Integrating a gender perspective
into supply chain due diligenceThis note has been prepared by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) andthe Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) based on the OECD-FAO Guidance for
Responsible Agricultural Supply Chains and the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible BusinessConduct. It provides illustrative examples and recommendations of how companies along agricultural
supply chains can integrate a gender perspective into their due diligence actions.
Women make up nearly 37 percent of theworkforce globally in the agricultural sector (ILO,
In the agricultural sector, women make up2020). At certain stages of the supply chain or innearly 37 percent of the workforce globally.
specific commodity chains, women represent theoverwhelming majority of the labour force. Acrossregions women from various social categories face major gender-specific constraints anchored in deeply rootedsocial and cultural norms determining what is acceptable in terms of women’s behaviours and roles. This limits theirpotential as economic actors and their ability to realize the full benefits of their contribution (FAO, 2020).
Much of women’s work can be characterised as
unrecognised and vulnerable (FAO, 2018a). In the
agricultural sector, women are more likely to beconcentrated in precarious jobs characterized byunequal remuneration, poor working conditions, nosocial security and with low levels of representationin decision making. In agricultural supply chains,
women are often affected by multiple forms of gender
discrimination including limited ownership and control
over land and natural resources, barriers to financial
services, and formal markets, lack of access to remedy
and violation of their many basic human rights.

©FAO

Companies operating in the agricultural sector thus have an immense opportunity to promote gender equality, raise
the prospects of women in the sector, and contribute towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), notably
SDG 5 on achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls.

1Integrating a gender pespective into supply chain due diligence

SDG 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls• 37 percent of the global workforce in agriculture are women• 7 percent of total agriculture investment goes to women in forestry, fishing
and agriculture• 14 percent of management positions in the agricultural sector are held by women• 5 percent of women in the agricultural sector in developing countries have accessto agriculture extension services (FAO, 2013)• Less than 15 percent of agricultural landholders around the world are women(FAO, 2018b)
Supply chain due diligence, as recommended by the OECD-FAO Guidance for Responsible Agricultural Supply
Chains (OECD-FAO Guidance), can enable companies to identify, prevent and mitigate risks in the agricultural sector
by developing and implementing actions to respond to these adverse impacts. Integrating a gender perspective
into supply chain due diligence can support companies in taking a proactive and systematic approach to risk
management while ensuring that actions do not undermine gender equality (OECD/FAO, 2016). Due diligence canhelp demonstrate company contributions to SDG 5 in a measurable way, going beyond company’s own operations
to the whole supply chain.

THE OECD-FAO GUIDANCE FOR RESPONSIBLE AGRICULTURAL SUPPLY CHAINS AND GENDERThe OECD-FAO Guidance helps companies observe existing standards for responsible business conduct (RBC),
including the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, the Committee on World Food Security’s Principles for
Responsible Investment in Agriculture and Food Systems and the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business andHuman Rights, and contribute to the SDGs. It provides companies a practical framework and set of recommendations
to carry out gender sensitive due diligence and address risks that may be specific to women. Using the OECD-FAO
Guidance, companies can know and show that they are taking steps to address gender-related risks in their own
operations and the supply chain, and that they are considering the impact of their business decisions on SDG 5
Gender Equality.
GENDER AS A CROSS-CUTTING RBC CONSIDERATIONThe OECD-FAO Guidance highlights common risks in the sector including human rights, labour rights and tenurerights over and access to natural resources. Gender is one of the cross-cutting RBC risks which companies should
include as part of the responsible business considerations. These considerations of risks can be incorporated into
existing company policies on RBC as part of their corporate risk management strategies. Having comprehensive
polices and management systems in place is the first step for companies to implement risk-based due-diligence
as recommended in the OECD-FAO Guidance. Clear policy commitments and strong management systems enable
companies to articulate their corporate-wide vision and strategy on gender equality. This includes assigning
responsibility, supporting relevant business units in implementation and ensuring accountability.

2Integrating a gender pespective into supply chain due diligence

Figure 1: OECD-FAO guidance recommendations to companies

Source: OECD-FAO Guidance for Responsible Agricultural Supply Chains, 2016.

The OECD-FAO Guidance also recommends that companies disseminate and incorporate gender sensitive policies
in supplier contracts and agreements with business partners. Companies can encourage business partners to adopt
gender sensitive policies and actions by using their leverage individually or in collaboration with others. Companies
may also use their leverage to prompt business partners to participate in processes to provide for remedy.
RISK-BASED DUE DILIGENCE TO PROMOTE GENDER EQUALITY
Due diligence is the process companies should
carry out to identify, prevent, mitigate and accountfor how they address these actual and potential
adverse impacts in their own operations, their
supply chain and other business relationships.

Think through how actual or potential
adverse impacts may differ for or may be
specific to women.

The OECD-FAO Guidance recommends an iterative, risk-based approach to due diligence. This involves tailoring
approaches for specific risks and taking into account how risks in the agricultural sector, for example in high-risk
contexts or supply chains, can affect women and girls and create further discrimination based on intersecting
identities such as gender.

3

Integrating a gender pespective into supply chain due diligence

Figure 2: The five-step framework for risk-based due diligence
Report on supply chain due diligence
Establish strong company management systems

51

A 5-STEPFRAMEWORK

Verify supply chain due diligence42

Identify, assess and prioritise risk inthe supply chain

Incorporate:—

Meaningful stakeholder
engagement.

—

A gender perspective
into due diligence.

3
Design and implement a strategy to respond to identified risk

Source: OECD-FAO Guidance for Responsible Agricultural Supply Chains - Helping achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, 2021.

Due diligence is informed by engagement with stakeholders including women. Meaningful stakeholder engagement
is a key component of the due diligence process. Women may be affected more significantly than men by a company
activity, or in different ways, and may need additional attention in the context of stakeholder engagement activities.
Identifying and seeking to remove potential barriers to engaging women (e.g. literacy, culture, gender and power
imbalances, divisions within the community, etc.) is important to ensure that engagement is effective. Companies
may also wish to consult with experts on gender issues for advice when developing and implementing gendersensitive due diligence actions.

APPLYING A GENDER PERSPECTIVE TO DUE DILIGENCE
Think through how actual or potential adverse impacts may differ for or may be specific to women.
Be aware of gender issues and women’s human rights in situations where women may be disproportionately
impacted:• In contexts where women face severe discrimination.
• In contexts where the enterprise’s activities significantly affect the local economy, environment and accessto land and livelihoods.
• In conflict and post-conflict areas.
• In sectors and global supply chains in which large numbers of women are employed, such as agriculture,
fresh cut flowers, domestic work among others.

4Integrating a gender pespective into supply chain due diligence

Adjust, as appropriate, the actions that enterprises take toidentify, prevent, mitigate and address those impacts to ensure
these are effective and appropriate.
• Collect and assess sex-disaggregated data and understandwhether enterprise activities impact differently on men
and women.
• Develop, design and evaluate gender sensitive and gender
responsive policies and plans to mitigate and address realand potential adverse impacts identified.
• Identify overlapping / accumulated vulnerabilities©iStock(e.g. indigenous, illiterate, female worker).
• Develop gender sensitive warning systems and protection of whistle-blowers.
• Support women’s equal and meaningful participation in consultations and negotiations.
• Assess whether women benefit equitably in compensation payments or other forms of restitution.
• Consult women outside the presence of men and facilitate separate spaces for women to express opinions
and provide input on business decisions.
• Identify gender-specific trends and patterns in actual or potential adverse impacts that have been
overlooked in the due diligence processes.
• Assess whether grievance mechanisms are gender sensitive, taking into consideration the obstacles thatmay prevent women from accessing them.

EXAMPLES OF GENDER SENSITIVE DUE DILIGENCE ACTIONS ALONG THE AGRICULTURAL SUPPLY CHAIN
The examples below illustrate ways to integrate gender considerations into the five-step due diligence framework(Figure 2). These examples are not meant to be an exhaustive list of due diligence actions.
Step 1. Establish strong enterprise management systems for responsible agricultural supply chains
Strong management systems help mainstream responsibilities for due diligence actions for gender equality acrossdivisions, with accountability at the board level. A company can also refer to SDG 5 Gender Equality in its company
policies and highlight how due diligence helps identify and address gender-related risks.
Examples of due diligence actions:• Adopt, or integrate into existing processes, an enterprise policy on gender along the supply chain in linewith the OECD-FAO Guidance’s recommendations (Figure 1).
• Structure internal management to support gender sensitive supply chain due diligence.
• Establish a system of controls and transparency along the supply chain to monitor the implementation of
the enterprise policy on gender.
• Strengthen engagement with business partners, including training, to encourage the adoption of anenterprise policy on gender.
• Establish an operational-level grievance mechanism in consultation and collaboration with women orgroups representing women who have interests that could be affected by a company’s activities.

5Integrating a gender pespective into supply chain due diligence

Step 2. Identify, assess and prioritise risks in the supply chain
By analysing its operations and business relationships, a company can
map what and where gender-related risks are and know how these
impact women, in turn SDG 5 Gender Equality. Assessing identified risks
supports a company in prioritising actions on the most significant risks
specific to women.
Examples of due diligence actions:• Map the company supply chain to identify the various actors
involved, including the names of immediate suppliers andbusiness partners and the sites of operations. For example,
a company may request the details from high-risk business
relationships for further assessment, including number of workers
by gender, list of risk management practices, risk assessments
undertaken, etc.
• Assess the risks of the operations, processes, goods and servicesof the company and its business partners over the full life cycle toidentify relevant rights holders and stakeholders such as women.

©FAO

Step 3. Design and implement a strategy to respond to identified risks
Designing and implementing a gender responsive strategy enables a company to move from words to actions.
Proactive measures to prevent and mitigate gender-related risks, including working on root causes, facilitate
progress towards achieving SDG 5 Gender Equality.
Examples of due diligence actions:• Consider impacts on women with due regard to their role as food providers, custodians of biodiversity andholders of traditional knowledge when undertaking an impact assessment on environmental, social, humanrights, health and safety risks.
• Ensure that women are treated fairly, recognising women’s respective situations, constraints and needs.
• Recognise the role played by women in the sector and take appropriate measures to eliminate
discrimination against women and to help ensure their full professional development and advancement,
including by facilitating equal access and control over natural resources, inputs, productive tools, advisory
and financial services, training, markets and information.
• Do not discriminate against workers with respect to employment or occupation on such grounds as
gender identity or other status, unless selectivity concerning worker characteristics furthers establishedgovernmental policies that specifically promote greater equality of employment opportunity or relates tothe inherent requirements of a job.
• Promote women’s access to training.
• Identify rights holders such as women, considering not only of holders of officially recognised tenure rights,
but also of public, private, communal, collective, indigenous and customary tenure rights that may not havebeen officially registered and titled, including through local and open consultations.

6Integrating a gender pespective into supply chain due diligence

Step 4. Verify supply chain due diligence
Verification enables a company to evaluate the effectiveness and impact of its due diligence actions and in turnmeasuring progress towards achieving SDG 5 Gender Equality.
Examples of due diligence actions:• Ensure that the voice of women is adequately represented in the process to verify that company due
diligence practices are effective and that risks have been adequately identified, mitigated or prevented.
Step 5. Report on supply chain due diligence
Public reporting includes communicating externally genderrelated risks found and outcomes of actions taken. This builds
trust and credibility in a company commitments to responsible
business conduct and to achieving SDG 5 Gender Equality.
Examples of due diligence actions:©iStock• Provide affected women and business partners with clear,accurate and timely information on identified risks and on
the steps and measures taken to mitigate or prevent themin a gender sensitive and accessible manner. For example,
a company may use the guiding questions to identify
the appropriate form of communicating with women,
including what barriers in accessibility might exist for certain
marginalised or vulnerable groups and what the capacity of
the audience is (language, literacy, location, time, availability,
technical competence).

7

Integrating a gender pespective into supply chain due diligence

REFERENCES
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OECD/FAO. 2021. OECD-FAO Guidance for Responsible Agricultural Supply Chains - Helping achieve the SDGs. OECD
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9

CONTACT
Ms. Shivani Kannabhiran
Sector Lead, Responsible Agricultural Supply Chains
Centre for Responsible Business Conduct
Directorate for Financial and Enterprise Affairs
Ms. Rena Hinoshita
Policy Analyst
Centre for Responsible Business Conduct
Directorate for Financial and Enterprise Affairs
rbc@oecd.org
http://mneguidelines.oecd.org/rbc-agriculture-supply-chains.htm
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
Paris, France
Mr. Pascal Liu
Team leader, Responsible Global Value Chains
Markets and Trade Division
Mr. Tomislav Ivančić
Advisor, Responsible Business and Investment
Markets and Trade Division
Ms. Susan Kaaria
Senior Gender Officer
Inclusive Rural Transformation and Gender Equality Division
Ms. Martha Osorio
Gender and Rural Development Officer
Inclusive Rural Transformation and Gender Equality Division
responsible-business-conduct@fao.org
www.fao.org/responsible-business-conduct-in-agriculturewww.fao.org/economic/est/issues/investment/guidance/oecd-fao
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
Rome, Italy

This work is published under the responsibility of the Secretary-General of the OECD. The opinions expressed andarguments employed herein do not necessarily reflect the official views of the member countries of the OECD orof the Food and A griculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
The names of countries and territories used in this joint publication follow the practice of the FAO.
The mention of specific companies or products of manufacturers, whether or not these have been patented, does
not imply that these have been endorsed or recommended by FAO or OECD in preference to others of a similar
nature that are not mentioned.
Please cite this content as:OECD-FAO. 2021. Integrating a gender perspective into supply chain due diligence. OECD Publishing, Paris.
https://mneguidelines.oecd.org/Integrating-a-gender-perspective-into-supply-chain-due-diligence.pdf

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