Women workers play a critical role in the garment Industry; especially at Inditex, one of world’s largest fashion retailers with brands including Zara and Massimo Dutti. Of the 165,000 employees worldwide at Inditex, approximately 76 percent are women. Indeed, the company is among the pioneers to address the issue of access to menstrual hygiene needs.
Inditex’s initiative that started as a means to reduce absenteeism of female workers has become part of the company’s global CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) efforts.
why this case?
Traditionally, menstruation is viewed as negative or dirty by many religious and cultural beliefs. As a result of the stigma, economic factors, and poor education, over 500 million women are negatively impacted by poor hygiene. In addition to absenteeism, poor hygiene practices have several negative consequences, including an increase in reproductive tract infections and school drop-out rate for teenage girls.
Photo Credit: MicroOne on Adobe Stock
The case can be taught from different perspectives such as diverse and inclusive supply chain, corporate social responsibility, social entrepreneurship, gender equality and women’s health and wellbeing.
