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By
Carmen K. Iezzi*
Since 1911, the month of March has
been set aside to celebrate the achievements of women, particularly March 8,
International Women’s Day. According to Fair Trade Federation research,
76% of Fair Trade production is done by women. So, when you support Fair
Trade, you invest in:
- Empowering workplaces which
respect and actively solicit women's opinions.
- Capacity building to help
women develop their skills and independence.
- Fair wages that take into
account the hard work needed to create the quality pieces you enjoy.
- Equality between men and
women and dignity for all.
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Photo Zameen Organic
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Women and Trade
The Economist has called women “the most powerful engine” of global
economic growth, estimating that women produce just fewer than 40% of
official GDP in developed economies.1
At the same time, the Women’s Funding Network estimates that “the value of
women’s unpaid work is estimated to equal USD$11 trillion… yet this work is
missing from national income accounts leaving women missing out on social
security, pension schemes and access to public services.”2 They
also estimate that women receive 73-77 cents for every dollar received by
men. The United Nations reminds us that “women are largely relegated to more
vulnerable forms of employment”3 and, in 2007, ECOSOC4
reported that “women make up a little over half of the world's population,
but … account for over 60% of the world’s hungry.”
Yet, the economic empowerment of women spills over into numerous other
areas of sustainable development. The Women’s Learning Partnership estimates
that for every year beyond fourth grade that girls attend school, wages rise
20%, child deaths drop 10%, and family size drops 20%. World Bank research in
Africa shows that reducing structural gender inequality can increase
agricultural yields by more than 20%;5 and, “in 2001, the United
Nations reported that eliminating gender inequality in Latin America would
increase national output by 5 percent.”6
Catalyzing change among the most vulnerable and impoverished in our
world - as Fair Trade Principles are designed to do – can address
specifically these situations. When you choose Fair Trade in March and
throughout the year, you support the empowerment of women worldwide and the
long-term benefits that come from their success.
Women in Fair Trade
Through Fair Trade, women are brought into more formal trading
systems; and, long-term relationships are built to address complex, long-term
challenges. Women entrepreneurs and consumers, particularly in the North, and
female entrepreneurs and producers in the South have a key role to play in
these processes. In North
America, we note the earliest days of Fair Trade with the actions
of one woman, Edith Ruth Byler.
In 1946, Mrs. Byler was struck by the overwhelming poverty she witnessed
[among women artisans] during a trip to Puerto Rico…
She began a grassroots campaign … in the United
States by selling handcrafted products out
of the trunk of her car [and] made a concerted effort to educate her
community about the lives of artisans around the world.7
Her work grew into Ten Thousand Villages, which is now the
largest Fair Trade Retailer in North America. Over
the last sixty years, entrepreneurs working in both handmade and agricultural
items have invested in women in order to create opportunities, invest in
empowerment, and support women’s self-sufficiency and dignity.
Creating Opportunities
During her career in public health, Ellen Dorsch’s visits to Africa
learned that former sex workers training to be hairdressers, only to find
there were no jobs available, and rehab centers where women created beautiful
tablecloths, but only found a market in the small bazaar for ex-pats. She
realized that an opportunity existed to improve women's lives and maintain a
centuries-old art form by introducing the US
to the beauty of Ethiopian textiles.
Since opening Creative
Women in 2002, Ellen has seen how consumers make a concrete difference in
the lives of women in Ethiopia,
Swaziland, Afghanistan,
Mali, and Senegal. As
the business has grown, more women have been hired in order to fill Creative
Women's orders. They set up training programs with the Fistula
Hospital in Addis
Ababa, offering non-skilled jobs to former
sex-workers, and worked with the Ethiopian government to bring cocoon growing
for silk worms to small villages, providing work in the rural areas. In Swaziland
- the country with the highest incident of HIV in Africa
- Creative Women's supplier can now offer free testing every three months,
plus HIV/AIDS counseling and education. In addition, since most of the
women live far from the workshop, Creative Women's suppliers provide housing,
so that distance does not prevent women from taking a good paying job.
Through the sale of their wearable accessories and home accents, Creative
Women is creating opportunities for women to change their own lives.
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Photo Global Mamas
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Investing in Empowerment
Founded in 2002 by two
former Peace Corps Volunteers and six Ghanaian women, Global Mamas works to validate women’s economic independence by exporting their
high-quality handmade goods. The Global Mamas network has grown from six
founding members in 2004 to nearly 500 producers in nine communities working
in batik, sewing, beadmaking, and shea butter soap-making. Their lines of
clothing, ornaments, jewelry, décor, and soap can now be found at museum
stores, boutiques, Fair Trade shops, and other venues across the United
States, Europe, and Australia.
The perspectives of women are traditionally undervalued in Ghanaian
society, but Global Mamas convenes regular meetings of all the Mamas in a
geographic area to discuss important issues and decide the future of the
organization on the ground. They also work with each Mama to understand how
to implement Fair Trade practices and expectations in their own workshops and
with their own staff, so that the practice of Fair Trade is not only between
Global Mamas and the heads of each business, but between all of the women
involved. At the same time, the women are encouraged to maintain their
independent businesses, initiate projects, and take on clients outside of the
Global Mamas umbrella.
Supporting Self-Sufficiency
Similarly, Just Coffee
Cooperative changes women’s lives through their support of Fundación
Entre Mujeres (La FEM) in Nicaragua.
More than simply a consortium of 132 coffee cooperatives, La FEM was founded
in 1996 to work on issues of domestic violence, women's health, education,
and job training. It serves as an autonomous organization for rural women who
seek to challenge the traditional models of land ownership and advocate for
women’s rights.
Since 2007, Just Coffee and its partners in Cooperative Coffees have
purchased over 91,120
lbs of beans. By working with Just Coffee, the women
not only receive $1.56 - $2 / lb for their coffee (considerably higher than
market and Fair Trade Certified minimum prices), but also access to
capacity-building, support transitioning to organic production, and other
benefits. Through partnerships with development organizations, La FEM farmers
receive training on crop diversification, processing, and post-harvest
techniques. They also learn business and management skills, such as the use
of market-pricing information, so that they can sell their crops at the best
possible time. Now, all but one of the growers in the cooperative is
certified organic. Everyone's children are in school. They have even started
a training center in Condega for young women to learn carpentry,
construction, welding, and other tasks traditionally assigned to men, so that
they will not be dependent on men to build and maintain their houses. These
women have reshaped their lives, because consumers and Just Coffee have
supported their struggle for equality.
What’s Next
The Economist calls investing in women “probably the single
best investment that can be made in the developing world.”8 Shift
your purchases to fully Fair Trade Organizations - members of the Fair Trade Federation and World Fair Trade Organization - and invest in
artisans and farmers. In March and throughout the year, give them more power,
build capacity, and create opportunities for them to improve their own
futures.
*Carmen Iezzi is the
Executive Director of Fair Trade Federation. The Fair Trade Federation is the
trade association that strengthens and promotes North American organizations
fully committed to Fair Trade. Carmen K. Iezzi has served as executive
director since 2006. For more information and to find more fully Fair Trade
organizations in North
America,
visit www.FairTradeFederation.org.
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