Not so sweet - Africa: Chocolate Companies Offer 'Mixed-Bag' On Women's Rights

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http://allafrica.com/stories/201410311153.html
Oxfam International (Oxford)
31 October 2014
Africa: Chocolate Companies Offer 'Mixed-Bag' On Women's Rights

press release
Independent report finds company follow-through on commitments to gender inequality needs improvement

Leading chocolate companies Mars, Mondelez International and Nestle have made some progress on their 2013 promises to improve gender equality in their cocoa supply chains but significant gaps still remain, according to an independent evaluation published today. The companies had been pressed into promising these improvements by more than 100,000 actions by people supporting international development organization Oxfam's campaign to reduce inequality facing women in the cocoa industry.

The report by gender rights expert Man-Kwun Chan, commissioned by Oxfam, shows that companies have taken initial steps to improve how they work with women cocoa farmers and workers, but none of the companies have adequately addressed numerous recommendations made by their own consultants for how to respect and protect women's rights.

The expert report evaluates "Impact Assessments" commissioned by the three companies in Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana, and subsequent "Gender Action plans" describing how the companies intend to improve women's rights in their supply chains in response to these assessments. In all three cases the companies were found to have credibly articulated their commitments to addressing the issue, but none has yet enacted adequate changes to their operations to fulfill these promises.

Equally encouraging and sobering

"The independent evaluation is equal parts encouraging and sobering," said Monique van Zijl, campaign manager for Oxfam's Behind the Brands campaign. "Mars, Mondelez and Nestle have improved and deserve real credit for making gender equality a priority. But they still are not doing nearly enough to change how they conduct business to make equality a reality. If chocolate companies want to retain consumer trust and show that their commitments are real, they will work to close the gaps in their current action plans and impact assessments. True accountability means taking feedback seriously and responding with a stronger approach.... MORE at link provided above.