This year marked another opportunity to advance living wage research from the Anker Research Institute and promote living wage action from the GLWC and our member organizations. Here we present a collection of some of our favorite moments of 2022.
Stakeholder meetings convened diverse organizations around Anker Living Wage and Income-related research and activities.
The Anker Research Institute team presented its living wage and income research on topics such as gender pay gaps, living wages in India, Kenya, Colombia, Peru, and Mexico, living income zones of India, and provided expert opinions on these issues at events organized by international organizations such as the UNO and CNV Internationaal. You can learn more about recent stakeholder meetings and read related research on the GLWC website.
The Anker Research Institute released several working papers on sustainable nutrition, cocoa and coffee-growing regions of Brazil, and the Guji Zone of Ethiopia.
In 2022, the Anker Research Institute published several new working papers. Living Incomes for Cocoa Growing Regions of Brazil and Living Incomes for Coffee Growing Regions of Brazil provided Anker Living Income estimates for six cocoa and three coffee growing areas in Brazil. Living Income Estimates for Guji, Ethiopia, discussed the differences between regions of Ethiopia and estimated the living income for the Guji Zone, Oromia region, Ethiopia. The working paper, Living Wage and Living Income for Sustainable Diets, co-authored by Azfar Khan, Richard Anker and Martha Anker, examined how living wages and incomes are intertwined with nutrition and how a decent standard of living can alleviate poverty-related issues, such as food insecurity. This paper is included in the upcoming Routledge Handbook of Sustainable Diets.
In 2022, the Anker Research Institute began updating estimates annually, rather than every other year, and updated nearly all estimates.
The Anker Research Institute updated nearly 60 Anker Living Wage and Income Benchmarks and Reference Values for 40 countries around the world. You can review our recent announcements for these updates. We also released new Anker Living Wage and Income Reference Values for several countries: Urban Cambodia, Urban Thailand, Urban Honduras, Urban El Salvador, and Urban Sri Lanka.
Fair Labor Association and Fair Trade USA joined the GLWC as our newest supporting members.
This year, the GLWC proudly welcomed Fair Trade USA (FTUSA) and Fair Labor Association (FLA) into its Action Network. FTUSA works to promote sustainable livelihoods and safe working conditions, protection of the environment, and strong, transparent supply chains. FLA works with companies in the fashion, food, and beverage industries to improve working conditions around the world. FLA’s award-winning Fair Compensation Toolkit – adapted from the Anker Research Institute’s approach to living wage – is used by over 50 companies in the fashion industry to measure their living wage gap in apparel, footwear, and accessory supply chains. We are excited to work with FTUSA and FLA to help them continue their efforts to close the wage gap across value chains around the world.
GLWC, Anker Research Institute, and FLA presented at the IDH Living Wage Summit.
The Anker Research Institute hosted a session ‘Living Wage as a Right’ moderated by Senior Researcher, Azfar Khan, at the IDH Living Wage Summit in Brussels on the 7th of December. Representatives of firms and workers, together with Tiffany Rogers, from the standard-setting organization FLA, considered some of the salient concerns that promote and impede the payment of living wages, and how we may create viable strategies to realize the timely payment of at least a living wage for all.
2022 marked the first full year of the Anker Research Institute’s Living Wage Corporate Sponsors program.
In the last year, the Anker Research Institute welcomed new corporate sponsors including, Eileen Fisher, Clif Bar, Patagonia, and Adidas into its sponsorship program. Corporate Sponsors help support the Anker Research Institute’s groundbreaking research and are publicly recognized for their commitment to sustainable livelihoods for workers. If you or your organization is interested in helping make this research possible, consider supporting the Institute’s work through its Corporate Sponsors program. Learn more on their website.
The GLWC supported initiatives regarding living wages, sustainable fashion, and due diligence legislation.
This year, the GLWC lent its support to a number of advocacy campaigns, including the ‘Good Clothes Fair Pay’ campaign, a global call for action by EU citizens in the garment sector. Additionally, we have joined over 60 companies and organizations to call on the European Parliament to ensure living wages are included as a human right in the final EU Due Diligence Directive. Our Action Network also supported the Global Fashion Agenda’s annual Fashion Monitor report.
There is much more to come in 2023! If you are not already a subscriber, now is a great time to subscribe to our mailing list. If you are already a subscriber, thank you so much for your ongoing support and interest in our work. We look forward to sharing much more with you in the coming year.
