RESEARCH REPORTNOVEMBER 2019

Supporting Women in the
Luxury Supply Chain:
A Focus on Italy

BSR | Supporting Women in Luxury Supply Chains: a Focus on Italy

1

Contents

About This Report

2

Executive Summary

4

Engaging Suppliers on Gender Equality

12

Gender Equality in the Italian Luxury Supply Chain

15

Supporting Women in the Italian Luxury Supply Chain—a Path
Forward32

Appendix41

BSR | Supporting Women in Luxury Supply Chains: a Focus on Italy2

About This Report
Luxury brands have committed to supporting women’s empowerment across their value chains. Women
not only represent a significant share of luxury brands’ customers and employees, they are also a criticalpart of luxury companies’ supply chains. Italy, in particular, is well known for being a primary sourcing
country for the sector, yet the status of women in the supply chain and opportunities to support women’s
economic and social empowerment remain largely unknown and unaddressed.
Across many different countries, women face multiple barriers to achieving gender equality. These
include:»Economic barriers such as overall low labor force participation, high proportion in the informal
sector, prevalence in part-time roles, challenges advancing in their careers and into leadership anddecision-making roles, unequal compensation levels, and a disproportionate amount of unpaid care
work.

»

Social barriers such as high rates of gender-based violence and harassment, challenges accessing
sexual and reproductive health services, migration and human trafficking risks, weak implementationof anti-discrimination laws, traditional roles of women in society and in the workplace, and hidden
gender biases and social norms that are difficult to eradicate.

Italy is no exception. Working women in the country face numerous challenges in the labor market,
ranging from the difficulty of securing stable employment, accessing skills development and professional
growth opportunities, and reconciling work and family responsibilities to workplace discrimination,harassment, and the gender pay gap. However, little is known about gender equality efforts and thegender gaps impacting women working in the Italian luxury supply chain. The limited data, literature, andresearch on this topic needs to be addressed. With this context in mind, Kering and its family of Italianbrands, Bottega Veneta, Gucci, Kering Eyewear, and Pomellato, have engaged BSR to better understandthe challenges, ambitions, and opportunities of women workers in today’s luxury supply chain in Italy andidentify ways to support their success.
This paper aims to:»

Shed light on the status and challenges faced by women workers in Italy, particularly those working in
the luxury sector.

»

Identify areas of intervention and provide practical recommendations on actionable next steps,
programs, and initiatives that luxury brands could pursue, in cooperation with their suppliers andrelevant stakeholders, to address gaps and concerns raised by women workers and work toward therealization of gender equality in the workplace.

This paper summarizes the insights gained from a variety of activities conducted by BSR and Wise
Growth between February and September 2019. More information about this research process isprovided in the Appendix.

BSR | Supporting Women in Luxury Supply Chains: a Focus on Italy3

About the Authors
This paper was researched and written by BSR Manager Roberta Pinamonti, Associate Victoria Reca,and Director, Women Empowerment, Aditi Mohapatra. Additional inputs, insights, and guidance were
provided by Wise Growth, our research partner, particularly by Francesca Stefanini and Cristina Bombelli.
This work was commissioned by Kering Group and conducted in partnership with Camera Nazionale della
Moda Italiana and Valore D. Any errors that remain are those of the authors. Please direct comments orquestions to Roberta Pinamonti at rpinamonti@bsr.org.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors wish to thank all of the organizations and stakeholders involved in this process, including
Kering and its brands Bottega Veneta, Gucci, Kering Eyewear, and Pomellato; Camera Nazionale della
Moda Italiana; and Valore D for being members of the project steering committee and thoughtful partners
throughout. The authors also wish to express strong appreciation to the suppliers that collaborated on the
project for their precious contribution to the research activities and to all the suppliers’ employees who
participated in the surveys and focus groups.

PROJECT PARTNERS
BSR is a global nonprofit organization that works with its network of morethan 250 member companies and other partners to build a just andsustainable world. From its offices in Asia, Europe, and North America,
BSR develops sustainable business strategies and solutions throughconsulting, research, and cross-sector collaboration.
Wise Growth is an Italian advisory organization that helps companies andindividuals grow in order to build economic value, but also to create areputation and well-being that are future-oriented and designed to last.
Wise Growth has spent years working on the topics of women
empowerment and diversity management.
A global luxury group, Kering manages the development of a number ofrenowned houses of fashion, leather goods, jewelry, and watches: Gucci,
Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta, Balenciaga, Alexander McQueen, Brioni,
Boucheron, Pomellato, Dodo, Qeelin, Ulysse Nardin, Girard-Perregaux,and Kering Eyewear.
The Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana (The National Chamber for
Italian Fashion) is a nonprofit association that regulates, coordinates, andpromotes the development of Italian fashion. The association represents
the highest cultural values of Italian fashion. It aims to protect, coordinate,
and strengthen the industry’s image, both in Italy and abroad.
Valore D is an association with over 200 member companies in Italy
committed to promoting gender balance and an inclusive culture inorganizations and across the country.

BSR | Supporting Women in Luxury Supply Chains: a Focus on Italy

4

Executive Summary
At a Glance
Luxury companies are connected closely to women as customers, employees, and workers in the supply
chain. In 2015, women accounted for 85 percent of luxury sales.1 They represent about 4 percent ofdesigners and the majority of people entering the industry across the value chain.2 A report3 published in2018 by BSR’s Responsible Luxury Initiative 4—which examined how luxury companies can build resilientbusinesses responding to the challenges posed by climate change, technology, and inequality—identified
women empowerment as a key opportunity. Today, luxury companies are demonstrating their close
relationship with women through efforts to improve various aspects of women’s lives, from health andfinancial independence to safety from violence. Overall efforts on gender equality have focused on threemain levels:»Internal diversity and inclusion management programs, such as committing to gender balance andaddressing and ending the gender pay gap, and developing dedicated programs in specific areas
such as parenting, sexual harassment, etc.

»

External advocacy efforts and dedicated projects of luxury brands foundations, such as instituting
channels and supporting campaigns against gender-based violence, and general investment in efforts
to help change perceptions about the role and recognition given to women in society.

»Engaging suppliers through supply chain initiatives and social audit programs, including those
covering discrimination issues and enforcing certification standards such as SA8000.5

Beyond these efforts, there are a host of gender disparities that luxury companies can have a meaningful
impact on, leveraging the credibility of their brands and their connection to women to promote culturalchange toward gender equality. They can act in their own operations, including increasing the number ofwomen in management positions, ensuring pay equity, and supporting the economic and social
empowerment of female workers. They can also develop strategies to advance women’s equality andleadership in their global supply chains.

1

www.nytimes.com/2015/12/02/fashion/in-luxury-the-female-factor.html.

2

www.businessoffashion.com/community/voices/discussions/how-can-fashion-develop-more-women-leaders/a-womans-work-howwomen-can-get-ahead-in-fashion.
3

www.bsr.org/reports/BSR_Disrupting_Luxury_Responsible_Luxury_Initiative.pdf.

4

The Responsible Luxury Initiative (ReLI) is a collaboration of 15 luxury companies dedicated to developing collaborative solutions
for emerging sustainability issues in their respective value chains. Members of ReLI include Cartier, Chanel, Harvey Nichols Groupplc, The Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels, IWC Schaffhausen, Kering, LVMH Moët Hennessy—Louis Vuitton S.A., Michael Kors
Holdings Limited, mytheresa.com, OTB, PVH Corp., Ralph Lauren, Richemont International SA, Swarovski, and Tiffany & Co. For
more information: www.bsr.org/en/collaboration/groups/responsible-luxury-initiative.
5

SA8000 is a social certification standard for factories and organizations across the globe. It was established by Social Accountability
International in 1997 as a multistakeholder initiative. Over the years, the Standard has evolved into an overall framework that helps
certified organizations demonstrate their dedication to the fair treatment of workers across industries and in any country.

BSR | Supporting Women in Luxury Supply Chains: a Focus on Italy5

Why a focus on Italy?
The “Made in Italy” label is well known around the world and is frequently associated with sophisticated,
luxury, and high-quality products. According to studies conducted by Deloitte,6 a third of the global luxury
goods market is Italian and in 2018, represented 4 percent of the Italian GDP.7 Much of the supply chain
for luxury brands is based in Italy and is made of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), many ofwhich are artisanal and employ a large number of women. For instance, for Kering Group, one of the
major global players in the luxury sector, Italy represents 87.8 percent of its global supply chain.8 Kering’s
Italian suppliers are typically SME manufacturers of ready to wear, leather goods, shoes, jewelry, andeyewear, but they also provide raw materials, packaging, and other products and services. The Kering
luxury supply chain in Italy can be considered illustrative of many other luxury brands’ supply chains in
the country.
Despite the importance of Italy in luxury supply
chains and the prevalence of women in the
Italy in the World Economic Forum Global
workforce, little is known about gender
Gender Gap Report 2018
inequalities faced by women working behind
this prized “Made in Italy” label. In the national
According to the World Economic Forum Global
Gender Gap Report 2018, despite minimal progress,
context, according to some of the most wellItaly has seen an overall decline in gender equality,
known global gender indexes, such as theraking 70th among the 149 countries and remaining
UNDP Gender Equality Index, Italy is overall
among the worst performers of developed ones.
well-placed regarding gender equality on a
global scale. However, a closer look at the
Italian performance is particularly poor for equal
gaps between men and women workers in Italy
economic opportunities at work, considering accessto employment and wage equality (118th) while it hasreveals systemic issues that challenge theseen an improvement in political representation.
notion of true equality. For example, according
to the World Economic Forum Global Gender
Gap Report 2018, gender inequality in Italy is particularly evident when it comes to women’s active
participation in the labor market. Women workers in Italy face a number of specific challenges, including
more limited access to job opportunities and career progression, vertical segregation, and harassment,
among other obstacles. These challenges can be largely attributed to social and cultural norms andtraditions that continue to stigmatize women in the workplace.
Why this report?
Given the context, the next clear and natural step for luxury brands is to foster knowledge on the topic ofgender equality in Italy and create opportunities to promote it among their suppliers.
As a first step, and with an aim of understanding the challenges, ambitions, and opportunities for women
working in the Italian luxury supply chain, this study reviewed workplace gender equality policies andpractices of 189 suppliers and the perceptions and experiences of 880 workers (620 women and 260men) across the supply chains of Kering’s family of Italian brands: Bottega Veneta, Gucci, Kering
Eyewear, and Pomellato. Gender-disaggregated data was collected in order to understand gendered6

www2.deloitte.com/global/en/pages/consumer-business/articles/gx-cb-global-powers-of-luxury-goods.html.

7

www.ilsole24ore.com/art/la-moda-italiana-vale-4percento-pil-ma-cresce-meno-griffe-francesi-AEtYT1zD.

8

https://keringcorporate.dam.kering.com/m/6acacc777e94cbb4/original/2018-Reference-Document.pdf.

BSR | Supporting Women in Luxury Supply Chains: a Focus on Italy

6issues that may not have been previously identified. This paper gathered insights and draws conclusions
from a comprehensive set of engagement activities and sources, including surveying suppliers on
workplace policies and practices, surveying workers, and conducting focus-group discussions.

Gender Equality in the Italian Luxury Supply Chain
Gender equality in the workplace is the result of various enabling factors, including social norms andstereotypes, access to critical assets such as education and technology, and the working environment
itself, including leadership opportunities for women workers, the ability to balance work and personal life,
and the opportunity to work in a violence- and harassment-free environment, among other factors. A
combination of environmental and structural workplace factors has led to continuing challenges for
women working across global supply chains.
This study identifies some examples of initiatives and programs promoted by Kering’s suppliers on the
topic of gender equality and, more broadly, initiatives in support of workers, such as welfare programs,social policies, and antidiscrimination policies. However, the research also found limited awarenessamong suppliers about gender relations and issues. Consequently, there are limited investments andinitiatives dedicated to gender equality. This is not surprising because the companies involved in the
study are SMEs,9 which frequently face challenges in terms of resources (e.g., lack of manpower, money,
expertise, information, and time) to adopt leading practices.
With regard to the status and conditions of women working in the Italian luxury supply chain, the following
are the main takeaways of the study, based on extensive engagement with suppliers of the four Kering
brands as well as direct worker engagement.
Women do not have access to the same working conditions and economic opportunities as men

Women remain in
traditional roles andlower positions within
the factory.

This study confirms that, like in many other sectors, women in the
Italian luxury supply chain are more vulnerable to poor working
conditions than men. Despite being amajority in the workforce (63 percent)and generally better educated than
Percentagemen (18 percent of women haveof women inuniversity degrees vs.14 percent of
the workforcemen), the women surveyed for thisstudy are predominantly in lower blue- Percentage
collar and/or administrative positions, of women in
management
while the large majority (75 percent)positionsof management and leadership
positions are held by men. Thisvertical segregation of workers’ roles,
which is also characteristic of the Italian labor market across many
sectors, can systemically lead women to have lower salaries than men
and, consequently, to be less satisfied and struggle more to meet theirand their families’ needs. Beyond these disparities that may be

63%
25%

Lower positions areleading to lower
salaries and theperception among
women that they can
not earn a living wage.

9

The average number of employees of Kering suppliers is fewer than 50, while the average number of employees of companies
involved in this project is fewer than 60.

BSR | Supporting Women in Luxury Supply Chains: a Focus on Italy

There is also perceived
discrimination in
remuneration

7

explained by the vertical segregation of workers, 49 percent of thewomen surveyed also perceive the existence of a gender pay gap
between women and men in similar positions (equal work for equalvalue).

Women rarely hold leadership positions and have limited opportunities for professional careeradvancement
This study reveals the existence of vertical segregation in theworkplace and also confirms the presence of a number of challenges
that may be hindering women’s career advancement, such as
perceived discriminatory practices across the employment cycle. For
example, 59 percent of women surveyed believe that there isdiscrimination in the promotion process. In addition, there are limited
opportunities and organizational support, such as investments inprofessional development training, to advance women in theworkplace, which is typical in the context of SMEs. Less than one-thirdof the workers surveyed reported having professional developmenttraining and career advancement opportunities available in theirworkplace. The perception that there are limited opportunities forcareer advancement is stronger among women workers. This study
also reveals that women tend to accept the lack of career growthprospects as a precondition tied to their interest in having more
flexibility to manage their dual roles of being both working women andthe principal caregivers in their family (e.g., flexible working hours,
part-time options, etc.). In addition, women do not seem to have apositive attitude toward taking a potential promotion with more
responsibilities (36 percent of women surveyed do not feel confident
taking on roles with more responsibility, compared to 12 percent ofmen) and almost half of the women surveyed (43 percent) do notrecognize the benefits and positive impacts that women in leadership
positions could have on the work environment and for women
advancement and gender equality.

There is perceived
discrimination acrossthe employment cycle.

There is limited
investment in careeradvancement andprofessional training
opportunities for
women.

Women seem to‘abandon the battle’and tend to stigmatize
female colleagues inpositions of leadership.

The impacts of familial responsibilities are seen as obstacles to gender equality

Maternity is seen as an
obstacle to getting andsustaining a job and toprofessional growth.

The “burden” of motherhood, childcare, and domestic responsibilities
impact women’s opportunities to access education, paid work, andgrowth opportunities. This study found that 39 percent of women fear
the consequences of motherhood on their job upon their return to work
after having a child (24 percent of men also fear the consequences on
their job after they return to work after taking paternity leave). In
addition, around 23 percent of the women surveyed know of female
colleagues who have not returned to work at all after maternity leave.
This study also found that women in the Italian labor market may
continue to face inappropriate practices and biases in hiring processes
because of their marital status, pregnancy status, or future intentions of
having a family (23 percent of women surveyed said they had

BSR | Supporting Women in Luxury Supply Chains: a Focus on Italy

Shared parental
responsibilities are still
rare.

8

experienced such practices). The limited parental leave options
available in Italy and the lack of awareness of such options, especiallyamong male workers (46 percent of men surveyed indicated that they
were not aware of or not interested in such options), do not help tobalance parental responsibilities or ease the perceived burden of
motherhood. Despite the fact that the vast majority of workers
surveyed (87 percent of both
women and men) believe that
Of all workers
childcare and domestic
believe household
responsibilities should be equallyand care duties
divided, most women workers
should be equally(69 percent) believe that they areshared but only
in fact predominantly responsible
for them and often struggle to
Of women say
juggle their dual roles. In
household andcare duties arecontrast, 61 percent of the men
actually equally
surveyed believe that theseshared in practiceresponsibilities are equallydivided.

87%

Domestic and familycare responsibilities
still predominantly fallon women’s shoulders.

27%

Women have a harder time voicing challenges and concerns
Violence and harassment are frequently a major challenge that womenface in the workplace. This issue is still common across different
countries, cultures, andcontexts, and Italy is no
exception. This study did not
New ILO Convention No. 190
uncover highly concerning
The International Labor
results, in terms of the number
Organization (ILO) Conventionof cases of sexual harassment
No. 190 on the Elimination ofthat women in the Italian luxury
Violence and Harassment in the
supply chain have either directly
World of Work calls for businessexperienced or become aware
to take an active role in creatingsafer working environmentof. However, there seems to bethrough gender-sensitive
limited awareness among
policies, processes, andwomen about what constitutes
systems that identify andsexual harassment and theaddress gender-based violencedifferent forms it can take as welland harassment.
as about embedded cultural
norms, which may contribute to more acceptance and tolerance toward
inappropriate behaviors. At the same time, the ability of workers tovoice their concerns in the workplace, including about incidents ofviolence and sexual harassment, depends upon the availability of
relevant company policies and processes, including appropriate
grievance mechanisms and speak-up channels. Use of these tools isdependent upon workers awareness of the existence of such channels,
their confidence to speak up, and their trust in the system. This study
found that such systems are not common, that in most cases they are

There is relatively low
awareness of what
constitutes harassment
and inappropriate
behavior.

Grievance mechanisms
are not common andthere is unevenawareness about them.

BSR | Supporting Women in Luxury Supply Chains: a Focus on Italy“informal,” and that awareness of their existence is uneven among
workers. In addition, women have less trust in the systems that are inplace (74 percent of women surveyed trust the systems, compared to78 percent of men) and are less confident than men about expressing
their opinions, ideas, or concerns (81 percent of women surveyed feel
confident to express their opinions and concerns vs. 88 percent of
men).

9

Women are lessconfident about
speaking up and haveless trust in the system.

Supporting Women in the Italian Luxury Supply Chain—aPath Forward
Based on the study’s findings and considering the local country context and reality of the mainstakeholders, including luxury brands and their suppliers in Italy, BSR has developed a set ofrecommendations for future programming structured under BSR’s framework for action, “ACT, ENABLE,
INFLUENCE.” This framework presents three levels of recommendations for luxury brands and their
suppliers to work toward enabling and promoting gender equality in the workplace. When addressing thisissue, it will be key for luxury brands and their suppliers to understand and leverage already existing andestablished players and initiatives in the space, some examples of which are included in this report.
ACT for gender equality in the workplace. The first pillar, “Act,” describes activities companies can takewithin their direct control by adjusting policies and practices within their operations and supply chain topromote gender equality.
Recommendations for Luxury Brands:»

Communicate and share the research report widely with key stakeholders, particularly with local
suppliers and relevant local employer organizations. This is essential to demonstrate luxury brands’commitment to gender equality, acknowledge the work that is being done and needs to be done, andbe equipped to drive the development and implementation of tailored programs.

»

Continue collecting and monitoring gender-disaggregated data in the supply chain throughongoing supplier engagement activities to assess the outcomes and impacts of policies, processes,
and programs and evaluate their effectiveness in promoting gender equality.

»

Apply a gender lens to supplier codes of conduct/ethics integrating gender-sensitive principles
and clauses and setting the standard practices expected from suppliers, including commitment to the
Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) and/or the UN Sustainable Development Goal 5 (SDG 5).

»

Engage with luxury brands’ social auditing team to more explicitly include a gender focus insocial auditing programs that will help uncover potential gendered challenges and discriminationand thus ensure continuous due diligence.

Recommendations for Suppliers:»

Review the employment cycle and make necessary adjustments to eliminate potential bias
and ensure it is supportive of women’s advancement. Understanding this is essential to making

BSR | Supporting Women in Luxury Supply Chains: a Focus on Italy

10

the necessary adjustments in identified policies, processes, and programs to help and encourage
women to advance to higher career positions.

»

Promote initiatives that facilitate returning to work from maternity leave and raise awarenessabout shared parental/family care responsibilities to support women and men in their transition totheir new role as parents and as a way to encourage more shared responsibilities and ease work andfamily care duties.

»

Embed practices that prevent, address, and remediate gender-based violence and harassmentby raising awareness about what constitutes harassment and setting policies with a strong focus on
prevention while at the same time ensuring that workers have access to mechanisms to raise
concerns, thus enabling safer work environments for women workers.

ENABLE change by promoting gender equality with relevant stakeholders. The second pillar,“Enable,” identifies opportunities for luxury brands and their suppliers to accelerate progress for womenby collaborating with stakeholders, including civil society organizations and business partners.
Recommendations for Luxury Brands:»

Promote and facilitate awareness-raising and trainings on gender equality among suppliers’
leadership and management teams to drive a gender equality mindset. Ensuring a gendersensitive and engaged leadership is necessary to have internal buy-in and support for future internalchanges.

»

Integrate incentives that recognize positive achievements into supplier engagement andpurchasing practices. Providing ongoing support and engagement with suppliers to discuss
gendered challenges as well as best practices and progress will also contribute to stronger supplier
relationships. Luxury brands can also acknowledge and recognize suppliers’ positive achievements
through their purchasing practices, for instance, by offering incentives to suppliers who advancegender equality in the workplace.

Recommendations for Suppliers:»

Explore and make use of existing opportunities and funds, tapping into available incentives
offered by the government or relevant institutions such as welfare plans, training subsides, andsimilar financing mechanisms available in the country to facilitate implementation of programs that
can help drive change in gender equality.

Recommendations for Luxury Brands and their Suppliers:»

Join local networks that address relevant gendered issues. Collaborative action and partnerships
with local organizations, institutions, and other business are key to addressing systemic challenges,
advancing impactful programs, and catalyzing cultural change. For this, it is important to understandand leverage the key strengths of the multiple stakeholders in the country and to join forces ordevelop joint programs that address the most pressing issues and implement them directly in theworkplace.

BSR | Supporting Women in Luxury Supply Chains: a Focus on Italy

11

INFLUENCE the ecosystem. The third pillar, “Influence,” presents how luxury brands can build anenvironment that promotes gender equality and removes systemic constraints—from gender norms togaps in legal protections—to allow women to fully participate and prosper in work.
Recommendations for Luxury Brands:»

Support advocacy efforts related to the gender equality agenda of key partners andinstitutional actors by promoting evidence-based research that reaches a wide audience of relevant
decision-makers and key players, as well as the general public, to drive and be part of long-lastingand sustainable change.

»

Support the breakdown of gender stereotypes by integrating gender equality messages inadvertising and promotional campaigns, focusing particularly on challenging gender stereotypes
and social and cultural norms around women’s role in the workplace and their caregiver status as away to influence public mindset and drive positive change.

BSR | Supporting Women in Luxury Supply Chains: a Focus on Italy

12

Engaging Suppliers on Gender Equality
Italy is a primary sourcing country for many luxury companies. The “Made in Italy” label is well known
around the world, particularly in the fashion sector. Ready to wear apparel, fashion accessory, textile andfabrics, shoes, and leather goods manufacturers characterize the industrial landscape of many regions in
the country. These highly specialized yet predominantly artisanal, family-owned, small to medium sizedenterprises (SMEs) are generally clustered in dynamic industrial districts.10 The luxury sector relies on theperformance and distinctive nature of these companies, which are considered a fundamental asset for thesector and its reputation for high-quality products.
For instance, for Kering Group, one of the major global players in the luxury sector, Italy represents 87.8
percent of its global supply chain.11 Kering’s Italian suppliers are typically SME manufacturers of ready towear, leather goods, shoes, jewelry, and eyewear, but they are also providers of raw materials,
packaging, and other products and services. These suppliers are located predominantly in the northern
regions of Lombardia, Piemonte, Tuscany, and Veneto, though some are based in southern regions suchas Campania and Puglia. The Kering luxury supply chain in Italy can be considered illustrative of the
supply chains of many other luxury brands in the country.

Supplier Profile of This Project
For this project, 284 Italian suppliers across four Kering brands (Gucci, Bottega Veneta, Pomellato, andKering Eyewear) were invited to participate, and 189 suppliers (67 percent) took part in the project in its
various phases. This group represents approximately 51 percent of Kering’s manufacturing supply chain
in Italy.12

76% supply to Gucci
31% supply to Bottega Veneta
7%

supply to Pomellato

3%

supply to Kering Eyewear

Figure 1: Breakdown by brand of suppliers that participatedin the project (supplying to one or more brand)

189 suppliers participated in the project.
Some report supplying to more than one
brand, with the majority supplying either to
Gucci or Bottega Veneta.

Figure 2: Breakdown by region of Kering suppliers that participatedin the project

64% of suppliers that participated in the project
are located in the regions of Lombardia, Tuscany,
and Veneto. Other relevant regions include
Piemonte, Marche, and Emilia-Romagna.

10

SMEs are considered the backbone of the Italian economy and represent 92 percent of active enterprises and 82 percent of theworkforce (2019) (source: www.infodata.ilsole24ore.com/2019/07/10/40229/)1112https://keringcorporate.dam.kering.com/m/6acacc777e94cbb4/original/2018-Reference-Document.pdf

As of February 2018, considering manufacturing suppliers of the following purchasing categories: ready to wear, leather goods,
shoes, jewelry, and eyewear, and excluding purchasing categories such as raw materials suppliers, packaging, and others.

BSR | Supporting Women in Luxury Supply Chains: a Focus on Italy

13

While the average size of these suppliers varies from brand to brand, the vast majority are SMEs,13 withthe exception of six larger facilities. Kering Eyewear appears to have the highest number of employees
per supplier (an average of 136 employees per factory), while the other three brands have fewer than 60
employees on average per supplier (52 employees for Bottega Veneta, 59 for Gucci, and 56 forPomellato).

Worker Profile of This Project
11,030Workers employed by suppliers
invited to participate

70%

are women

5,779

Workers employed by suppliers
who participated in the project<5%

are foreign workers, mostly
from other EU countries, andmost of them are women

880

Workers who responded to thesurvey87%

are located in Lombardia,
Tuscany, and VenetoFigure 3: Overview of worker demographic in Kering
supply chain

When analyzing the demographic of workers who participated in the project, we found a higher
participation of women and a higher participation of certain regions compared to the overall supplierdemographics:»

Women represent 63 percent of theworkforce of suppliers that were invited
to participate. Among the workers who
responded to the survey, 70 percent were
women (7 percentage points higher than thepercentage of women in the total workforce).

»

From a geographical point of view, 64
percent of suppliers that engaged in the
research are located in Lombardia,
Tuscany, and Veneto. The representation ofworkers who participated in the survey from
Figure 4: Breakdown by region of workers who participated in thethese three regions is even higher (87project
percent). The location of 3 percent ofrespondents is unknown.

13

The Italian Institute for Statistics (ISTAT) considers Small and Medium Size Enterprises to be companies with 10 to 249 employees.

BSR | Supporting Women in Luxury Supply Chains: a Focus on Italy

Other relevant facts and figures about workers who participated in this survey are the following:»

The women workforce population is slightly
younger than that of men—approximately 76
percent of women are between 18 and 50 years
old, compared with around 65 percent of men.

»

A slightly smaller percentage of women thanmen are married (46 percent vs. 57 percent).
The same is true for workers who have kids (52percent of women vs. 55 percent of men).

»

Worker education levels are similar among
women and men. Most finished secondary
school, but women have a higher achievement
Figure 5: Percentage of women and men per age groupthan men in upper education levels such asuniversity degrees (18 percent of women workers have degrees vs. 14 percent of men).

14

BSR | Supporting Women in Luxury Supply Chains: a Focus on Italy

15

Gender Equality in the Italian Luxury Supply
Chain
Framing Gender Equality in the Workplace and the Role ofBusiness
Globally, social and cultural norms and traditions, gender bias, stereotypes, and other practices continue
to stigmatize and foster systemic discrimination of women in the workplace. From accessing job
opportunities and throughout the employment cycle, women face a range of discriminatory practices that
inhibit their economic and professional advancement opportunities. Evidence of this includes the frequentconcentration of women in lower-paying jobs and industries, the lower representation of women in
leadership, and wage disparities (gender pay gap), among others. The underrepresentation of women in
leadership positions means that fewer women are involved in decision-making processes, which canfurther hinder the advancement of more gender-inclusive business practices.

FOCUS

Gender Equality in the Workplace in Italy: Some Key Indicators
Based on global gender equality indexes such as the SDG Gender Index by Equal Measure’s
2030 and the UNDP Gender Inequality Index (GII), among others, Italy is overall relatively wellplaced regarding gender equality at a global level. However, when it comes to employment andwork for women, the picture is gloomier.
In the World Economic Forum (WEF) Global Gender Gap Report 2018, out of 149 countries,
Italy ranks 70th overall (17th among the 20 Western European countries), and 118th in economic
participation and opportunity, making it one the poorest performers among developing countries.
According to Eurostat, Italy's gender pay gap is a little over 5 percent (lower than any other EU
country except Romania). However, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation
and Development (OECD), Italy has the fewest women in the workforce of any developed
economy, which contributes to the low gender pay gap because women who do engage in paid
work are likely to be better educated and have a higher earnings capacity than women who stayat home.
Despite the fact that the employment rate among women in Italy has grown in recent years, thecountry still has one of the largest gender gaps in terms of employment rate of any OECD
country, reaching 18 percent in 2017. While labor force participation for men reaches nearly 60
percent, it barely exceeds 40 percent for women. Female participation in the workforce may be
hidden in the so-called informal, or shadow economy, which represents an estimated 19.8
percent of Italy’s GDP, according to the Institute for Applied Economic Research at the
University of Tübingen in Germany (IAW). Not only is female participation in the workforce more
limited and more informal, but women are also underrepresented at the managerial level,
particularly in higher-level positions (women represent only 23 percent of middle and senior
management).
According to the OECD data from 2015, women in Italy also face a disproportionate
responsibility for unpaid care, spending on average of over 2.5 times more time than men on

BSR | Supporting Women in Luxury Supply Chains: a Focus on Italy16household chores such as cleaning, cooking, andchildcare—or up to approximately five hours perday. The WEF estimates that around 62 percent of
Italian women's work each day is unpaid, compared
to 30 percent for Italian men. This also leads womenin Italy to work longer than men—an average of 512
minutes per day, compared to 453 minutes formen—yet they are more likely to be unemployed orwork part time. Part of this burden is linked to the
expected role of women as mothers. While many
countries are adopting policies that allow fathers totake paid time off from work to care for theirnewborns (including both paid paternity leave, whichis compulsory, paid in full, and currently four days,
and paid parental and home care leave reserved for fathers, which is optional and paid as apercentage of salary), OECD studies (2018) reveal that Italy is lagging on policies addressing
paid parental and home care leave. According to the National Institute for Social Security(“Istituto Nazionale per la Previdenza Sociale,” or INPS), in 2018 in the private sector, 123,088
fathers took compulsory paternity leave and 4,512 took “optional” leave. While there has been
an increase in the use of paternity leave options, statistics show that the majority of fathers do
not take advantage of this benefit. Monitoring and more information about the right to takepaternity leave is needed to increase the number of fathers making use of it.
Being risk-free of harassment is also an essential element for achieving gender equality.
According to the Italian Institute for Statistics (ISTAT), almost half of Italy's adult women haveexperienced some form of sexual harassment and an estimated 1.4 million women reported
experiencing physical harassment or sexual blackmail at work.

However, gendered issues are not always identified by women themselves in the first place. Women maylack awareness of their disadvantaged condition or may simply accept it as a normal state. This fact wasan important consideration throughout the research process and a priority in focus groups, where special
attention was paid to uncovering and diving into some of the less evident issues. Indeed, women who
participated in the focus groups did not initially recognize some of the challenges they were facing. For
example, inappropriate behavior by male colleagues was generally downplayed or not considered a
problem to be dealt with at the company culture level. Another example concerns the vertical segregationof workers. While most women workers said they had never reflected on the potential discrimination
involved in the different job roles and positions held by women and men workers, once this issue wasraised participants recognized that there were very few women occupying managerial or leadership
positions at their companies.
Businesses have a central role to play in creating and ensuring a gender-inclusive work environment andculture. For instance, business can promote gender equality in the workplace by:»

Reviewing and ensuring that relevant policies and codes of conduct are gender-responsive by
setting expectations around gender equality in the company workplace and across the supply chain.
Women are often more vulnerable than men and have specific needs that could and should be
addressed through codes of conduct. Communicate the values of the company, both internally andexternally.

BSR | Supporting Women in Luxury Supply Chains: a Focus on Italy

17»

Raising awareness regarding gender equality in the workplace. Conducting gender-sensitive
trainings and communicating and building internal capacity on gender equality is key to creating amore inclusive work environment. Awareness and trainings are important to drive management buy-inon the importance of promoting gender equality in the workplace but also to drive behavioral changes
in the workforce.

»

Conducting gender-sensitive due diligence to uncover potential gendered issues that are noteasily identified in the company’s regular human resources processes or supply chain social auditing
programs. Integrating a gender lens into existing due diligence processes is a practical way to enable
understanding of the specific challenges that women workers are facing and, consequently, is key tobeing able to prevent and address those challenges.

»

Collecting gender-disaggregated data to measure and monitor the outcome and impact on men
and women workers of relevant policies, processes, and programs. Collecting relevant data
disaggregated by gender allows companies to detect issues that may affect one gender or another,and ultimately to develop appropriate evidence-based responses and set clear and realistic genderequality/women advancement objectives.

Today, luxury companies are already demonstrating their close relationship with women through efforts toimprove various aspects of women’s lives, from health to financial independence to safety from violence.
Overall, the efforts of luxury brands on gender equality have focused on three main levels:»Internal diversity and inclusion management programs such as committing to gender balance andaddressing and ending the gender pay gap, and developing dedicated programs in specific areas
such as parenting, sexual harassment, etc.

»

External advocacy efforts and dedicated projects of luxury brands foundations, such as instituting
channels and supporting campaigns against gender-based violence, and overall investment inefforts to help change the mindset about the role and recognition given to women in society.

»Engaging suppliers through supply chain initiatives and social audit programs, including those
covering discrimination issues and enforcing certification standards such as SA8000.

Beyond these efforts, luxury brands have the opportunity to leverage the credibility of their brand and theirconnection to women to promote cultural change toward gender equality and to develop strategies toadvance women’s equality in luxury supply chains on issues such as increasing the number of women in
leadership positions, ensuring pay equity, and supporting women’s economic and social empowerment.

Workplace Practices Related to Gender Equality at Luxury
Brands Suppliers
As part of this study, suppliers were surveyed about existing initiatives and programs on gender equality,
covering topics such as the existence of specific policies on gender equality, hiring and careerdevelopment practices, initiatives to address harassment, and work-life balance, among others. Given
that most suppliers are SMEs, it is important to understand the constraints on Kering suppliers in terms ofresources and capacity—including limitations on manpower, money, expertise, information, and time—and how those constraints may affect their efforts to adopt such practices. The following conclusions can

BSR | Supporting Women in Luxury Supply Chains: a Focus on Italy18

be drawn based on the current gender equality practices of the Kering suppliers that participated in thisstudy:»

Specific gender-focused initiatives and programs are not common. More than half of the
suppliers surveyed (56 percent) reported not having any dedicated gender equality policies orprograms. However, around 50 percent of suppliers reported having additional welfare initiatives inplace for their employees, most notably supplementary health insurance, or having in place SA8000
certification (19 percent), social policies (22 percent), and gender equality/antidiscrimination policies(11 percent).

»

Monitoring of relevant genderdisaggregated data is uneven. While,on average, 50 percent of suppliers
reported monitoring and provided somegender-disaggregated data, indicatorsthat are more directly related to businessperformance such as absenteeism andturnover rate are not always tracked.
Collecting and monitoring genderdisaggregated data is useful to identify
critical areas and/or existing gaps in the
management of gender equality practices
and issues in the workplace. Data is also
useful for documenting the need for
creating a more gender-inclusive
workplace for better business results.

Figure 6: Percentage of suppliers that provided gender-disaggregateddata for specific indicators»

There is limited leadership support of gender equality initiatives and weak, or no, structuralaccountability. Only 23 percent of suppliers reported having the endorsement and support of theirleadership and/or top management on gender equality initiatives and program, when they exist at all.
Furthermore, only 12 percent of suppliers reported having a specific person/function in the company
accountable for such programs and only one supplier reported having a dedicated agreement with aunion on gender equality. This is not surprising for SMEs because very few of them can afford
structured human resources organizations.

»

There are clear opportunities to raise awareness and enhance visibility of gender equality
efforts. Only 24 percent of suppliers have dedicated communication, awareness raising, and training
initiatives for employees on the programs and initiatives in place and, more broadly, on the topic ofgender equality. At the same time, only about 4 percent of suppliers communicate externally aboutsuch policies/programs.

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19

Research Findings: Overview of Gender Equality at Luxury
Brands Suppliers
As a cross-cutting theme, gendered issues in the workplace can be explored from different angles, acrossvarious issues and practices that are interrelated and cannot be understood without the cross-contributionof one another. The multiple findings of the current practices, policies, and impacts on women workers in
the luxury supply chain in Italy can be analyzed by breaking them down into the following topics:»»»»

Women’s working conditions and economic opportunities
Women’s access to leadership and professional career advancement
Women’s role as mothers and in the family
Women’s agency and behaviors in the workplace

WOMEN’S WORKING CONDITIONS AND ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITES

Challenge at a Glance
Women’s ability to be fully productive participants in the economy means they can benefit from equitableeconomic activities, have access to economic and financial resources, and in general contribute to thegrowth of society. Globally, women are more vulnerable to poor working conditions than men: Job
opportunities are generally in lower-paying jobs, they are paid less than men for work of equal value(gender pay gap), and they receive fewer bonuses and less recognition, among others disparities.
In addition, poor work arrangements, especially around wages, frequently lead women to work overtime
and/or hold multiple jobs to increase their income, but despite that many women still find it difficult to earnenough to cover their and their families’ basic needs.

Among the workers who responded to this project’s survey, the majority of workers, both women andmen, hold permanent full-time positions. While not usual, temporary or other types of contract jobs, suchas leasing or internship, are more common among women (17 percent) than men (10 percent). In
addition, women are far more likely to work part time than men (14 percent vs. 1 percent ).

Figure 7:Type of contract (%) per gender

Figure 8: Type of work arrangement (%) per gender

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20

Overall, the perception of working conditions is rather positive among workers, with 60 percent of workers
asserting that they are satisfied with the contract conditions. However, when analyzed in more detail,women workers appear to be consistently more discontent than men workers:»

Women remain in traditional roles and lower positions within the factory:
Vertical segregation, also known as the “glass ceiling,” refers to the existence of visible or invisible
obstacles that lead to a greater concentration of women in a limited number of sectors and/or
professions and fewer women occupying high-level leadership and decision-making positions withinorganizations.
•»

Despite the fact that the women workers
surveyed for this study have attained
higher education levels that men, women
were more prevalent in blue-collar
positions and/or administrative positions
than in management and leadership
positions. Women make up 63 percent of
the workforce and represent 60 percent ofblue-collar positions and 68 percent ofwhite-collar positions, but they represent
only 25 percent of management positions.
Figure 9: Prevalence (%) of women and men in different job
positions at Kering suppliers
While these levels are consistent with theaverage rate of women in management
positions in Italy (23 percent, according to OECD), they fall far short of a gender-equalmanagement structure.

Lower positions are leading to lower salaries and the perception among women that they can
not earn a living wage:
Living wage refers to the remuneration for a standard workweek to a worker in a particular placesufficient to afford a decent standard of living for the worker and her or his family. Elements of adecent standard of living include food, water, housing, education, health care, transportation, clothing,and other essential needs, including provision for unexpected events.14•

Among the workers who participated in thisproject, women reported having lower
salaries than their male colleagues. Women’ssalaries were reported as mostly
concentrated in the middle range, while menreported their salaries at the higher ends ofthe range. Moreover, over half of women
workers (57 percent) do not feel that theirsalaries reach a living wage, compared with
46 percent of men who feel this way. It is
Figure 10: Monthly salary range (%) per gender14

www.globallivingwage.org/about/what-is-a-living-wage/.

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21

important to note that these gaps in wages may be attributable in part to the types of roles women
hold within the factories.
»

There is also perceived discrimination in remuneration:
Equal remuneration for work of equal value is a concept that is enshrined in the ILO Equal
Remuneration Convention No. 100,15 where the phrase “equal remuneration for men and women
workers for work of equal value” refers to rates of remuneration16 established without discrimination
based on sex. The gender pay gap is one of the manifestations of discrimination in remuneration
between women and men, where women are less paid than men despite being in equal positions. In
Italy, the “code of equal opportunities between men and women” prohibits all direct and indirectdiscrimination in any aspect or condition of remuneration in relation to the same job or a job
considered as having the same status, including prohibiting any discrimination based on gender withregard to the assignment of a job level, tasks, or career progression.17•

Among the women workers who
participated in this study, half reported
they perceived women were being
A higher percentage of womenpaid less than men in equal positions.
think there is somediscrimination in wages among
The data collected from suppliers
colleagues of different genders
through the gender-disaggregatedperforming similar jobs andindicators also reveals a 11 percent
having similar seniority
lower average salary for womencompared to men, part of which could
reflect the lower roles that women
Figure 11: Perception among workers of discrimination in
hold within the factories, as mentioned remuneration
above.

49%
21%•

However, the presence of a gender pay gap as a potential issue is not widely recognized and isgenerally viewed as a taboo topic. Suppliers are almost exclusively focused on compliance withthe collective labor contract and very seldom monitor relevant gender-specific data that would
potentially help identify if such gaps
We don’t talk about this,exist. Under Italian law, only
companies with more than 100
not even between
employees are required to report on
ourselves... if we do,gender pay differences and, reflective
problems could arise.
of the prevalence of SMEs, ourresearch found that gender-

15

www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=NORMLEXPUB:12100:0::NO::P12100_ILO_CODE:C100.

16

Remuneration includes the ordinary, basic or minimum wage or salary and any additional emoluments.

Refer to Article 28 of Legislative Decree 198/2006 (“Prohibition on wage discrimination’), entitled the “Code of equal opportunities
between men and women” (hereinafter the “Code”). It should also be noted that in Italian legislation, there is no general principle of“equal pay for equal work”’ that is not specifically linked to discriminatory grounds, meaning that employees can receive different
salaries even if they perform the same duties, as long as the basis for the pay difference is not discriminatory.
(https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=a4d677dd-553b-4b23-b151-1fa98fa76d16).
17

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22

disaggregated salary level was the indicator least reported by suppliers, with only 33 percent ofrespondents providing data on this.18

FOCUS

Gender-Focused Initiatives
at Kering Suppliers in Italy••••

15 percent of suppliers ensure women are represented on
the job-interview hiring panel when recruiting for new
positions;
35 percent of suppliers ensure a balanced representation of
women and men when considering candidates for hiring in
job positions;55 percent of suppliers regularly monitor pay structure forwomen and men employees;
2 percent of suppliers undertake an internal gender pay gap
audit.

WOMEN’S ACCESS TO LEADERSHIP AND PROFESSIONAL CAREERADVANCEMENT

Challenge at a Glance
Gender equality in the workplace depends on women’s access to equal opportunities for employment, but
it also depends on broader cultural norms and access to the possibility of effectively improving them.
Social or gender norms are a critical factor influencing a woman’s ability to advance in her career
because traditional norms that tie her to family and household care responsibilities can hinder her
perception of what types of careers and leadership roles to pursue.
At the same time, lack of gender-sensitive and supportive structures in the form of employment policies
and processes across the employee cycle, from hiring, training, and promotion to retention andtermination, impact women’s opportunities and can often be the source of obstacles. For example, biased
performance review systems that fail to capture a full range of leadership traits in favor of more masculine
notions of leadership can prevent women from advancing in their roles.

Under Article 46 of the Code (“Reporting on the personnel situation”) there is also an obligation to report gender pay differencesthat apply to companies employing more than 100 people and that are required to draw up a report at least every two years,
containing information on male and female employees with specific reference to their working conditions and their overall
remuneration. The report must be shared with union representatives and with the competent public authorities which will thenprocess the data collected and transmit it to the Ministry of Labor. Employers are not directly required to draw up an action strategy
for reducing gender pay gaps revealed by this report (if any). However, under Article 37 of the Code, if discrimination is found, thecompany can be required to produce an action strategy aimed at reducing the gender pay gap within a maximum of 120 days.
(https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=a4d677dd-553b-4b23-b151-1fa98fa76d16).
18

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23

Women and men workers who participated in this project indicated that, overall, they consider their salaryis reflective of their educational level and experience and that they have had opportunities to advance intheir professional career. However, as previously noted, women make up only 25 percent of manageriallevel positions despite being a majority of the overall workforce. The presence of certain workplace
practices, attitudes, and beliefs may be limiting women’s career advancement and access to managerial
and leadership roles.
»

There is perceived discrimination across the employment cycle:
Gender-based discrimination in career advancement opportunities is often invisible and dependent on
unconscious gender biases. According to the ILO, unconscious gender bias, defined as unintentional
and automatic mental associations based on gender, stemming from traditions, norms, values,
culture, and/or experience, continues to impact women’s ability to advance in their career.19•

As already noted, one of the key findings of our research is that women are mostly employed inoperational roles, while supervisory roles are largely reserved for men. Fifty-six percent of women
workers who participated in this survey reported that their direct supervisor/manager is male,while only 12 percent of men indicatedthat their direct supervisor is female.
In addition, a majority of women
A higher percentage of women
perceive discrimination in the
believe there is discrimination
promotion processes, while malein the promotion processes
workers believe growth opportunities
and that it is easier for men
than women to be promoted
are equal for men and women. In
focus groups, however, women did not
immediately recognize discrimination
as an issue. Only when prompted to
Figure 12: Perception among workers of discrimination in the
promotion process
reflect on the potential limits to theirroles did women workers acknowledge
that the work environment may discriminate or undervalue their competencies.

59%
29%

»

There is limited investment for career advancement and professional training opportunities:
In the context of SMEs, career advancement opportunities may be rare due to limited availability ofroles to fill, limited resources available, and lack of investment and a strategy focused on personnel
development. In many workplaces, men and women rarely have equal access to development
programs, even though this is critical for progression up the corporate hierarchy.

19

www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_dialogue/---act_emp/documents/publication/wcms_601276.pdf.

BSR | Supporting Women in Luxury Supply Chains: a Focus on Italy

•

»

24

Overall, around 60 percent of
You enter in the company
workers who participated in thisas a blue-collar worker, andstudy believe they havereceived adequate training to
you will end as blue-collar
execute their current jobs.
worker most of the times.
However, less than a third
reported having professional
development training and career advancement opportunities available in their workplace—aperception that is stronger among women
workers. Among the suppliers surveyed, amajority of the training available isdedicated to the acquisition of technicalskills rather than the skills needed toadvance into managerial roles. Less than 5
percent of suppliers reported having training
programs to specifically support women’s
professional development or leadership.
Figure 13: Access to training for further career development
This can be largely attributed to the fact that(%) per gendermost suppliers are SMEs.

Women tend to stigmatize their female colleagues in positions of leadership:
An unconscious bias that women face, especially among other women, is the perception thatreaching leadership positions is a “fight against each other,” which manifests itself in a negative
attitude toward women who attain these types of positions.
•»Among women workers who participated in this project, almost half (43 percent) did not recognize
the potential benefits and positive impacts on the work environment, in terms of careeradvancement for women and gender equality, of having women in leadership positions. However,research shows that when senior
I believe it is wrong toleadership positions are held
exclusively by men, the “thinkpromote some women, as
manager-think-male” perspective ismost women use theirperpetuated, while having more
superiority in a selfish way.
women in leadership could help
break the organizational biases andultimately inspire women workers to advance in their careers and build momentum toward a more
equitable working environment for women.20

Are women also abandoning the ‘battle’?
Negative thought patterns and self-limiting beliefs are also common among women. This includes
reluctance to pursue certain tasks because they lack confidence in their ability to succeed or simply
put themselves “out of the race” because they do not have the time, energy, or commitment to pursue
growth opportunities.

20

www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_dialogue/---act_emp/documents/publication/wcms_601276.pdf.

BSR | Supporting Women in Luxury Supply Chains: a Focus on Italy

25•

This study found that women’s attitude toward being able to improve in their careers was
frequently ambivalent or defensive.
More than a third of women
Becoming a boss.. no.. but
workers (36 percent) do not seemsome more recognition
to have a positive attitude towardtaking a potential promotion withwould be great to have.
more responsibilities, comparedwith only 12 percent of men who
feel that way. Eight percent of women feel they are not able to or do not have the adequate skills
to achieve a promotion, and 26 percent are ambivalent (do not have an opinion about it).

•

In addition, women tend to believethat a promotion or career
I was upgraded as shop
advancement is an achievement inwalker, but there was noitself and should not necessarily
increment in my salary.
entitle them to additional benefits,
such as an increase inremuneration. Instead, women tend
to accept this as a matter of fact and “give up” claims related to career development opportunities
and improved gender equality in exchange for having more flexibility to manage work-life balance.

WOMEN'S ROLE AS MOTHERS AND IN THE FAMILY

Challenge at a Glance
Care work consists of two overlapping activities: direct, personal, and relational care activities, such as
work deriving from motherhood like feeding a baby or nursing an ill partner, and indirect care activities,
such as cooking and cleaning. Unpaid care work is care work provided without a monetary reward. it isconsidered as work and it is a crucial dimension of the world of work. Globally, women are still seen as
the default caregivers and continue to carry the heavier share of unpaid care work, which impacts
women’s opportunities to access education, paid work, and growth opportunities, among other things.
To unlock women’s full economic potential and achieve gender equality, adequate social protection andaccess to family-friendly workplaces, among other conditions, are essential. In addition to maternity leave,
benefits such as paternity leave, mentorship programs and policies, flexible working hours, childcare
accommodations, and lactating facilities are critical determinants of whether women return to work after
having a child and, more generally, of their lifestyle and professional career decisions.

Care work in Italy is predominantly left to women, and the capacity of women to balance work and family
life is often questioned because of cultural traditions and expectations. This study confirms that familycare and domestic responsibilities are often perceived as a burden on women workers in their efforts tosustain their jobs, advance their careers, and maintain work-life balance.

BSR | Supporting Women in Luxury Supply Chains: a Focus on Italy»

26

Maternity is seen as an obstacle for sustaining a job and for professional growth:Childcare is primarily seen as a woman’s concern and, as a result, a woman’s double role (as motherand worker) is often perceived as being in conflict. Returning to work after maternity leave is aparticularly critical moment for many mothers, who often struggle to adapt to the drastic change intheir lives and find the proper balance
between work and motherhood. In addition,
If you work you must
many women workers who give birth must
not have kids, and if
deal with health implications, such as
you have kids you must
managing their child’s lactation or suffering
not work.
postnatal anxiety or depression, and many
women workers decide not to return to workat all. Studies conducted in Italy show that having a child dramatically decreases the earnings of
Italian women because many of them leave the labor market, and those who do go back to work tend
to earn less than what they would have earned had they not taken maternity leave.21•

This study confirms that maternity is viewed as a real obstacle that negatively impacts women’srole at work and their professional
growth opportunities. Women workers
fear the consequences of maternity on
Many women workers thinktheir job once they return to work withthat maternity would negatively
regard to their role at the company,
impact their jobs. Surprisingly,
work-life balance, and their ability topaternity is also perceived as
manage concurrently motherhood andan obstacle by some men.
their job. Around 23 percent of women
workers reported knowing of female
colleagues who have not returned to
Figure 14: Percentage of workers who think there will be negative
consequences or significant changes upon returning to work.
work at all after maternity leave.

39%
24%

»

Inappropriate questions are still getting asked during recruitment processes:
During the recruitment process and upon hiring, questions about marital status, pregnancy status, or
future intentions of having a family are perceived by many interviewees as invasive of their personal
space. Under certain circumstances, according to the Italian Code of Equal Opportunities (“Codicedelle Pari Opportunita”22), these type of questions can also be considered illegal because they canlead to gender-based discrimination and, as a consequence, limit women’s job opportunities.
•

Unfortunately, women who participated to our study still experience these inappropriate practices(23 percent of women
When I did the interview, I
respondents asserted having
was asked if I had theexperienced it in their life).
However, it is unclear to what
intention to have kids…it
extent this line of questioning
frankly bothered me. It felt likeduring the recruitment process
an intrusion and a limitation.
is leading to gender-based

21

https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/2018/06/30/italian-women-face-dramatic-earnings-losses-after-the-birth-of-a-child/.

22

https://www.altalex.com/documents/news/2012/09/18/codice-delle-pari-opportunita-tra-uomo-e-donna-libro-iii.

BSR | Supporting Women in Luxury Supply Chains: a Focus on Italy

27

discrimination or is simply driven by unintended social norms or habits that are not perceived as
inappropriate or discriminatory by the interviewees themselves.
»

Shared parental responsibilities are still rare:
Research shows that households where parental responsibilities are shared more equally between
parents, regardless of gender, can increase the mother’s well-being, parficularly by helping todecrease incidents of postnatal anxiety.23 It can also improve the father’s ability to care for children in
the long term 24 and contribute to better health outcomes for the child.25 One way companies can
support working parents and ensure greater equality in care responsibities is by offering parental
leave options to both genders. Unfortunately, while many women do take advantage of maternity
leave benefits, few men are aware of or take advantage of such benefits.
•

Among male workers who participatedin this study, more than half appeared
unmotivated and/or unwilling to takepaternity leave. This may be aconsequence of financial
considerations, cultural expectations,or lack of knowledge of the existenceof these type of opportunities.

32%
46%

There is lack of awareness andlimited interest among
workers, most notably maleworkers, about options for
additional parental leave

Figure 15: Percentage of workers who are not aware of or notinterested in options for parental leave beyond those mandated by law.

»

Domestic and family care responsibilities still fall predominantly on women’s shoulders:According to the ILO, women bear the brunt of unpaid care work, globally performing 76 percent of
total hours of unpaid care work—more than three times as much as men. Across regions and income
groups, when both work for pay or profit and unpaid care work are accounted together, the working
day is on average longer for women than for men (7 hours and 28 minutes vs. 6 hours and 44
minutes).26•

Despite the overall consensus among
workers who participated in this study thathousehold duties and family care should beequally divided between women and men(87 percent among both genders), a closer
examination of the actual practices
regarding the distribution of domestic
responsibilities found that perceptions arevery different among female and maleworkers. Our survey found that 69 percent of Figure 16: Domestic and family care duties (%) per gender23

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22342108.

24

www.thenewdad.org/yahoo_site_admin/assets/docs/BCCWF_The_New_Dad_2014_FINAL.157170735.pdf.

25

www.oecd-ilibrary.org/social-issues-migration-health/fathers-leave-fathers-involvement-and-child-development_5k4dlw9w6czq-en.

26

www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---dcomm/---publ/documents/publication/wcms_633135.pdf.

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28

women perceive that they are fully or mostly responsible for household care, while 61 percent ofmen perceive that these responsibilities are equally divided. Only 27 percent of women perceived
that the responsibilities are equally divided. This is a factor that can put more pressure on
women’s work-life balance. In fact, 52 percent of women respondents indicated that they felt thispressure (compared to 37 percent of men).
•

Overall, it was recognized by most workers who participated in this study that their employers are
eager to accommodate family care needs, even beyond what is contractually required. There is apositive perception regarding theavailability of adequate
If I receive a call from myinfrastructure for childcare, andkid’s school, I simply send amost workers have flexibility to
WhatsApp message to mytake additional time off for family
boss and there is no issue.
reasons. Still, more attention
should be paid to women’s specifichealth needs, particularly during
the first months after returning to work from maternity. For example, only 3 percent of women
respondents said that adequate lactation spaces and facilities for nursing mothers are available attheir companies.

FOCUS

Gender-Focused initiatives at
Kering Suppliers in Italy
•
•
•
•
•

52 percent offer phased return to work after maternity or
paternity leave;
51 percent offer flextime and/or additional flex time beyond
the contractual one;
23 percent have succession/mentorship plans for womenleaving on maternity leave;
5 percent encourage men to take paternity leave;
1 percent have lactation spaces and facilities.

WOMEN’S AGENCY AND BEHAVIORS IN THE WORKPLACE

Challenge at a Glance
Women empowerment depends on women’s active participation in raising their voices, being heard, andcontributing and bringing value to the workplace. Underlying social norms and traditions frequently impact
women’s confidence to speak up and their capacity to make their own decisions and act on them. In
addition, women and girls continue to be victims of workplace harassment, including sexual harassment,
violence, bullying, and other unfair treatment. Being free of harassment is essential for women
empowerment and gender equality. At the same time, to build a respectful workplace that is free fromharassment, women must be empowered to detect and report these issues.

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29

As recently stated by ILO Convention No. 190 on the Elimination of Violence and Harassment in theWorld of Work, workplace policies should address harassment and violence as part of their
responsibilities. Companies should set up workplace policies, processes, and systems to create a safe
working environment for both women and men workers and have in place and communicate toemployees relevant grievance mechanisms and complaints procedures to enable workers to raise their
voices, address those issues, and remedy them.27

Workers who responded to this project’s survey have an overall positive perception regarding theworkplace environment and their relationship with supervisors/managers and human resources. They
generally feel they are heard by managers and leadership, they are satisfied and empowered to express
their opinions, ideas, and concerns, and issues such as violence and sexual harassment in the workplace
do not seem to be prevalent. However, when it comes to dealing with and voicing potential complaints
and concerns through formal or informal grievance mechanisms, when those exist, women appear to beless vocal and participative than men.
»

There is relatively low awareness of what constitutes harassment and inappropriate behavior:
The level of awareness of what constitutes harassment and inappropriate behavior in the workplace
and the embedded cultural norms that influence the perception of the severity of that behavior
influences the ability of women to detect (and potentially report) these issues. For instance, sexual
harassment can take many forms, from obvious ones like sexual favors, unwelcome advances,
physical harassment, and verbal abuse, to more subtle forms that can sometimes be perceived as
innocent. Many of these behaviors are frequently based on power relationships and social andcultural norms as well as on the lack of standards, policies, and practices in the workplace that would
help raise awareness and avoid or address these issues when they arise.
•

At first, among workers who
participated in this study, bullying,
threats, verbal abuse, and sexual
harassment do not seem widespread,severe, or of major concern. Not
surprisingly, the cases that were
uncovered disproportionally impact
women, whether they have been
personally involved or have simply
heard of such cases.

•

Further discussion with women
workers revealed that they may not

Men often do thesecomments, but you
know, it is everywhere.

27

Figure 17: Incidents of bullying, harassment, and inappropriate
behavior in the workplace.

necessarily identify or recognize
inappropriate behavior. While there issome level of awareness that certain
types of behavior constituteharassment and/or are meant to

www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=NORMLEXPUB:12100:0::NO::P12100_ILO_CODE:C190.

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30

devalue or undermine women’s role at work, women workers tend to see this misconduct assomething they simply have to put up with. As a result, jokes and inappropriate comments may
be somewhat tolerated or condoned. However, younger generations are generally less tolerant ofsuch behavior and rely on their colleagues to socially isolate those responsible for it from the restof the workforce.
»

There is uneven awareness of grievance mechanisms and more limited trust and confidence
to speak up among women
Grievance mechanisms in the workplace, when they do exist, are essential to identify, prevent,mitigate, and remediate any negative impacts or challenges workers may be experiencing. However,the presence of those tools does not guarantee that workers feel comfortable using them. Overall,usage of any type of grievance channel depends upon the worker’s confidence to speak up and hertrust in the way issues raised will be managed (e.g., they may be afraid of retaliation), especially incases where people in higher positions in the company are involved in the case (e.g., directsupervisor, senior management).
•

Given the SME context, formal or informal grievance mechanisms are not common amongsuppliers that participated in this research, and in most cases issues are dealt with and managed
through the direct relationship with the employer’s human resources or through informal
anonymous grievance systems, such as a complaints box.

•

Among the workers who responded to this survey, overall awareness of the existence of suchmechanisms is uneven. Around 63
percent of women are aware of agrievance mechanism system,
predominantly through informal
channels. By comparison, 74 percent
of men are aware of a grievancesystem, predominantly through formal
channels. This probably reflects thelimited knowledge of workers about
what those different channels are andwhat they are meant for. In addition,
women are less likely than men to trust Figure 18: Worker knowledge on grievance mechanisms
the systems in place (74 percent of
women vs. 78 percent of men) and appear less confident than men about speaking up to express
their opinions, ideas, or concerns (81 percent of women vs. 88 percent of men).

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31

FOCUS

Gender-Focused initiatives at Kering
Suppliers in Italy
•
•

•
•

Less than 50 percent of suppliers have gender-based
violence and harassment commitments and policies;
Around 10 percent provide training on suchpolicies/commitments to employees and on preventing
sexual harassment and gender-based violence tosupervisory and managerial positions;
20 percent have grievance and resolution mechanisms thatdeal with gender-based violence;
8 percent monitor and track workplace violence/harassment
grievances.

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Supporting Women in the Italian Luxury
Supply Chain—a Path Forward
BSR’s framework for action, ‘ACT, ENABLE, INFLUENCE,’ presents thedifferent approaches and strategies that luxury brands and their suppliers
can take to address the different gendered issues that have been identified
in this study. When taking action on the following recommendations, it isessential to consider the local country context and steer future
programming in a way that is adapted and relevant to SMEs.

ACT
Gender equality in the workplace.
This first pillar, “Act,” describes activities companies can take within their direct control by adjusting
policies and practices within their operations and supply chain to promote gender equality.
Recommendations for Luxury Brands»

Communicate and share the research report widely with key stakeholders, particularly with
suppliers in Italy and relevant local employer organizations. Communicating this study’s findings
is an essential step to demonstrate commitment to gender equality, for stakeholders to understandthe actual conditions of women in the workplace, and to inform the design of future programs. In
addition, communicating the findings and the collected gender-disaggregated data to suppliers fosters
a shared understanding and awareness among suppliers of the challenges that women are facing toenable future actions and collaborations. Kering, in particular, should prioritize communicating thefindings to the suppliers engaged in this project, ensuring a general understanding of the findings andBSR | Supporting Women in Luxury Supply Chains: a Focus on Italy

33

drawing attention to the key areas to address. By sharing these findings, luxury brands should bebetter equipped to promote the development of evidence-based programs to drive gender equality inthe workplace.
»Continue collecting and monitoring gender-disaggregated data in the supply chain throughongoing supplier engagement activities in order to assess the outcomes and impacts of policies,
processes, and programs and evaluate the effectiveness of the same in promoting gender equality.
The supplier and worker surveys conducted during this project can be considered a starting point.
Luxury brands can also review existing frameworks to integrate relevant gender-disaggregatedindicators than can also be collected from suppliers. There is currently little information on the actual
impact of supply chain policies, processes, and programs on women workers. Therefore, luxury
brands should consider undergoing such assessment processes in the future. Monitoring the data will
be key to measure the effectiveness of the actions that are being implemented and ensure that thesedeliver progress for women workers. In addition, once monitoring and tracking of genderdisaggregated data is in place, luxury brands should also consider publishing relevant data in the
public domain because brands and retailers are moving toward greater transparency.

USEFULRESOURCES»

BSR has published a Making Women Workers Count report and toolkit that provides
recommendations and guidance on how to conduct deliberate gender-focused due
diligence and how to collect gender-disaggregated data to uncover genderedchallenges that may be present in the workplace. The report and toolkit present a
mix of workforce and worker impact indicators as well as data collection
methodologies that help capture systemic gender discrimination.

Apply a gender lens to supplier codes of conduct/ethics. Supplier codes of conduct set thestandard for the practices that companies expect to see from their business partners. However, thegendered challenges and specific needs of women workers frequently remain overlooked in standard
codes of conduct. Women are often more vulnerable to poor working conditions and face certain
gendered issues that remain unaddressed in codes. Reviewing and integrating gender-sensitive
principles and clauses in codes of conduct is an important step to set clear expectations andminimum requirements of suppliers, communicate company values, and promote gender equality andwomen advancement in the workplace. Luxury brands could consider including in relevant policies
and codes its commitment to the Women’s Empowerment Principles and/or UN Sustainable
Development Goal 5 (SDG 5) focused on achieving gender equality.

USEFULRESOURCES

BSR has published the Gender Equality on Code of Conduct report that provides
guidance about why and how companies can integrate gender equality into codes ofconduct that can be applied to supplier codes of conduct.

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34

Engage with luxury brands’ social auditing teams to more explicitly include a gender focus
into social auditing programs to ensure continuous due diligence on the status of women workers,
including by exploring potential discriminatory practices, differences in wages, and instances ofharassment, among other factors. While the current standardized social auditing methodologies canhelp identify challenges for workers in the factories and design remediation plans, they do notnecessarily uncover gendered issues because these are frequently entrenched in social norms.
Gender-sensitive social audit methodologies are a way of collecting more systemic information
relevant to women’s needs and challenges, which are often different than those of men. Integratingthese considerations into the “business as usual” requirements of social audit processes conductedby luxury brands can also help raise awareness among suppliers about gender sensitive approaches
and practices.

BSR has published a Gender Equality in Social Auditing Guidance report that
USEFULprovides recommendations and guidance on why and how gender considerations
RESOURCES
should be integrated into social auditing methodologies and processes.

Recommendations for Suppliers»

Review the employment cycle and make necessary adjustments to eliminate potential bias
and ensure it is supportive of women’s advancement. Suppliers should individually analyze indetail which processes may be hampering women’s advancement in the workplace. Processes thatshould be assessed include hiring practices, promotion processes, and training programs. The
analysis of processes should be paired with gender-disaggregated data to determine when andwhere women are most being impacted by work. In addition, suppliers should evaluate their role inencouraging women to advance to higher positions. For example, suppliers could facilitate worker
discussions led by women managers or supervisors about leadership and work-life balance, among
other topics, or avail themselves of external advisors or organizations to facilitate such dialogue.
Furthermore, managers or supervisors should be trained on the importance of fostering anenvironment that supports equal opportunities, because certain negative attitudes can limit women in
believing that they “can do it.”Figure 19: Examples of action that could be taken across the employment cycle to foster
gender equality (source: BSR)

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35

Inclusion Impact Index
The Inclusion Impact Index is an online diagnostic tool developed by Valore D in partnership with
Milan Polytechnic that summarizes in a clear and simple way the situation regarding diversity andinclusion (D&I) in a company. In particular, this tool provides an industry benchmark with respect
to governance and the ability to attract, develop, and retain talent from a D&I perspective. It also
allows each company to compare its position with the aggregate data of companies in the same
sector and/or size and enables them to build scenarios with customized parameters.
The four areas that the Index investigates are:»-Governance: evaluating the ability of the company to support women internally, creating apipeline of talent up to top roles;-

Attractiveness: evaluating the ability of the company to attract young female talent and toconvey its values and programs with respect to the issues of diversity and inclusion;-Development: evaluating the ability of the company to enhance the female talent already
employed at the company, defining personalized growth paths to support merit;-

Talent retention: evaluating the ability of the company to enhance female talent in an
integrated and continuous manner throughout women's professional life.

Promote initiatives that facilitate returning to work from maternity leave and raise awarenessabout shared parental/family care responsibilities. Maternity is one of the key issues that should
be addressed to ensure gender equality in the workplace. To do so, suppliers should consider going
beyond legally required maternity benefits to better accommodate women who choose to return towork. For this, suppliers should provide and promote through relevant policies and programs theuptake of paternity and parental leave options to encourage more shared responsibilities in families.
Policies could include ensuring that men make use of mandatory paid paternity leave and increasingawareness among both women and men workers of available parental leave options. In addition,
suppliers should offer support for both women and men in their transition into leave and post-leave,
including counseling support for soon-to-be mothers (and fathers). Upon their return to work,
suppliers should continue providing adequate flexibility. Most importantly, suppliers should ensurethat women can return after maternity to at least a similar position and wage level, making sure thatmaternity does not negatively impact their career and professional growth.
Maternity as a Master (MAAM)
MAAM, Maternity as a Master, is a program and digital tool designed for pregnant women andworking mothers and fathers of children up to 3 years old. The solution aims to transform parenting
skills into powerful capabilities for the business. To date, MAAM has been used by more than 4,500
participants and over 40 Italian and international organizations.
MAAM is a solution offered by Life Based Value, an ethical social enterprise founded in 2015
whose objective is to empower businesses to do good in the world and to transform life
experiences into business skills, thereby shaping a world of work where everyone can fulfil theirpotential.
The MAAM program features 24 online modules in a micro-learning format, including videos,inspiring content, open questions, self-assessment questionnaires, real-life missions, and acommunity for sharing ideas, insights, and progress. MAAM also facilitate participants’ interactions
with their company’s managers and ultimately aims to build collaboration, workers’ skills, increase
their motivation, and boost company productivity.

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36

Embed practices that prevent, address, and remediate gender-based violence andharassment. Following the recent release of a new international standard on the elimination ofviolence and harassment in the workplace (ILO Convention No. 190), suppliers should take theinitiative to address and end violence and harassment at work. To begin with, factory management
should be equipped and able to understand what constitutes violence and harassment. From there,
suppliers should create, adopt, and implement a policy on violence and harassment in consultation
with workers. The policy should be accompanied by clear communication and trainings for workers
that explains the policy and helps workers understand the different forms that violence andharassment can take (both at work and at home) as well as ways to build positive relationships andsupport networks. While a strong focus should be put on prevention of violence and harassment in
the workplace, management should also ensure that effective grievance mechanisms are in place toallow workers, particularly, especially female workers, to report concerns and grievances.
Mechanisms should be easily accessible to all workers and adapted to ensure that they fit theworkers’ needs and workplace dynamics. To be effective, such mechanisms should be confidential
and unbiased, include non-retaliation clauses, and establish transparent and constant communicationin order to build trust in the mechanism. For instance, management could create worker committees
or dedicated teams that would receive, investigate, and resolve grievances, which would ultimately
create safer spaces for workers, particularly women workers, to raise their concerns. When possible,
suppliers should guarantee that women are represented on these committees or teams.
Unions Initiatives
In 2016, the three main union confederations (CGIL, CISL, and UIL) together with the employer
association confederation (CONFINDUSTRIA) signed a national framework agreement integrating
the prohibition of gender-based violence and harassment.
Trade unions have also been developing dedicated initiatives aimed at the prevention of genderbased violence, specifically by incorporating these into the psychosocial and work-related healthand safety risks within company policies and management systems as part of compliance withenvironmental and safety regulations. Other initiatives, like “trade union desks” (“sportellosindacales”), aim to help workers raise grievances with the support of psychologists, lawyers,
mediators, and the police. For example, CIGL in its local offices in the Veneto region is promoting
a dedicated “harassment desk” (“sportello molestie”) and developing guidance and awarenessraising materials for union representatives and delegates about harassment in the workplace.

ENABLE
Gender equality and relevant stakeholders.
This second pillar, “Enable,” identifies opportunities for luxury brands and their suppliers to accelerate
progress for women by collaborating with stakeholders, including civil society organizations and business
partners.

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Recommendations for Luxury Brands:»

Encourage suppliers to commit to gender equality. Luxury brands should work with the leadershipand management teams of its suppliers to encourage them to prioritize gender equality. For any
workplace empowerment program to be successful it is critical to ensure that the leadership is
supportive of such efforts. Given that gender equality issues and practices may not necessarily bewell known within all workplace settings, increasing internal awareness will also help understand thechallenges and foster the implementation of tactical changes to policies and practices. Luxury brands
can stimulate change among suppliers by hosting collaborative supplier events and/or workshops totrain and raise awareness on the visible and invisible challenges women may be facing as well as toenable discussion among suppliers. Trainings with leadership and management teams could coverissues such as unconscious bias, the importance of equal opportunity, and the gender pay gap,
among other topics. Many companies in different countries have put in place dedicated trainings for
suppliers on gender equality and women empowerment and have also integrated these topics intomodules of existing supplier workshops programs.
Valore D, A Manifesto for Women Employment (“Un Manifesto per l’Occupazione
Femminile”)
The Manifesto for Women Employment is a nine-point programmatic commitment document
promoted by Valore D and its constituents that covers the main areas of women's career andprofessional development. From hiring to career progression and support, the company signatoriesof the manifesto:-

Commit to have a short list of candidates equally distributed by gender for new hiring in
new positions;-

Undertake, in accordance with their specific sector and size, to support a plan to increase
the presence of women in positions of strategic importance;-

Commit to support parenting, both in terms of leave and flexible working methods andcorporate welfare, for both mothers and fathers.

Since its launch in 2017, more than 120 companies have signed the manifesto. Valore D has also
created partnerships to disseminate its values with key industry organizations, including
Conflavoro PMI, the Italian trade association for innovative entrepreneurs from SMEs, and local
Confindustria organizations, such as Confindustria Venezia-Rovigo.

»

Integrate incentives that recognize positive achievements into supplier engagement andpurchasing practices. Implementing gender-sensitive principles and clauses, integrating gender intosocial audits, facilitating gender-sensitized trainings, among other measures, are important to start
promoting more gender-equal supply chains. It is also important for luxury brands to provide ongoingsupport and to engage with suppliers to discuss gendered challenges as well as best practices andprogress. This will contribute to building and consolidating a strong supplier relationship and will also
encourage suppliers to continue these practices. For instance, luxury brands could recognize andincentivize positive achievements by suppliers toward more gender-equal workplaces through theirpurchasing practices. This could take the form of recognizing in supplier evaluation mechanisms

BSR | Supporting Women in Luxury Supply Chains: a Focus on Italy38

those suppliers that reach higher levels of women participating in leadership or that receive Gender
Equality certifications or awards.

Women Value Company Award
Women Value Company, which stems from a collaboration between Intesa San Paolo Bank andthe Marisa Bellisario Foundation, is an award reserved for SME businesses that have embarked
on a process of female empowerment, giving visibility to exemplary and innovative practices thateliminate the gender gap and put women on a path toward growth and professional development.
All companies that have good financial performance and have distinguished themselves insupporting the female workforce and managing gender diversity can participate. Evaluation isbased on the following criteria:-

Services to help family-work balance;-

Initiatives in support of work-life balance (benefits, vouchers, on-site nurseries, etc.);-

Flexible work organization policies;-

Nondiscriminatory remuneration policies based on merit;-

Development plans and enhancement of women's skills and careers.

Recommendations for Suppliers:»

Explore and make use of existing opportunities and funds, tapping into available incentives
offered by the government or relevant institutions, such as welfare plans, training subsides, andsimilar financing mechanisms. These funds could be used to help address obstacles in building
female leadership by providing, for example, coaching, pre- and post-maternity counseling programs
related to return to work, and professional development and leadership trainings dedicated to SMEs,
particularly targeting blue-collar roles. Some of these initiatives could involve collaborations withsocial parties, such as trade unions. In such cases, social dialogue and positive collaboration withtrade unions and their representatives are essential to activate those funds.

Training Funds (“Fondi per la Formazione”)
Under Italian law 388/2000, 0.30 percent of the annual social security contributions to INPS paid by
the employer must be set aside in a professional fund (“fondo interprofessionale”), which thecompany can access to finance training programs for employees.
In order to access these funds, companies must have an agreement with unions, go through a
dedicated procedure, and report on the training activities performed.

Recommendations for Luxury Brands and Suppliers:»

Join local networks that address relevant gendered issues, including some of the issues thathave been identified such as sexual harassment and the gender pay gap. Collaborative action
and partnerships with local organizations, institutions, and other business are key to address
systemic challenges, advance impactful programs, and catalyze cultural change. It is important tounderstand the different existing or potential programs and the key strengths of the multiple

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39

stakeholders in the country. It is also important to leverage these networks to build partnerships andultimately join or develop joint programs that address the most pressing issues and implement
solutions directly in the workplace. For instance, issues such as sexual harassment and the gender
pay gap are gaining prominence and appear to be mobilizing multiple actors.

Partnership Between Kering Foundation and D.i.Re (“Donne in Rete Contro la Violenza”)
Founded in 2008, D.i.Re is the first Italian association that brings together the 65 independent
women’s centers and shelters against violence in Italy.
D.i.Re coordinates and promotes activities to facilitate a cultural change on violence against womenin Italian society. The association tries to address men’s violence against women, genderdifferences, traditional ideas of family and society, which are still present today, as well as inequalityand differences in power between men and women in Italian society. D.i.Re analyzes these culturalelements in an effort to change the perception of violence in society.
In November 2013, Kering Foundation established a partnership with D.i.Re with the aim of increasing
knowledge of domestic violence among Kering Group employees. The foundation and D.i.Re
developed and implemented training for Italian workers to raise awareness of domestic violence andencourage them to support victims they might encounter in both their professional and private lives.

INFLUENCE
Gender equality and the ecosystem.
This third pillar, “Influence,” presents how luxury brands can build an environment that promotes genderequality and removes systemic constraints—from gender norms to gaps in legal protections—to allow
women to fully participate and prosper in work. This may include opportunities for luxury brands to drive
and advocate for social, economic, and cultural change to benefit of women workers in Italy, together withother relevant players in the Italian ecosystem. Through these types of partnerships, luxury brands can
set an example of what is possible and encourage other companies in the Italian market to follow theirlead.
Recommendations for Luxury Brands:»

28

Support advocacy efforts related to the gender equality agenda of key partners andinstitutional actors. Driving long-lasting and sustainable change requires multiple and aligned efforts
that tackle the issues from different angles. These types of advocacy efforts can be done bypromoting evidence-based research that reaches a wide audience of relevant decision-makers andkey players as well as the general public. Central topics to consider advocating for include the issueof the gender pay gap, public policy efforts to increase paid parental leave or paternity leave
countrywide, as well as changes in child and family care policies. For instance, the Italian governmentis currently considering increasing paid paternity leave allowances and reviewing family policies.28
There are, therefore, opportunities and momentum for companies to advocate publicly for thiswww.rainews.it/dl/rainews/articoli/Manovra-collegato-elena-bonetti-bonus-nascita-assegno-unico-per-figlio-congedo-paternita-asilinido-italia-viva-davide-farone-Iva-748fe5ce-afc8-426a-b553-a5ba422940a8.html?refresh_ce.

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40change, including collectively, for instance through the voice of relevant employer organizations orexisting networks that already mobilize businesses on social issues and gender equality.
#NoPayGap
A video campaign promoted by Valore D and supported by various companies, #NoPayGap has
helped to open a debate on the gender pay gap in Italy. The campaign includes a series of shorttestimonies by women of different ages who tell their stories about the pay gap, ranging from thepocket money of children to the pensions of retirees. Not only is the situation "not normal," as thead says, but it is hurting the economy and the country.
The campaign gained the support of Pubblicità Progresso, the Italian association devoted toraising public awareness about civil, cultural, and educational issues through social
communication, and it has been shared on various social media channels and broadcast on all themain Italian TV channels.
»

Support the breakdown of gender stereotypes through integrating gender equality messages
in advertising and promotional campaigns, focusing particularly on challenging social and cultural
norms around women’s role in the workplace and their caregiver status. Gender roles are influenced
by the family, the environment, and society in general, and media plays an important role from a very
young age. Mainstream advertising, in particular, has often been seen as diminishing women, evenfueling abuse by depicting oversexualized images, and overall is seen as perpetuating a stereotyped
image of women in society (for example, by casting women in subservient domestic roles). While
there have been improvements and increased awareness in the advertising industry, much moreneeds to be done to influence public mindset and drive positive change. Promoting social impact
campaigns to break down gender stereotypes and integrating gender-aware design in advertising canbe powerful tools and agents of social change.

#Unstereotype Alliance
Leveraging the power of partnerships to accelerate progress, the #Unstereotype Alliance is anindustry-led initiative convened by UN Women that unites leaders across business, technology,
and creative industries to tackle the prevalence of stereotypes that are often perpetuated throughadvertising and content.
The alliance aims to affect positive cultural change by encouraging industry to use the power ofadvertising to help shape perceptions that reflect realistic, non-biased portrayals of women andmen. The alliance has been embraced by a wide range of businesses and organizations that havechampioned the effort to address gender bias in advertising, including Google, Diageo, P&G, andmany others.

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Appendix
Methodology
This paper reflects key findings derived from a variety of sources. These include direct engagement with
suppliers—both factory management and workers, literature review, and desktop research to capture key
statistical data related to gender equality in Italy. Another source was the identification of existing
initiatives and stakeholders active in the field of gender equality in work and, more broadly, in supply
chain sustainability, diversity, and inclusion and employee welfare programs in Italy.
Most of the research and content presented in this report was developed through a phased engagement
strategy with suppliers across the Italian luxury supply chain that BSR and Wise Growth conducted inpartnership with Kering and its family of Italian brands, Bottega Veneta, Gucci, Kering Eyewear, andPomellato.
Phase 1: Selecting Suppliers
In February 2019, each of the brands were engaged to identify a set of suppliers to include within thescope of the research. A total of 284 suppliers were selected to participate in the project based on thefollowing criteria:»»»»

Tier 1 suppliers or preferred suppliers with strong business relationships and/or long-term
relationships with whom Kering brands will likely maintain relationships in the future;
Suppliers in purchasing categories representative of the supply chain (e.g., ready to wear, shoes,
leather goods, etc.);
Suppliers willing to maximize the number of employees available for outreach;
Diversity of geographical presence in Italy to ensure geographical/regional mix.

Each of the 284 suppliers received an invitation letter in February 2019 explaining the objectives of theresearch and presenting the overall engagement approach.
Phase 2: Assessing Suppliers’ Approach to Gender Equality
In March 2019, BSR invited suppliers to respond to an online survey about gender equality practices andmanagement systems for the purpose of assessing the level of integration of gender equality issues into
company policies and practices. The survey consisted of 25 multiple-choice questions, covering relevant
workplace practices such as commitment to gender equality, equal pay, recruitment and hiring practices,
career development, and support for families and women's health. Of the 284 suppliers outreached, 189(67 percent) responded to the survey.
Phase 3: Surveying Workers on Their Experiences and Perceptions
Starting in April 2019, with the cooperation of suppliers’ management teams, employees (both womenand men) were invited to participate in an anonymous and voluntary digital survey consisting of more than
50 questions. The survey inquired about working conditions, career advancement and development
opportunities, work-life balance, care responsibilities, respectful behavior, and ways for employees toraise their voices in the workplace. Half of the 189 suppliers engaged agreed to participate in this phaseof the survey, and 880 workers responded (70 percent women, 30 percent men).

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Phase 4: Uncovering and Discussing Gendered Issues Through Closer Engagement with
Suppliers and Women Workers
From May 2019, the project team conducted on-site engagement at 10 selected factories. To start, Wise
Growth met with the management of these suppliers and then conducted in-person focus group
discussions with a total of 89 female workers. Focus groups were designed to support the quantitative
data collected in Phase 3 with more qualitative input. The in-person engagement allowed workers to
expand upon their responses in the survey and to express personal opinions and experiences in aconfidential space.

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