On November 11, the Globalisation and Development (GAD) Programme invited Ms. Wang, director of the Chinese branch of the international nonprofit organization “Business for Social Responsibility” (BSR), to share with students and staff the overall mission of BSR and, in particular, the achievements of “HERproject”, a compelling, transnational effort that promotes women’s empowerment and inclusion in factories across the Global South.

BSR is in fact a membership-based organisation with main offices in Copenhagen, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, New York, Paris, San Francisco, Shanghai and Tokyo, enjoying the participation and support of some of the most well-known international brands, from Amazon to Nike, CHANEL, Hewlett Packard (HP), Tesco and Twinings just to name a few.

On behalf of its prestigious members, BSR liaises and works closely with suppliers – most of which operate in the developing world, in countries such as India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Kenya, Ethiopia and, above all, China - to actively promote compliance with national and international requirements and best practices of environmental sustainability as well as social justice and inclusion.

In particular, BSR’s “HERproject” is an initiative that strives to empower low-income women working in global supply chains. The talk highlighted how, by bringing together global brands, their suppliers and various local NGOs, “HERproject” indeed aims at upholding social values while simultaneously maximising the business valuethat is inevitably unlocked with the implementation of inclusive practices, which, over time, harness the full potential of the entire workforce, eliminate gender disparity and ultimately enhance both safety and performance.

Ms. Wang explained how, essentially, BSR engages in “factory management capacity building” as a form of grassroots promotion of UN sustainable development goals along increasingly complex and impactful global value chain systems.

Students in attendance were delighted to hear a relevant practitioner’s perspective on topics that closely reflect their courses’ contents.

The GAD Programme thanks Ms. Wang and hopes to have her share her insights and experience with the UIC community again soon!