FAMILY-FRIENDLY WORKPLACES

2024 IMPACT AND ACHIEVEMENTS

The well-being of parents goes hand in hand with the well-being of their children. Poor or unsupportive working conditions can, therefore, adversely impact children. Conversely, a supportive workplace with strong family-friendly policies and practices can be transformative for parents, their children and businesses.

As part of our holistic approach towards child rights, parents have always been a key focus of our work. Year after year, our WeCare programme and other family-friendly workplace initiatives validate our belief that a family-friendly workplace is a resilient and sustainable one.

This year, we’re once again proud to showcase the achievements and outcomes of our 2024 global family-friendly programmes, including WeCare, which has now expanded into six countries. We’re especially proud that WeCare is evolving to adapt to businesses' needs, with a significant uptake this year on gender-related issues such as maternity protection support, the development of robust maternity policies, and training in sexual harassment prevention and gender equality, involving both mothers and fathers. With the support and commitment from brands, retailers, and their suppliers, we have been able to create benefits for close to 40,000 parent workers and 25,000 children, as well as establish 104 Child Friendly Spaces in factories and agricultural settings to date.

The outcomes from these family-friendly initiatives are directly contributing to human rights due diligence – not by ticking boxes, but by creating meaningful change for workers in supply chains.

OUR FAMILY-FRIENDLY WORKPLACE PROGRAMMES HAVE BEEN IMPLEMENTED IN 8 COUNTRIES AROUND THE WORLD:

Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Türkiye, and Vietnam.

GLOBAL AMBITIONS AND MILESTONES

Our WeCare programme continues to expand globally, covering eight countries to date. This year, our Child Friendly Spaces programme served as a good example of how family-friendly practices and child labour prevention are closely connected. We opened two CFS in China in response to child labour incidents involving children on the work floor due to a lack of childcare support.

Responsive and customisable

Our WeCare programme currently offers clients 19 different modules to choose from, and we are committed to continuously expanding and enhancing our offerings to meet clients’ needs, particularly with the evolving human rights due diligence legislative landscape

Driving business responsibility

The Centre’s family-friendly programmes are not limited to the WeCare programme. We are continuously pioneering new models to support parents, children and communities in different sectors based on needs and context. Our Mother and Child-Friendly Seal for Responsible Business in Sri Lanka for example is bringing businesses entities along the tea and tourism supply chain together to continuously implement actions that create positive impact for families

PHOTO HIGHLIGHTS

Family Day

Family-friendly workplace related training

The Mother and Child-Friendly Seal for Responsible Business in Sri Lanka

WHY INVEST IN FAMILY-FRIENDLY WORKPLACES IN YOUR SUPPLY CHAIN?

Investing in family-friendly workplace programmes brings tangible, direct benefits to workers, their families and employers. Employers can reap the long-term benefits of a more stable, motivated and efficient workforce by creating enabling, supportive environments for parents.

We look forward to continuing working with buyers and their global suppliers to create more positive impact in 2025!