Author Archives: Susan Arnot Heaney

Losing What We Gained: Women in the Workforce

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As the world continues to grapple with the widespread and long-lasting global economic crisis, recent research has found that, on the whole, women have been harder hit than men.  As a global company with a mission to be the company for women, this situation makes Avon’s commitment – and the economic opportunity we offer – all the more vital.

At the end of 2012, the International Labour Organization, a specialized agency of the United Nations, issued the “Global Employment Trends for Women” report, which concluded a reversal in recent gains in women’s employment since the start of the global financial crisis in 2008.  In developed countries, more men lost their jobs than women, since sectors impacted in those countries were largely male dominated.  And these, of course, are the countries and sectors most often reported in the news.  But the worldwide impact is actually greater on women.

Earlier progress in women’s employment has “slowed, stopped or even reversed,” according to the ILO report, and the gap between women’s and men’s unemployment rate has widened since 2007 (now 6.4% for women, 5.8% for men). ILO estimates this means a loss of some 13 million jobs for women, and there are no improvements expected in the near future for women in the workplace.  In developed countries, such as the U.S., there is continuing concern with the “glass ceiling” and the very real lack of women in leadership (only 4.2% of the Fortune 500 CEOs are women), but in much of the world, women are losing  workplace opportunity at a much more fundamental level.

Susan Heaney and Michelle Bachelet at the Global Summit of Women, Santiago, Chile, May 2009
Susan Heaney and Michelle Bachelet at the Global Summit of Women, Santiago, Chile, May 2009

An African proverb says “women hold up half the sky.”  Impacts on women’s employment opportunity and labor force participation are not “women’s issues” – they are global economic issues.  Commenting on the ILO report, Michelle Bachelet, Executive Director of UN Women, stated, “While women worldwide contribute to the economy and its productivity, they continue to face many barriers that prevent them from realising their full economic potential. This is not only holding back women; it is holding back economic performance and growth.”

There are no easy answers, but there are many ways to help overcome barriers and drive more opportunity for women.  Microfinance by organizations such as the Grameen Bank has helped many women launch small businesses. Direct selling, which is Avon’s business model, is estimated by the World Federation of Direct Selling Associations to provide economic opportunity to nearly 92 million individuals worldwide, and 75% are women.  Six million of these direct sellers in more than 100 countries are independent Avon Sales Representatives, and the vast majority of these are women.  Among them are the “Avon Ladies” of South Africa, who were studied by Oxford University and covered by CNN for their success in achieving empowerment and economic independence.  On a broader cultural level, there is also the need to overcome pervasive attitudes that hold women back, such as the belief that men are better at science and math.

Here in the U.S., there is a children’s board game in which situations advance players’ pieces up ladders or send them tumbling down chutes.  Women’s global employment is something like that game:  in good times, women climb the ladder; in hard times, they are sent back down the chute.  Let’s find ways to build more ladders.

Building Apps to Prevent Domestic Violence

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Speak Out Against Domestic ViolenceWhat do you get when communications technology, creative individuals, the Avon Foundation for Women and the Institute of Medicine (IOM) join together to help prevent domestic violence?  How about the “Ending Violence @ Home App Challenge,” a program to create apps that drive awareness and prevention of domestic abuse – truly, a way to leverage emerging technology to tackle a longstanding problem.

The program grew out of a workshop convened by IOM’s Forum on Global Violence Prevention, at which participants discussed how traditional and new media can be harnessed to prevent domestic abuse.  Funding came from the Avon Foundation for Women, which awards grants to build awareness, education, prevention and direct service programs to end domestic and gender violence. In February 2012, the “Ending Violence @ Home App Challenge” was announced at the 2nd World Conference of Women’s Shelters in Washington, DC, and with communications including a celebrity video message.  The Avon Foundation and IOM invited individuals in domestic violence prevention and communications technologies to combine skills and develop apps to drive awareness and prevent domestic abuse.

The program drew 19 creative submissions from nine countries, and the winners were chosen based upon five criteria:  innovation, design, potential impact, how well they integrate evidence-based information, and their usability in different settings.  Here is a bit about each of the four top entries:

The top prize went to the developers of Çocuktan Al Haberi, or Wisdom of the Children, a website in Turkey that encourages people, especially parents and children, to create positive new expressions from old sayings that condone violence. Using a “Mad Libs” format of replacing selected words, Çocuktan Al Haberi can, for example, change “don’t spare a baby from your wife’s belly and rod from her back” into “don’t spare soup from a women’s belly and sunscreen from her back.” Participants upload new sayings and site visitors vote on their favorites. The site also directs people to resources for victims of violence.

Second place was awarded to the team that created Circle of 6, a mobile app and Facebook pledge designed to prevent dating violence on university campuses. The Circle of 6 app enables users to quickly call six people from their contact lists for aid to prevent violence before it occurs, and the app also comes with preprogrammed hotline numbers and accommodates local helpline information.

The third prize went to the creators of R3, an app that helps health care providers recognize, respond, and refer victims of domestic abuse. Only 10% of physicians regularly screen for domestic violence in part because they lack an evidence-based screening tool and knowledge of how to respond. The R3 app provides a set of four questions that have been shown to effectively identify victims of abuse, an automatic scoring function, links to recommendations on appropriate action based on a patient’s score, and a resource locator.

The fourth prize went to HealtheSAVE, which helps health care providers better recognize and communicate with patients who have experienced violence, and refer them to appropriate services. The program includes a website that will be tied to social media platforms, a mobile app, educational tools and resources, with a focus on applicability to international users.

The results show that the issue of domestic violence and the passion to solve the problem are without boundaries, and that unusual partnerships can be key to success. As the line in a movie once said, if you build it, they will come. In this case, if you ask for solutions, they will be found—sometimes in unexpected places.

Read more about the program and winners here.

Superstorm Sandy Brings Global Water Crisis Home

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Here in New York City, Avon’s “hometown,” it is hard to calculate the impact of “Superstorm” Sandy. Our LEED Gold global headquarters is intact, but our city is not. One of the most evident and visible issues in the affected area is water: too much, too little, and unsafe. Too much water in the thousands of miles of flooded cities and towns from a storm twice the size of Texas. Too little water for consumption by those in affected areas. And unsafe water left in Sandy’s wake.

But water is not only an issue in New York City or the Northeast US, nor is it a concern only after a natural disaster. There is a widespread global water crisis; Sandy simply spotlighted the crisis by bringing it to our backyard.

The images are heartbreaking of towns swallowed by floodwaters, and the scale of devastation is astonishing. NASA’s calculations of rainfall do not begin to measure the total water from the sea, rivers and bays that, together with wind and rain, turned the east coast into a churning lake.

As people get back on their feet, the crisis moves from too much to too little water. As emergency crews deliver bottled water to devastated areas cut off from water supplies, residents of New York City and surrounding suburbs are among those urged to conserve water and boil tap water, following CDC post-hurricane guidelines. North of New York City, people are warned against direct contact with the Hudson River. Authorities are assessing the impact on aquifers and waterways of the floodwaters carrying sewage, debris, industrial waste and just plain garbage (among the most common items in the debris:  plastic bottles!).

Looking at the water crisis from a global perspective, Avon’s New York City neighbor, the United Nations, had declared 2005-2015 the Decade for Action: Water for Life. The UN reports one fifth of the world’s population lives in areas of physical water scarcity, and one quarter face a water shortage driven by the lack of infrastructure to access water. These shortages are both natural and manmade, driven partly by water that is unevenly distributed, wasted, polluted and unsustainably managed. The UN also reports that more people die worldwide from the impact of unsafe water than from all forms of violence, including war.

Avon cannot solve the world’s water crisis, but as a global citizen we are committed to playing our part. In 2011, we reduced our total water consumption by 7.5 percent from the prior year’s level.  Looking back to 2005 to 2011, company initiatives reduced water use by 27 percent – 146 million gallons in manufacturing facilities and 5 million gallons in distribution centers. These initiatives include air-cooling compressors that save 5 million gallons per year in Canada; rainwater harvesting that saves 5.5 million gallons per year in Zanesville, Ohio; and optimizing cleaning processes to save 14 million gallons annually in Poland. Avon also continues to drive towards zero water waste discharge in water-scarce countries, including Brazil, China and India. Finally, Avon’s Green Building Promise ensures that new and retrofitted facilities meet LEED green standards, including water efficiency.

Every company – and individual – has a role to play in responsible water use, both to offset the current crisis and for longterm impact.  The devastating effects of Sandy remind us that water issues can happen anywhere, natural disaster or not, and our commitment to continuously improve water efficiency is important around the world and in our backyard.

9.11 and the Greening of a City

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Callery Pear TreeThis posting goes live on the 11th anniversary of the attack on New York City.  It’s my hometown and the hometown of Avon: the company was founded here in 1886 and our global headquarters remains in Manhattan. This is not a mournful 9.11 tale. This is a hopeful reflection on how “green” is helping us heal from that dark day.

The 9.11 Memorial site in New York City includes the striking presence of trees.  To be exact, 412 White Swamp Oaks outlining the footprint of the World Trade Towers. Trees were added to the original design to “add texture, bring things down to a human scale and lend a sense of life and comfort.” Within this mini forest is the famous “survivor tree,” a single Callery Pear that was crushed and nearly incinerated under the falling Towers.  Salvaged and restored to health, it occupies a place of honor, representing hope and healing, and this tree is featured in a video on the 9.11 Memorial website.

Trees at the 9.11 Memorial are a meaningful part of the “greening” of New York, but the city has more ambitious plans. MillionTreesNYC, a citywide public-private program, is part of PlaNYC to strengthen New York City’s environment. So far MillionTreesNYC has planted 612,277 trees across the city, which is greater than the entire tree census of 2005-2006, which recorded 592,130 trees. An “adopt-a-tree” program engages citizens and community groups to help water and maintain the trees, and I am proud that my husband kept two new Locust trees on our block alive through the blistering 2012 summer.

The therapeutic benefits of trees on the human psyche are documented if not yet understood. Roger Ulrich, a professor and director of the Center for Health Systems and Design at Texas A & M University, found views of natural scenes or elements, such as trees, foster stress recovery and relaxation and reduce negative emotions. Ulrich also studied surgical patients and learned that those with views of nature had shorter hospital stays, required less pain medication and experienced fewer minor post-operative complications compared to patients whose room faced a brick wall. Research studies have also shown the presence of trees and greenery helps reduce urban crime, ranging from graffiti and vandalism to property crime and violence, including domestic violence.

The New York City government has played a critical role in driving a green city under the guidance Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg.  To ensure continuation of this focus in the future, the City Council last month unanimously passed legislation to create two Climate Change Panels, bringing together government agencies, the private sector and scientists to imbed climate change planning into the city’s functions. The panels serve as “an institutional government mechanism” to assess and address climate change science and its impact on New York City – including the projection that sea level around the city will rise five feet by the end of the century.

On a day when the world pauses to remember the victims and families of 9.11, I am also sending a message of gratitude for the healing presence of the indomitable Callery Pear and the 412 White Swamp Oaks whose green embrace provides solace in a place of sadness.

Helping End Deforestation to Plant a Future

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A Chinese proverb says: “If you are planning for a year, sow rice; if you are planning for a decade, plant trees; if you are planning for a lifetime, educate people.”

Now that it’s September, the changing seasons spotlight trees. Colorful autumn leaves appear in much of the northern hemisphere and shade trees are popular in the warm southern hemisphere.  But as we enjoy the beauty and utility of trees, it is estimated that forests the size of 36 football fields are lost every minute –acres lost as you read this.  The impact is devastating to living creatures in the affected forests and to everyone on Earth.  Unless the Mars exploration moves faster than expected, that means all of us for the foreseeable future.

Forests, especially tropical forests, play a critical role in the life of the planet.  They are the lungs of the earth, cleaning pollutants from the air and helping mitigate climate change.  In fact, the loss of forests is considered a key driver of climate change. Forests also provide clean water, maintain biodiversity, support millions of people, and are a source of innumerable medicines that address diseases such as AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and cancer.  All of this from trees.

The New York Times Green Blog of August 14 addressed a forest that is critically endangered and vitally important: the Atlantic Forest of Brazil.  With almost 90% of it gone, the Atlantic Forest consists of fragments that cannot support the biodiversity that once existed. Only 22% of the original animal species survive in the forest patches – fewer than past ecological models predicted.

The good news is that forests are naturally sustainable. Trees grow, and forests can be restored. All it takes is a commitment to drive change, down the street and around the world.

Here in New York City, where Avon’s LEED Gold headquarters is located, Million Trees NYC is more than halfway to its goal.  Globally, the United Nations Environment Programme Plant for the Planet Billion Tree Campaign helped drive the planting of more than 12 billion trees worldwide.

Avon is doing its part. Since 2010 the Avon Hello Green Tomorrow project has focused on our mission to help end deforestation in two of the most endangered ecosystems of the world.  Our partners are World Wildlife Fund (WWF), to help restore the tropical forests of Indonesia, and The Nature Conservancy (TNC) in the Atlantic Forest of Brazil – the forest so eloquently addressed in the Times Green Blog.

How do we do it?  By mobilizing a global “green army” of independent Avon Sales Representatives, associates and customers in more than 50 countries. They raise much-needed funds and are educated on “five simple things” to drive behavior change – reduce, reuse, recycle, rethink, replant – including online green tips on simple steps to make a difference every day.

Avon recently contributed $1 million to TNC and WWF, representing the midyear tally of the company’s 2012 global fundraising to help end deforestation.  Total Hello Green Tomorrow fundraising has reached $4.5 million in less than three years, with more to come. That’s a lot of trees and a lot of impact, as seen in the Hello Green Tomorrow Video, including footage from projects in Indonesia and Brazil.

Avon Running & the Olympic Marathon: An Empowerment Story

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As reported in the Wall Street Journal, London 2012 will mark the first Olympic Games in which women athletes from Saudi Arabia will participate.  But it was not long ago that all women were barred from many competitions, including the marathon.  Then Avon came calling and helped change the face of running.  Yes, Avon.

Kathrine Switzer and Avon Germany Country Manager Steve Jacquin at Avon Running Berlin 2012

As marathons rose in popularity for men, common belief held that women could not run 26.2 miles or, if they did, it would endanger their health (including sterility).  Enter Kathrine Switzer, who ran the men-only Boston Marathon in 1967 (as KV Switzer) and was, in her own words, “radicalized” when race officials attempted to drag her from the course.

I chatted recently with Kathrine, who recounted how she dedicated herself to driving opportunities for women in sports, and found in Avon the perfect partner to help make this dream reality.

In 1972 Kathrine helped create the first women-only 10K in New York City, which attracted 78 women – small by today’s standards, but a surprising number 40 years ago.  This was also the year of the US Title IX Amendment, best remembered for ensuring women equal access to sports.  A revolution had begun.

Fast forward to 1976. Avon executives met Kathrine at a women’s sports event and tapped her to develop programs to empower women through sports.  In 1977 the all-women Avon Futures Tennis Circuit launched, followed by the Avon International Women’s Marathon in Atlanta in March 1978, with runners from nine countries.  That same year, Avon Women’s Running Events launched in Japan and Belgium, and quickly expanded to 27 countries on 5 continents, culminating  in an annual global marathon with the winners of each country’s race plus top women runners from around the world, all brought to the event at Avon’s expense.

In the book Olympic Marathon, author Charlie Lovett affirms that “Avon races brought international attention and participation to the sport.” The Avon Women’s Marathons broke barriers by giving talented women runners confidence, opportunity and exposure. The marathons proved they could do it.

In 1980, when London was the Avon Championship host city, the time was right to push for more. The event had surpassed the criteria of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) that any new sport draw participants from at least 25 countries on three continents. Targeting a women’s marathon in the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, Kathrine supported the Los Angeles Olympic Committee in developing the pitch for the IOC, including providing medical reports to dispel lingering claims that marathons are harmful to women.  History shows they succeeded.

LA 1984.  US runner Joan Benoit wins the first Olympic Marathon for women, making a dramatic solo entry into a packed stadium for the final lap of the event.  As described by Joan to The Chicago Sun-Times in 1998, she “used the original Avon women’s running series as a springboard to a place in history as the gold medalist in the first Olympic Marathon for females. ‘Due in no small part to the (Avon-sponsored) marathons, the (International Olympic Committee) took a long, hard look at women’s distance running and to my luck instituted the marathon in 1984’.”

For those who feared for the health of women marathoners, Joan lives happily in Maine and is the mother of two.  She still runs.

It’s about Time: Doing Well by Doing Good

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The U.S. Labor Department announced in June that worker productivity recently experienced the sharpest decline in a year. As economists debate a host of conflicting reasons for the productivity drop – an improving economy, an impending recession, shrinking compensation, a downsized and overstretched workforce – there may be a decidedly un-macroeconomic approach to increasing worker output: volunteering and altruism on the job.

A recent study from researchers at the business schools of Harvard, Yale and the University of Pennsylvania found that when you give time, you get time … or at least you believe you do. It’s this perception of having more time, which is key. The new study, “Giving Time Gives You Time,” reports that while volunteering has traditionally been viewed as a burden on a busy employee, spending time doing good for others actually makes people feel less time-constrained and more effective in completing their other tasks and responsibilities.  This research suggests that altruistic activities on the job may make employees feel more effective and capable – critical ingredients for productivity.

Another recent study from the organization Net Impact, Talent Report: What Workers Want in 2012, revealed that 45% of those who “worked directly on a product or service that makes a positive social impact report being very satisfied with their jobs,” compared with 29% whose work did not meet this criteria.  Even more striking, people who worked in positions with a social-impact component were twice as likely to report being satisfied with their jobs as those in more business-focused functions.  And this may have impact far beyond the workers’ happiness quotient.  Research published in the January-February 2012 edition of the Harvard Business Review showed that those workers defined as “thriving” – satisfied, productive and engaged – showed 16% better overall performance, 125% less burnout and were 32% more committed to their organizations.

At Avon, giving back is one of the principles on which the company was founded in 1886.  Today, 126 years later, Associates around the world are enthusiastically involved in everything from the Avon Breast Cancer Crusade to “Green Week” in celebration of Hello Green Tomorrow.  Giving Associates the opportunity to be a change agent for good helps the person as much as it helps the cause.

You could say that volunteering is, in a sense, a way to “be ahead of one’s time.”

Welcome to “Avon’s Calling”

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We are happy to launch the first Corporate Responsibility blog for Avon Products, Inc., and we hope it will provide ideas, information and insights that will be interesting, useful and perhaps, on occasion, even a little surprising.

“Avon’s Calling” will offer thoughts about Avon and events in the wider world that touch upon our three mission areas, i.e. our “calling” — empowering women, sustainability and philanthropy – as well as the many facets of Corporate Responsibility that all good corporate citizens must address. Avon is committed to being a global change agent, and whether we are tackling deforestation or domestic violence, our mission is to engage and mobilize and leave the world a better place.

Our plan is to post weekly, with greater frequency for “late breaking news” that just cannot wait. You never know!

The primary bloggers are the two of us, from Avon’s Corporate Responsibility team, but we will invite other contributors from inside Avon and from our many external partners. If blogs existed in 1886, when Avon was founded, our founder, David H. McConnell, would have been an enthusiastic blogger with a lot to share. It was he who determined the company would “meet fully the obligations of corporate citizenship” – 126 years ago!

We encourage comments and discussion, and suggestions for blog posts are welcome. Please send your ideas via email to avoncr@avon.com

You can subscribe to our posts via RSS or email or follow us on Twitter.

So let’s start the journey.

 

Tod Arbogast
Vice President
Sustainability & Corporate Responsibility

 

Susan Arnot Heaney
Executive Director
Corporate Responsibility