Voice and power: Feminist governance as transnational justice in the globalized value chain

Abstract

Women constitute the majority of workers in global value chains (GVCs), yet few GVC scholars focus on the governance of gender. Based on an investigation (2013-2017) started after the Rana Plaza disaster in Bangladesh, this article presents "voice to the subordinate strata" as the first principle of feminist governance in the GVC. Findings reveal the matrix of power, which includes the International Labour Organization and the state that underpins the political economy of the Southern factory. This study provides a transformative model of feminist governance as transnational justice. As the relational ethic that links justice in the workplace to the quality of a woman's life, feminist governance is also the moral economy of the GVC wherein the woman worker is valued as a citizen in the global economy.

Strategy implementation for the 2030 agenda: Insights from Brazilian companies

“…Firstly, we contribute to research on sustainability practices across the value chain (Ahmed, 2018; Lourenção et al., 2021). It is frequently assumed that every firm should equally contribute to all SGDs, whereas a firm scoring low in a given SDG could indicate complacency or decoupling.…”

“…In doing so, this study advances literature in several ways. First, we contribute to research on sustainability practices across the value chain, in particular, with implications for models of governance in value chains focused on the SDGs (Ahmed, 2018; Lourenção et al., 2021). Second, we contribute to research on stakeholder relationships by discussing the role of stakeholder proximity in firm policies (Shymko & Roulet, 2017).…”

Overall justice and supervisor conscientiousness: Implications for ethical leadership and employee self‐esteem

“…Our study contributes to this literature and extends the nomological network of overall organizational justice to include supervisory ethical leadership and employee organization‐based self‐esteem. Increasingly, business ethics scholars have sought to integrate organizational justice research (Ahmed, 2018; Folger et al, 2013; Gumusluoglu, Karakitapoğlu‐Aygün, & Hu, 2019; Rupp et al, 2015; Samara & Paul, 2018). Our findings contribute to this stream of business ethics research as well.…”

“…Specifically, integrating ethical leadership within the literature enhances our understanding as to how supervisors’ perceptions of overall organizational justice impact employees’ organization‐based self‐esteem, and we add to the literature that focuses on ethically relevant concerns of employees in a supervisory or managerial role (Pircher Verdorfer & Peus, 2019; Rua, Lawter, & Andreassi, 2017). Fourth, we also add to the literature that integrates organizational justice and business ethics research (Ahmed, 2018; Folger, Ganegoda, Rice, Taylor, & Wo, 2013; Gumusluoglu, Karakitapoğlu‐Aygün, & Hu, 2019; Rupp, Wright, Aryee, & Luo, 2015; Samara & Paul, 2019; Schminke, Arnaud, & Taylor, 2015). Finally, we identify supervisor conscientiousness as a boundary condition.…”

The hegemony of men in global value chains: Why it matters for labour governance

“…Norms and assumptions in context also act as systems of differentiation by characterising the types of work men and women will perform. Within GVCs, women are guided towards so-called lower-skill tasks, such as weeding, weaving, harvesting, fruit and flower picking, embroidery and packaging, positioned as diligent, unquestioning and delicate-fingered (Ahmed, 2018; Elson and Pearson, 1981; Ruwanpura and Hughes, 2016). Men are often found working at more physical tasks: pesticide-spraying, heavy machinery use, shifting, carrying and loading (McCarthy, 2018; Van der Gaag, 2014).…”