The Business Case
Investing in worker health is more than a moral imperative—there’s a compelling business case for the investment. For every $1 invested in women’s health, one Bangladeshi factory saw a $3 return through higher productivity, lower turnover and reduced absenteeism. HERproject seeks to demonstrate similar business benefits through our factory programs.
Extending Service Delivery (ESD), a USAID initiative and BSR project partner, was responsible for the $3:$1 ROI finding in Bangladesh, and now they are working with BSR to identify similar returns in participating factories in Egypt and Pakistan.
HERproject ROI studies in Egypt and Pakistan are generously funded by the Levi Strauss Foundation.
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HERproject Business Benefits
In participating factories across Bangladesh, China, Egypt, India, Mexico, Pakistan, and Vietnam, HERproject women’s health education programs have delivered the following benefits.
- Productivity Gains: Different HERproject factories have seen reductions in absenteeism and turnover, and/or product quality improvements. Workplace improvements have also been observed, both due to worker behavior changes and to factory investments.
- Healthier workers: Workers are healthier as a result of better access to nearby and onsite health services.
- Better Worker-Manager relations: Workers feel more valued by management and have increased communications skills. Some factories observed improved grievance handling processes.
- Enhanced recruitment & reputation: Factories benefit from women sharing information about HERproject in their communities.
- Sunk Costs better utilized: Existing resources such as factory nurses, clinics, and visiting doctors are integrated into program activities for an enhanced role.
