The
climate crisis is intensifying across the globe, with profound implications for
workers in food supply chains. Food systems face a dual challenge: they are
heavily impacted by climate change while contributing approximately 12% of
global greenhouse gas emissions. This critical juncture demands a shift towards
more sustainable practices. Yet, as the world transitions towards a low-carbon
economy, it is vital that these transitions are just for the workers involved.
Women workers play a significant role in keeping food systems running, but they
remain significantly underrepresented in decisions about the future of their
work, even as they face some of the greatest impacts from climate change and
the measures introduced to address it.
This
collaborative PhD between the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI), Women Working Worldwide(WWW) and
the Centre for Global Development (CGD) at Northumbria University explores how women's
collective organising and social dialogue can promote gender just transitions
in global food supply chains.
While
there has been extensive research on just transitions in the energy sector and
in the global North, far less attention has been paid to global South workers
or the food sector specifically. This research seeks to bridge that gap by
focusing on agricultural supply chains, beginning with women workers in the
global South. Bringing together the expertise of each partner organisation,
this project will develop a multi-scalar understanding of the challenges in
achieving gender just transitions. By engaging with actors across global food
supply chains, including women workers, companies in the global South, and UK
food industry stakeholders, it employs an interdisciplinary and feminist
approach to investigate how women's collective action can enhance their rights
in the context of just transitions.
Funded
by the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) through the Northern Bridge Consortium, this research will combine
oral history interviews, archival research and participatory photography with
women workers to situate their contemporary experiences within an understanding
of past historical injustices. Through this approach, the research seeks to
establish paths forward for women workers in the context of climate change,
strengthen relationships along global food supply chains, and ensure just
transitions are beneficial for all.
Research Questions
- How is organising by women workers in global food supply chains shaping gender just transitions?
- What formal and informal spaces are women workers involved in, or excluded from, in relation to collective organising around just transitions?
- How can organising by, and social dialogue with, women workers in tea supply chains contribute to more equitable just transitions that prioritise workers’ human rights?
- What examples are there of current good practice within the UK food sector in ensuring a gender just transition, in line with the priorities of women working in their supply chains?
- How can WWW archives and women workers’ oral histories be harnessed to support greater inclusion of women workers in social dialogue, and connect with longer histories of labour organising?
To find out more, please contact Aishath Green (PhD Researcher) or Prof Katy Jenkins (Northumbria University).
