Girls' Advocacy Alliance NL SUMMARY 
According to the UN Guiding Principles internationally operating companies need to identify, prevent, mitigate and account for how they address adverse human rights impacts. Over the past few years, many Dutch companies have shown increased willingness to include human rights issues into their business operations. However, many companies do not yet fully address the risks of gender-based violence and gender discrimination affecting young women working at production locations. From the start in 2016, The Girls Advocacy Alliance, consisting of Plan International Netherlands, Terre des Hommes and DCI-ECPAT, is influencing Dutch companies, particularly in the sectors of garment, food, metal and tourism, to address these issues in an integral and effective manner. The alliance members use evidence to demonstrate the potential gains for companies of investing in girls and young women and support companies in conducting adequate risk analysis related to gender equality. Many companies find it easier to incorporate ecological aspects into their business models than social aspects, such as women’s and children’s rights. The frontrunners have made progress but overall the responses of companies towards gender based violence and discrimination in their supply chains is still too scattered, incomprehensive and are implemented in isolation, without involving girls and young women. Furthermore, at the tail end of the peloton, there is still a large group of small and medium enterprises which has not shown yet a strong commitment to implement gender sensitive responsible business conduct (RBC).
Initiatives of self-regulation taken by business sectors can help to promote more responsible business conduct. However, voluntarily agreements will not always be sufficient. Legislation and effective monitoring of compliance are indispensable when companies do not deliver on their promises. Given the complexity of global supply chains, the introduction of national legislation is not enough. In order to create a level playing field, RBC standards and frameworks need to be endorsed globally. The Girls Advocacy Alliance programme in the Netherlands is implemented by Plan Netherlands, Terre des Hommes, DCI-ECPAT and Global March against Child Labour. The joint advocacy actions of the alliance members target both the Dutch government as well as private sector actors in the Netherlands. The lobby and advocacy of Plan Netherlands focuses on the latter. 
The expected outcomes of Plan Netherlands’ interventions are twofold: 

1. Dutch (multinational) companies acknowledge and respond to their supply chain responsibility in combatting gender based violence at the workplace and economic exclusion, in particular in GAA countries 
2. Gender based violence and economic exclusion of girls and young women are integrated in the supply chains of at least 100 Dutch international companies in the relevant GAA countries 
Plan Netherlands’ lobby will focus on individual Dutch companies and multi-stakeholder platforms (such as the Tourism IMVO network). By using the evidence of existing business cases on gender equality and women’s economic empowerment, companies are exhorted to include gender equality into their codes of conduct and due diligence processes. In addition, the GAA members will also provide support to companies in the actual implementation of gender sensitive due diligence. Based on their knowledge of the local context and the relations with local stakeholders, the GAA members are able to facilitate the interaction between Dutch companies, their local supply chain partners and local organisations of girls and young women. In the Dutch and international policy context the issue of responsible business conduct (RBC) has become much more visible. The shared SDG agenda, the development of sector covenants by the Dutch government, companies and NGOs and the introduction of regulatory interventions (EU, OECD) are clear signs of the growing political and public expectations regarding the responsibility of companies to fully implement RBC standards and principles. 
With support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, new tools are being introduced which guide companies on how to include gender equality issues into their due diligence processes.  For example, the recently developed guidance by BSR on the inclusion of gender equality in business codes of conduct provides companies with a clear and common set of requirements that can be integrated into existing codes of conduct. The final beneficiaries of the Dutch Girls Advocacy Alliance programme are girls and young women living in countries in which targeted Dutch companies (operating in the garment, agriculture and tourist sectors) operate. The programme will focus on those companies with supply chains in Bangladesh, India and Kenya. During 2016 and 2017, the following actions will be implemented by Plan Netherlands: 
1.	Develop a baseline study on current corporate policies and supply chain practices in relation to gender based violence and discrimination of Dutch companies 
2.	Provide policy recommendations about the inclusion of gender equality issues in corporate policies and practices to key stakeholders (members of the textile covenant, the Tourism IMVO platform)
3.	Build and expand the relationships with companies (inside and outside Plan’s business network) to promote the use of gender sensitive due diligence 
4.	Support the engagements of local organisations of girls and young women with Dutch companies in GAA countries (particularly Bangladesh, India and Kenya) 
5.	Identify and support multi-stakeholders platforms on responsible business conduct in GAA countries