Leveraging Corporate Community Partnerships For Women’S Programs

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Leveraging Corporate Community Partnerships for

Women’s ProgramsHyatt Hotel

Amman, Jordan3-4 November, 2007

Implementing Workplace Awareness Programs and

Employee Engagement

Dennis Butler

Vice President, Workplace Solutions

Liz Claiborne Inc.

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Objectives

Overview of Liz Claiborne’s workplace awareness and employee engagement programs

Exploring application in Jordan and beyond

How to start a programAction planning

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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

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EmployeeEngagement/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

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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

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Focus is helping women and families Homelessness Health and Environment Women’s Issues Youth Development AIDS

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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

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Most events on weekends Families can participate together

Children who participate learn value of community service

All levels of organization interact during the events

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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

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Employee Engagement/Volunteerism– Benefits to Business

Increases moraleFosters positive attitude in workplaceBreaks down barriers among employees

Reinforces teamwork Builds commitment

Creates sense of community among employees

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Provides employees opportunity for skill development, e.g., leadership, problem solving, public speaking, organization skills.

Positive Company imageDemonstrates commitment of company

and employees to the communities where businesses operate

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Conference Board Survey 1997 70% Report improved public and community

relations 57% report greater employee commitment 15% report more productive employees

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Making Employee Engagement Work in Jordan

Small group discussionIdentify:

Possible areas for volunteerism locally Possible barriers to success Additional information/resources needed

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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

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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.

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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.

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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

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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

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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.

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Impact on Victim at Work

21% of the employed adults polled werevictims– they indicated their ability to work wasimpacted 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

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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.

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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.

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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

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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

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Creating A Workplace Program

Step Two: Develop a corporate policy on Domestic violence

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Creating a Workplace Program

Step Three: Provide Training Response protocol Multidisciplinary Team (DVRT) Managers Employees

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Step Four: Build awareness through workplace communications

Recognize, Respond, Refer Posters Brochures Department Meetings

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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

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Developing a Domestic Violence Workplace Awareness Program In Jordan

Small group discussionsIdentify:

Possible barriers to success Additional information/resources needed

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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 stepReport out to full group

Leveraging Corporate Community Partnerships For Women’S Programs

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