We're on a mission to shift our world towards fair food systems that respect people and our planet.

BerryWorld have been working with growers across South Africa for over 20 years, which has opened opportunities to further our focus on fair working and living conditions at every stage of our supply.

In particular, we are committed to supporting female workers in a woman-dominated South African workforce. We believe that women play a vital role in the agricultural sector and that they deserve to be treated with respect and dignity.

Women’s Health in South Africa

BerryWorld is committed to ensuring that all workers within our supply chain can come to work with no barriers. We recognise the importance of addressing the challenges faced by female workers, particularly regarding access to sufficient sanitary products.

"The women's reproductive health training provided by the Waitrose Foundation through BerryWorld exceeded all expectations. It was both informative and engaging, explaining the reasons behind menstruation and offering practical solutions to ease its physical and emotional effects in a way everyone could easily grasp."

Chilterns Group Human Resources Manager

In order to gain a deeper understanding of the situation in the women-dominated South African workforce, we conducted a series of menstrual health worker surveys in 2022.

The results of these surveys revealed that 25% of women at our South African sites took time off work during their menstrual cycle due to inadequate access to sanitary products. It became clear that there was an opportunity to increase awareness and understanding of women's health in our field..

Building on this feedback, we partnered with our blueberry grower Chiltern Farms and the Waitrose Foundation SA to implement a trial focused on Women's Health and Psychosocial Wellbeing Workshops. These workshops aim to empower women by providing education on female reproductive health, self-care, and communication.

The initial feedback from participants has been extremely positive. One lady expressed her gratitude by saying “The experience increased my confidence and self-esteem and taught me how to handle my family and children.”

We would like to extend our thanks to the Waitrose Foundation and Chiltern Farms for their support in making this trial possible.
 

Our continued commitment

Our journey towards enhancing women's health and well-being is far from over. Our next steps involve expanding the workshops to other South African grower sites and closely monitoring the impact they have on the women who participate. Additionally, we are planning to explore the challenges and needs within Zimbabwe, furthering our commitment to supporting women's health across the region.

Together, we can make a positive difference in the lives of women across our berry world.