Leveraging Corporate Community Partnerships For Women’S Programs
- 1. Leveraging Corporate Community Partnerships for Women’s Programs Hyatt Hotel Amman, Jordan 3-4 November, 2007 Implementing Workplace Awareness Programs and Employee Engagement Dennis Butler Vice President, Workplace Solutions Liz Claiborne Inc.
- 2. Objectives Overview of Liz Claiborne’s workplace awareness and employee engagement programs Exploring application in Jordan and beyond How to start a program Action planning
- 3. Employee Engagement and Workplace Awareness Programs at Liz Employee Engagement/Volunteerism Liz Claiborne Foundation Liz Associates Committed To Service (LizACTS) Workplace Awareness Love Is Not Abuse Domestic Violence in the Workplace Program
- 4. Employee Engagement/Volunteerism at Liz Liz Claiborne Foundation Established 1981 Not for Profit Legal entity Works to meet the needs of the communities in which we do business Contributions of money and merchandise Community Service programs encouraging volunteerism
- 5. Employee Engagement/Volunteerism at Liz Community Service programs encouraging volunteerism Liz Associates Committed To Service (LizACTS) Helps employees gain balance and personal fulfillment in their lives Program developed by a task force of employees
- 6. Employee Engagement/Volunteerism at Liz Focus is helping women and families Homelessness Health and Environment Women’s Issues Youth Development AIDS
- 7. Employee Engagement/Volunteerism at Liz Program Structure Five teams based on areas of focus 3 Co-leaders per team Junior to mid-management level employees. Organize/Manage projects Senior Sponsor for each team Provides guidance, support and awareness across company Executive Sponsor Top level executive Policy support Linkage to highest level management Company- wide visibility of the program
- 8. Employee Engagement/Volunteerism at Liz Most events on weekends Families can participate together Children who participate learn value of community service All levels of organization interact during the events
- 9. Employee Engagement/Volunteerism at Liz Some Events Rehabilitating a Domestic Violence Shelter Collecting used mobile phones to be refurbished for women in abusive relationships Sorting and packing professional clothing for women entering the workforce Helping a summer camps for abused and neglected children Walkathons to raise money for Breast Cancer Collections of food, clothing and toys for families in need
- 10. Employee Engagement/Volunteerism– Benefits to Business Increases morale Fosters positive attitude in workplace Breaks down barriers among employees Reinforces teamwork Builds commitment Creates sense of community among employees
- 11. Employee Engagement/Volunteerism– Benefits to Business Provides employees opportunity for skill development, e.g., leadership, problem solving, public speaking, organization skills. Positive Company image Demonstrates commitment of company and employees to the communities where businesses operate
- 12. Employee Engagement/Volunteerism– Benefits to Business Conference Board Survey 1997 70% Report improved public and community relations 57% report greater employee commitment 15% report more productive employees
- 13. Making Employee Engagement Work in Jordan Small group discussion Identify: Possible areas for volunteerism locally Possible barriers to success Additional information/resources needed
- 14. Workplace Awareness – Domestic Violence in the Workplace Awareness at Liz Claiborne Focus on Domestic Violence (DV) began in 1991 Important issue for our customers Awareness Oriented Love Is Not Abuse Handbooks and Brochures Launch of Love Is Not Abuse HS Curriculum
- 15. Domestic Violence – What are we talking about? Domestic violence is abusive or coercive behavior between two people in an intimate relationship. In the US, the highest risk factor for being involved with partner violence as an adult is exposure to violence between parents in family of origin.
- 16. Who does it affect? The US Justice Department and Centers for Disease Control found that nearly 25% of women, and about 7% of men say they have been assaulted by a current or former partner. Internationally the Commonwealth Fund found that 1 in 3 women will be a victim of partner violence at some point in her lifetime.
- 17. Who does it affect? Demographic and Health Survey 2003 shows that 40 percent of Turkish Women accept that their husbands beat them - that same survey found that 63 percent of the young girls (15 - 19 years old) surveyed felt that beatings in the marriage could be justified. In Egypt, 35% of women reported being beaten by their husband
- 18. Who does it affect? 1997 survey of Arab Israeli women reported: 32% reported at least one episode of physical abuse by partner 30% report sexual coercion by husband in previous year
- 19. Domestic Violence as an Issue in the Workplace Intimate partner’s behavior that interferes with associate’s ability to safely/securely perform duties at work.
- 20. Impact on Victim at Work 21% of the employed adults polled were victims– they indicated their ability to work was impacted in the following ways: 57% distraction 45% fear of discovery 40% harassment by abuser 38% lateness 34% fear of abuser’s unexpected visits 24% inability to complete jobs on time 21% job loss 21% problems with boss
- 21. Impact of Workplace 25% of workplace problems rooted in family violence. Victims lose the equivalent of more than 32,000 full-time jobs and nearly 5.6 million days of household productivity due to violence.
- 22. Costs to Employers and Society In the UK, time off work due to injuries caused by domestic violence costs employers and workers nearly £3 billion a year In Australia, estimated national costs of domestic violence indicates that the largest cost burden of $4 billion AUD is borne by victims of domestic violence. The next largest burden is on the general community, of $1.2 billion AUD. The cost to the Federal Government is estimated at $848 million AUD .
- 23. What is an Employer’s Role? Recognize – the signs Respond – appropriately within the context of the workplace Refer – to the professionals who can assist the employee
- 24. Creating A Workplace Program Step One : Organize a multi-disciplinary team to oversee the process Human Resources Legal Security Subject Matter Experts Workplace social workers NGOs working with battered women
- 25. Creating A Workplace Program Step Two : Develop a corporate policy on Domestic violence
- 26. Creating a Workplace Program Step Three : Provide Training Response protocol Multidisciplinary Team (DVRT) Managers Employees
- 27. Creating a Workplace Program Step Four : Build awareness through workplace communications Recognize, Respond, Refer Posters Brochures Department Meetings
- 28. Creating a Workplace Program Step Five : Enlist employees’ help in ensuring the workplace is a violence-free zone Step Six: Broaden communications to include members of the community including stakeholders in your industry and other organizations Corporate Alliance to End Partner Violence www.caepv.org Corporate Alliance Against Domestic Violence (UK) www.corporateallianceuk.com Hurriyet’s campaign
- 29. Developing a Domestic Violence Workplace Awareness Program In Jordan Small group discussions Identify: Possible barriers to success Additional information/resources needed
- 30. Action Planning Choose either: Employee Engagement/Volunteerism Workplace Awareness/Domestic Violence Major issues that need to be addressed to move forward Your commitment to next step Report out to full group