result of improved worker retention, concentration and performance.
Factories also reported gains in employee development – not only among apparel workers themselves, but also among nurses, supervisors and human resource officers. They all learned new skills and, as a result, showed increased confidence.
More workers took advantage of services offered by factory health clinics and were more satisfied with the clinics’ offerings, leading to improved worker satisfaction with management.
Of course, investing in women’s health is also the right thing to do.
Even so, the business case matters tremendously. Why? Most of all, it matters because it helps make women matter—to their supervisors, to their peers, and to themselves.
If money is saved through the betterment of women – and we’re able to prove it – the findings can encourage further investments in women’s health throughout the global supply chains that employ millions of women around the world.
We are proud of our partnership with Levi Strauss & Co. and the Levi Strauss Foundation, as well as the other companies participating in HERproject. Together, we believe we can advance women’s health and show a clear return on the investment – for women and for the businesses that employ them.
This post was co-authored by Racheal Yeager, Manager, HERproject.
Posted By: Aron Cramer, President & CEO, BSR |
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manjula (not verified) - Aug 17 2011
HER project is very good idea...........it helps us a lot globaly the enlightment of how to manage good health and contribute to her preffisional life.
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