Fair Wear’s Juliette Li speaks at Harvard University

FWF’s Bangladesh coordinator Juliette Li joined a panel of experts at a seminar organised by the Harvard University South Asia Institute. Juliette spoke on Saturday about reducing sexual harassment in garment factories in Bangladesh.

Since 2011, Fair Wear Foundation has been piloting the Standing Firm Against Factory Floor Harassment project in Bangladesh. It focuses on developing worker-elected anti-harassment committees in garment factories supplying FWF member companies. ‘Our long-term goal is to help factories set up local systems to negotiate solutions – and to have their customers support those solutions’, Juliette explained the purpose of the project in her speech.

FWF received positive feedback for addressing gender issues during the international seminar in Cambridge. ‘It was one of the most interesting conferences I have attended’, Juliette said as she came back. ‘The topic was discussed from a range of perspectives and a lot of knowledge was shared. Other issues discussed regarded the state of safety in Bangladesh and responsible sourcing. A memorable seminar.’

The objective of the International Seminar on Globalization and Sustainability of Bangladesh Garment Industry was to explore the linkages among development, garment sector and environmental health and safety issues in low-income economies, with a focus on Bangladesh. The seminar brought together experts, industry and NGO representatives, the Dutch ministry of Foreign Affairs, practitioners from development agencies and high level policy makers from Bangladesh and the USA.