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Editor's Note
Women and Sustainability
In response to a question about Saudi Arabia's economic competitiveness in 2007, Bill Gates famously announced to the gender-segregated audience: "If you're not fully utilizing half the talent in the country, you're not going to get too close to the top."
His words ring true for companies too. Women control US$20 trillion in annual consumer spending, fill 1 billion jobs globally, and have earned income levels that are rising at a rate of 8 percent annually. Women are also more likely to invest their money in ways that benefit their children's health and education and their communities. Women must be critical partners in the growth and sustainability of global business now and in the decades to come.
Yet, women face many challenges to economic participation—including sexual harassment, equal pay for equal work, and access to reproductive health information and services—that need to be addressed to include them as full partners in sustainable business.
This edition of the BSR Review builds on our report from last year and features a collection of articles, videos, blogs, reports, and webinars to help you engage women more effectively, and at the same time, ensure that women are better protected, served, and represented by global business.
For questions about women and sustainability, please contact Racheal Yeager.
The Economic Power of Women
Empowering Women Through Mobile Technology (August 18, 2011)
By Cammie Erickson, Associate, Partnership Development, BSR
Blog: Mobile ownership has skyrocketed in recent years, not only in developed countries but also in emerging economies. But is everyone benefitting equally from this technology? Studies show that there is a significant mobile phone gender gap: 300 million fewer women around the world have access to mobile technology than men. Read more →
For Financial Services Companies, Women Represent an Enormous (Missed) Opportunity (August 9, 2011)
By Chhavi Ghuliani, Manager, Advisory Services, BSR
Blog: As BSR’s recent report on the topic highlights, the world's working poor need access to a range of formal financial products and services—including credit, savings, insurance, and remittances—in order to invest in economic opportunities, manage their money more effectively, and reduce risks related to illness or loss of employment. This is especially true for women, who stand to gain disproportionately from participating in the formal financial sector. Read more →
The Economic Power of Women (April 5, 2011)
By Amaya Gorostiaga, Associate, Advisory Services, BSR
Blog: Women represent the largest market opportunity in the world. Globally, they control US$20 trillion in annual consumer spending, and this number could rise to US$28 trillion in the next five years. According to the Boston Consulting Group survey "What Women Want," this potential would constitute a growth market bigger than those of China and India combined. Read more →
Women and Sustainability: Investing in Women's Economic Empowerment (March 2011)
Report: This brief provides background on women's economic empowerment issues and how they relate to business. It also gives companies information, processes, and tools to identify and implement strategic investments in women’s economic empowerment. Read more →
Overcoming the Obstacles to Investing in Women (October 12, 2010)
By Jennifer Schappert, Associate, Advisory Services, BSR
BSR Insight article: This article presents four focus areas to help business promote the integration of gender considerations into overall sustainability strategies. Read more →
Advancing Entrepreneurship With Women in Saudi Arabia (July 1, 2010)
Blog: During a meeting last year with leading female entrepreneurs in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, BSR had the unique opportunity to better understand developments in the Kingdom regarding women's participation in the private sector and in the job market. Read more →
Investing in Women's Health
Health Enables Returns: The Business Returns From HERproject (August 2011)
Report: BSR’s HERproject has the potential to deliver a US$4 return for every US$1 invested in the project, according to this study funded by the Levi Strauss Foundation and USAID in Egypt and Pakistan. Read more →
A Quick Guide to the HERproject Toolbuilder (June 20, 2011)
Blog: This quick guide explains how to use the HERproject Toolbuilder, a web-based application that helps global health educators create culturally relevant training tools for factory- and farm-based health education in developing countries. Read more →
Women and Sustainability: Investing in Women's Health (March 2011)
Report: This report explores the gender dimensions of health that have significant impacts on workplace productivity, the consumer marketplace, community stability, and community member well-being. It also provides companies with information and tools to identify and implement strategic investments in women's health. Read more →
★ Opportunities to Improve Women's Health in Factories: Moving Beyond HERproject (October 21, 2010)
Sustainability Matters webinar: This discussion explored some of the lessons learned and the five recommendations BSR and our HERproject partners put forward for companies to maximize women's health in the workplace. Listen now →
Improving Women's Health in the Developing World Begs More Than Money (September 23, 2010)
By Peder Michael Pruzan-Jorgensen, Managing Director, Europe, Middle East, and Africa, BSR; and Racheal Yeager, Manager, HERproject, BSR
Blog: At the close of the 2010 UN Summit on progress toward achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon announced a US$40 billion investment in women and children’s health. This announcement came less than a week after Johnson & Johnson announced a commitment of US$200 million and CARE International pledged $1.8 billion to address the same issue. Read more →
Employing Women Responsibly
How Companies Can Help Prevent Trafficking (August 23, 2011)
By Celine Suarez, Manager, Advisory Services, BSR
Blog: It's estimated that 80 percent of global trafficking victims are women, and the vast majority are ensnared in sexual exploitation through the promise of legitimate jobs, marriage, "a way out," or the lure of love from a male figure. Companies that have household names face significant brand risks if their products, services, or supply chains are associated with trafficking. Read more →
Audits Falling Short for Women (August 1, 2011)
By Racheal Yeager, Manager, HERproject, BSR
Blog: Today’s social-compliance frameworks and auditing protocols are falling short on protecting female workers from the unique vulnerabilities they face. Read more →
Women and Sustainability: Employing Women Responsibly (March 2011)
Report: This brief identifies the unique challenges and opportunities to employing women in the emerging market context, and provides recommendations to help companies improve their ability to attract and retain women in those markets. Read more →
The Gender Lens (November 3, 2010)
BSR Conference 2010 session summary: In this session, ExxonMobil Corporation’s Lorie Jackson, Levi Strauss Foundation's Daniel Jae-Won Lee, SAP's Sirima Sataman, and BSR's Racheal Yeager discuss how companies are making innovative and profitable investments to improve the status of women. Read more →
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