RISE 2024: Advancing Gender Equality In Global Garment, Footwear & Home Textile Supply Chains

The 2024 Annual Report from RISE highlights its pivotal role in advancing gender equality and sustainability across global garment, footwear and home textile supply chains. With comprehensive programmes, strategic collaborations and transformative initiatives, RISE continues to empower workers, challenge systemic inequities and enhance workplace environments.

In 2024, RISE collaborated with 23 workplaces in Bangladesh, directly impacting over 45,000 workers, including 25,504 women. Programmes like the Foundations initiative significantly upskilled workers in leadership, health, labour rights and financial literacy. Remarkable shifts were observed in factories like Matrix Styles Ltd., where women now work alongside men in traditionally male-dominated roles such as hemming, thanks to targeted training sessions. Worker absenteeism decreased by two-thirds, reflecting improved productivity and morale.

Beyond factory walls, these programmes foster personal growth. Workers like Suma and Mohammad reported enhanced family relationships and decision-making skills, emphasizing the ripple effects of RISE’s initiatives.

RISE’s 2024 milestones include the adoption of its new Strategic Plan (2024–2026), aiming to support an additional 1.5 million workers by 2026. Expanding its reach to Indonesia and Guatemala, RISE also focused on scaling its impact deeper into supply chains. With 730,284 cumulative workers trained since 2023, RISE’s programmes are setting benchmarks in gender equity.

Efforts to integrate gender equality into corporate sustainability strategies resonate across industries. Collaborations with brands like Gap Inc., Macy’s, and Mastercard have driven wage digitization, improved financial health and strengthened worker resilience. In Cambodia, wage digitization initiatives yielded an 83% reduction in administrative costs and annual savings of $9,800 per factory.

Tackling gender-based violence and harassment (GBVH) remains central to RISE’s mission. Partnerships with UN Women and local organizations in India have streamlined community-level interventions, influencing workplace policies. Additionally, RISE’s Respect programme incorporates findings from gender norms research to challenge societal barriers that perpetuate GBVH.

RISE also prioritizes women’s advancement, integrating feedback from workers and stakeholders into systemic frameworks. Through initiatives like co-designed gender-responsive business practices and addressing unpaid care work, the organization fosters leadership opportunities for women in historically male-dominated roles.

RISE’s collaborative programme investment model exemplifies its commitment to uniting stakeholders for gender equality. By enabling cost-sharing across member organizations, the model reduces resource duplication and enhances programme reach. As of 2024, over 70 collaborative investment opportunities have been realized, with participating factories reporting streamlined operations and improved worker conditions.

Key partnerships with local entities, such as MAMATA in Bangladesh and GIZ Fabric in Cambodia, highlight RISE’s grassroots engagement. These alliances ensure the relevance and sustainability of interventions, benefiting both workers and businesses.

The report highlights the importance of inclusive financial practices and social equity in driving long-term change. Publications such as the Practical Guide for Financial Service Providers and reports on wage digitization illustrate RISE’s thought leadership. Moving forward, the organization aims to address persistent challenges through innovative, intersectional approaches.

Executive Director Christine Svarer and Independent Chair Krishanti Dharmaraj confirm RISE’s unwavering dedication to fairness, dignity and equity. As consumer awareness and regulatory frameworks evolve, RISE positions itself as a catalyst for systemic transformation in global supply chains.

In 2025 and beyond, RISE’s vision remains clear: to create workplaces where women and men thrive equally, ensuring a sustainable and equitable future for all stakeholders.