WOMEN4BUSINESS REPORT 2020
The Women4Business Report – Inclusive sourcing and women’s entrepreneurship: Accelerating the recovery for business, economy and society demonstrates the need to support women entrepreneurs and promote gender-inclusiveness in supply chains to increase their resilience and sustainability.
It’s shockingly clear that women are disproportionately facing negative impacts following the Covid-19 crisis. A survey of women’s businesses worldwide by WEConnect International revealed that 90% experienced a significant reduction in revenue in early 2020 as a result of the crisis.
The Women4Business survey, led by Kearney, has highlighted that a clear business case for diverse supply chains is emerging and that businesses are becoming increasingly conscious of gender-diversity in their supply chains. Close to half (47%) of the companies we surveyed in 2020 have a supplier diversity and/or gender-responsive procurement programme, up from 35% in 2019. The number of companies reporting executive level commitment to supplier diversity more than doubled in 2020, up to 31% from 14% in 2019.
However, in Europe key barriers to achieving supplier diversity still exist, mainly due to the lack of information and support, with half of the interviewed CPOs having expressed the need for more information and best practices knowledge.
To address these key barriers, the Women4Business Toolkit to Action provides companies with essential tools to implement diverse supplier programmes in the long term. These include the Inclusive Sourcing Journey, a digital diagnostic tool to assess the maturity, reach and impact of supplier diversity and gender-inclusive sourcing, and the legal guide for positive action along with the Women’s Forum calls to G7 leaders, and a new pilot programme #WomenEntrepreneurs4Good. Together, these help to show how organisations and governments can accelerate the recovery through inclusive sourcing and women’s entrepreneurship.
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