Finance & Supply Chains Theatre

Creating an Equitable Workforce Across the Value Chain

Day 2 : 13:25 – 14:15

Discussions on generating an equitable workforce have primarily focused on loud, policy driven approaches to diversity and inclusion and executive leadership appointments. But to what extent has this focus excluded the area of the labor market where most workers sit: global value chains? And what about the agency of the consumer ? What role might purpose driven consumption play in rethinking the workforce?

Learnings

  • What does an equitable workforce look like?
  • To what extent will requirements for supply chain transparency shift labor practices in the supply chain? What are its limitations?
  • What role might moral consumption play in moving workplace equity beyond compliance?

Post-event Actions

  • Be able to understand the importance of ethical labor practices and what regulations are required to ensure the standards are met.
  • Learn from what early regulations are in place in other areas of global labor markets.

Speakers

JP Stevenson

AmCham HK

Co-Chair of the AmCham Apparel, Footwear & Supply Chain Committee

JP Stevenson is a Director of ESG Analytics. His work focuses on the application of digital technologies to supply chain management problems, including transition management and ESG due diligence.
Previously he was a supply chain manager at the Fung Group (Li & Fung), serving as the Chief Commercial Officer of Knitup. He is also writer and researcher, covering consumer markets, emerging market business problems, and corporate strategy in Asia. His work has been widely published. He is currently a chair of the Supply Chain Committee of the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong.

Archana Kotecha

The Remedy Project

CEO and Founder

Archana is a UK qualified barrister, CEDR accredited mediator, former corporate lawyer, and regional expert on human trafficking and forced labour issues, who is redefining the standard for responsible conduct in the private sector and specifically in supply chain business. She has over 15 years of experience advising UN agencies (IOM, ILO, and UNICEF), ASEAN bodies, Governments, businesses, civil society groups, and legal practitioners across Asia. The rights-holder perspective is central in her legal approach, which seeks creative solutions within the context of commercial requirements and complex regulatory challenges.
The Remedy Project and ReAct Foundation are sister organisations founded and headed by Archana to learn through dynamic stakeholder engagement, test creative frameworks for worker-protection and to push new industry benchmarks for responsible business conduct.
Archana has been awarded the Emily Ashurst Anti-Slavery Award for Leadership (2021) and was named as one of the Top ten Innovative Lawyers in Asia Pacific (2017) by the Financial Times. She is recognised as an APAC Entrepreneur (2023) and one of the 10 Most Admired Women in Leaders (2021) of Industry Era Women Leaders. Archana is a member of the Asian Seafood Improvement Collaborative Social Standards Steering Committee, the Steering Committee of the Responsible Labour Initiative of the Responsible Business Alliance and the Forbes Nonprofit Council.

My Sustainability Goals for 2024:

Greater awareness and engagement with the “S” in ESG

Shalini Mahtani, MBE

The Zubin Foundation

Founder & CEO

Shalini Mahtani is one of Hong Kong’s most authoritative and respected voices on social issues, particularly diversity and inclusion. In addition to founding The Zubin Foundation, amongst the city’s most accomplished non-profit organisation’s on racial diversity, Shalini is  the founder of Community Business, the first organization in Asia that brings together companies around women, LGBT, and disabilities at work and one of the founders of The Women’s Foundation. Shalini is a qualified accountant and spent her early years in PWC. Shalini’s strength is the intersection of community, business and public policy.
Shalini is a thought leader and has helped to influence public policy on transport, special needs, children and board diversity. She has held positions on various government advisory and statutory bodies including the Transport Advisory Committee and the Commission for Children, amongst others. Shalini is the recipient of numerous accolades including the Medal of Honour by the Hong Kong SAR government and the MBE from Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Shalini was honored by the World Economic Forum as a Young Global Leader.
Shalini is from Hong Kong, married and has three children. She is a graduate of The London School of Economics and her executive education is from Harvard, Yale and Lee Kuan Yue Schools of Public Policy.

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