Global value
chains (GVCs), largely coordinated by multinational com-
panies,
have generated hundreds of millions of jobs in low-income and
emerging
economies. Women occupy a signicant proportion of these jobs
and
constitute the majority of workers in some industries, such as the garment
and food
processing industries (Barrientos, 2014; ILO, 2015; Posthuma and
Rossi,
2017). However, global sourcing across international borders involves
high levels
of competition between companies seeking lower production costs,
which
results in precarious jobs for many workers given that labour is the cost
factor that
suppliers often squeeze when under pressure from the purchasing
practices of
multinational companies (ILO, 2017). This especially affects work-
ers in
groups discriminated against on the basis of gender, caste, race, religion,
ethnicity,
physical ability or sexual orientation. In particular, women are dis-
proportionally
affected by business activities (United Nations, 2019). Gender
discrimination
is endemic in GVCs, and women drawn in as a source of low-
cost labour
are concentrated in the more insecure and less protected jobs with
International
Labour Review730
low pay and
poor conditions (Barrientos, 2019). They often lack the ability to
negotiate
the terms and conditions of work with their employers, organize
through
independent trade unions or raise grievances.
Many
multinational companies, including retailers, brands and some large
intermediaries,
have adopted voluntary codes of labour practice to ensure
minimum
labour standards. In many cases, these have been developed in re-
sponse to
pressure from civil society organizations, in particular trade unions
and
non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Voluntary codes form part of
multinational
companies’ private governance of GVCs and have spawned a
large social
compliance industry. However, social auditing of the implemen-
of the
limitations of social compliance
to address
labour rights is therefore growing
tation of
codes has been ineffective in picking up on or addressing gender
discrimination
and harassment, and the quality of audits is often poor (BSR,
2018a;
Barrientos, 2019). Recognition