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Building Responsible Value Chains in Asia through the Promotion of Decent Work in Business Operations - Final evaluation

eval_number:

3374

eval_url:

https://webapps.ilo.org/ievaldiscovery/eval/3374

location:

country:

Bangladesh

region:

Asia and the Pacific

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eval_title:

Building Responsible Value Chains in Asia through the Promotion of Decent Work in Business Operations - Final evaluation

recommendations:

date:

2025-06-04 00:00:00.0

themes:

theme:

Conditions of work & equality

category:

Gender equality

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action_plan:

In Bangladesh, BWB is revisiting its gender strategy. The new strategy is looking at increased challenges identified in the area of gender. BWB will highlight women workers’ voice and representation, and the establishment of a referral pathway for GBVH. Re GEAR, over 15 factories have been onboarded in GEAR under different sub-initiatives in Bangladesh. These include Standard GEAR, which looks to facilitate promotion of female operators to supervisor positions, GEAR Advance, which aims to bolster further promotion of women to assistant technician and line chiefs. It also includes GEAR TOT, which looks to build GEAR trainers inside factories who will go on to disseminate learning within the factories. In 2024, 70 females have been promoted with the support of GEAR. GEAR continues to be a highly sought product of the ILO-IFC collaboration, with a waiting of factories list to enrol. Seven factories in four Export Processing Zones (EPZ), which are traditionally outside the scope of BWB, are now with GEAR. In Cambodia, in close collaboration with MLVT, BFC continuously supported gender equality through the implementation of a Joint Gender Action Plan (2024-2025) developed in July 2024. This plan was the result of a consultative workshop involving MLVT leadership, BFC management, and gender focal points, with the aim of strengthening collaboration and enhancing understanding of gender-related challenges in the workplace. As part of this effort, BFC supported institutional capacity building through training on ILO Convention No. 190 for labour inspectors and BFC staff and facilitated knowledge-sharing workshops to deepen awareness and promote action on gender-based violence and harassment (GBVH). BFC also dedicated resources to the delivery of male and female leadership training programmes, reaching nearly one hundred participants. These sessions were designed to address gender bias, promote inclusive workplace practices, and build leadership confidence. Follow-up sessions with bipartite committees provided space for participants to reflect on progress, identify ongoing challenges, and strengthen their action planning. These activities demonstrate BFC’s continued commitment to embedding gender equality into its programming and supporting sustainable change at the factory level. In Vietnam, BWV continues its gender equality efforts through providing the training courses to the factories, particularly ToT. Though the Programme has not been able to launch a new batch of GEAR due to resource constraint, it has unpacked GEAR programme modules and organised both technical and soft skills training for the factories. Some of the soft skills training courses have been embedded in the factory ambassador programme conducted by BWV, aiming at strengthening capacity for the factories. BWV has also expanded its support to women workers through the development of parental skills training programme which aims to provide essential skills for women workers to take care of their children.

management_response:

Completed

progress:

Achieved

admin_units:

CO-Bangkok

title:

6) Include in any follow-up intervention a Gender Equality Strategy from the design stage onwards, including gender mainstreaming and continue activities targeted specifically at women and make sure to allocate dedicated resources to this Strategy. More in particular explore further the pros and cons of the Gender Equality and Returns (GEAR) programme jointly with IFC. Specific attention was also requested for additional (ToT) training on the prevention of sexual harassment in the workplace as this is still considered a relatively new area.

project_symbols:

NO_DC_SYMBOL_111

url:

https://webapps.ilo.org/ievaldiscovery/recommendations/2297105

information_source:

Country Office

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