The Food Network for Ethical Trade is happy to share a blog announcing the release of the Tackling Discrimination Supplier Toolkit. Developed by Sainsbury’s and the Oxfam Business Advisory Service, the toolkit is an open-access tool designed to support businesses to tackle discrimination. This blog provides an overview of the tool and how it may be used by businesses aiming to address discrimination. This blog was written by Jiselle Steele and Sarah Picasso.
What is workplace discrimination?
Discrimination can affect anyone and have a negative impact both inside and outside of work. One in six people worldwide has experienced discrimination in some form. Women and people with disabilities are disproportionately affected. Despite being a common issue, talking about discrimination and how to deal with it is often seen as a very sensitive topic. These sensitivities can mean that businesses ignore potential issues, instead of taking proactive steps to identify and address them. The Tackling Discrimination Supplier Toolkit is a free practical resource designed to help all businesses to identify, prevent and address all forms of discrimination throughout their supply chains and operations.
It can be difficult for businesses to know where to start or what to do to address discrimination, as it is a widespread and complex issue. And it can often be understood in different ways depending on individual experiences and perspectives. The Toolkit has been designed to help everyone build a shared understanding of discrimination and how it impacts different people in different ways.
Watch this short video to learn about what workplace discrimination is and what your business can do to tackle it:
Why businesses must address workplace discrimination
Businesses are facing growing demands to promote and respect human rights. But now is the time to take proactive steps to resolve issues within your business’s own operations and across its supply chains. Taking action against discrimination can help your business to protect the rights and well-being of workers and producers, as well as support human rights due diligence. Businesses need to have an approach to tackle discrimination and to address any issues head-on. This is important, even if the issues may seem difficult to define clearly or are uncomfortable.
Having an effective approach to tackle discrimination can help your business to:
- build a working environment where everyone is treated fairly and with respect,
- increase productivity and improve worker well-being, and
- demonstrate your commitment to meet and exceed internationally recognised labour standards such as the ETI Base Code and the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.
Sainsbury’s recognises the importance of highlighting and providing support to address discrimination while implementing their own Human Rights Roadmap.
“At Sainsbury’s, we believe that everyone across our business and supply chains deserves to be treated with dignity and respect. That’s why we’ve collaborated with Oxfam to develop this toolkit – designed to help our suppliers build effective approaches to tackle discrimination in their businesses and offer guidance to support practical steps forward,” says Ruth Cranston, Director of Sustainability.
How can the Tackling Discrimination Supplier Toolkit help your business?
The Toolkit provides practical tips and recommended activities to take action and help protect everyone from discrimination. It was developed in collaboration with industry experts and with input from businesses from the food and apparel sectors.
The Toolkit also offers advice on how to engage meaningfully with different members of the workforce in a range of settings, including producers and seasonal workers, factory workers, management and supervisors. This approach helps ensure that approaches to tackle discrimination get to the heart of the issue and leave no one behind.
The toolkit outlines a 4-stage approach of recommended activities to help businesses develop an approach to tackle discrimination:
- Show commitment
- Identify and engage at risk groups
- Take action
- Monitor and communicate results
The toolkit also offers further information on grievance mechanisms, training for workers and the role of worker representation.
The Tackling Discrimination Supplier Toolkit is relevant for all businesses, no matter what stage you’re at. It can help businesses to develop and implement an approach to overcome discrimination with step-by-step guidance, case studies, and good practice examples. It also signposts to a range of relevant resources and organisations.
The Toolkit includes a simple self-assessment to highlight potential gaps and opportunities. This is designed to help businesses either to build on what they may already be doing or, for those at the beginning of their journey, to identify suitable approaches and activities.
How to download and use the Toolkit
The Tackling Discrimination Supplier Toolkit is publicly available and free to download here. Download the tool today and start tackling discrimination in the workplace! We encourage you to share this with partners and suppliers as well.
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Sainsbury’s is a member of the Food Network for Ethical Trade. Please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you have any questions or if you have thoughts on the tool. Click here if you’d like to find out more about becoming a member of FNET.
