Written by Wilbert Flinterman, Senior Advisor, Workers’ Rights and Trade Union Relations at Fairtrade International, on the recent Global Conference of the World Banana Forum. Wilbert and ARI’s founders Richard Anker and Martha Anker were present at the 4th Global Conference that took place at the FAO in Rome. Wilbert spoke at the event and has written a piece covering his thoughts from the recent meeting.

On February 28, the Anker Research Institute (ARI) and Fairtrade presented the results of an Anker Benchmark Living Wage study which focused on three important banana growing districts of Côte d’Ivoire (Lagunes, Vallee du Bandama, and Lacs). This ARI research study was led by Dr. Yapo N'Guessan, an associate professor at the Jean Lorougnon Guede University in Daloa, Côte d’Ivoire and included Ivorian and ARI researchers.

With more companies seeking to foster and protect workers’ rights in global supply chains, the need for accurate information on working conditions is becoming ever more important. This includes information on gender pay gaps in the factories and farms that supply supermarkets and high street shops worldwide. Yet, gender pay gaps are typically only monitored at national levels, which may be a poor predictor of what’s happening in any given workplace. The Anker Research Institute’s new report on gender pay gaps in global supply chains is an effort to start addressing this information gap.

Launching 23rd February

Ten years have passed since the first study, and what started as a project by two researchers Martha Anker and Richard Anker has grown into a dedicated team and research network spanning the globe. To celebrate, we have decided to give the Anker Research Institute a new look inspired by the original cover of the Anker Methodology book by Martha Anker and Richard Anker published in 2017.