WEvolve: Changing Gender Norms that Lead to Gender-Based Violence

The objective of this TA is to support the launch of the WEvolve program in South Asia and explore opportunities for OBA/RBF in the garment industry. Part of GPOBA’s mandate is to test OBA/RBF interventions in “untested sectors” where the OBA/RBF experience is not yet developed. This TA will inform the feasibility of GPOBA involvement in the garment industry to pilot RBF/OBA approaches that aim at improving the working conditions of garment sector employees whether in South Asia or other regions. For example, OBA subsidies could be provided to manufacturers to help them meet certification requirements should they employ primarily women, be located in economically disadvantaged areas, and agree to training their employees in labor rights and gender based violence.

In support of the launch of WEvolve and exploring OBA/RBF opportunities, an OBA/RBF approach was developed for addressing gender and labor rights issues in the garment sector.
In developing the OBA/RBF approach, the TA supported the initial design stage of a program to promote gender-friendly workplaces for women in the garment sector. A workshop in Bangladesh was organized to garner stakeholder input towards establishing quantifiable targets in the industry to be used for OBA/RBF projects. The team of the WB-funded Northern Areas Reduction of Poverty Initiative (NARI) project was advised about the use of OBA/RBF in their operations.