I recently had the opportunity to write a guest piece for the Women’s Environment Network on the exploitation of women in agrifood supply chains, following the publication of Oxfam’s ‘Behind the Barcode’ report.

We think that exploitation only happens in distant countries, however the sad fact is that it continues to happen both within the UK, and in the supply chains stocking UK supermarkets. Workers are often underpaid or even not paid at all, have weak or non-existent unions, lack representation and may suffer from threats of violence or sexual harassment. It is the responsibility of all of us to pressure supermarkets with our buying power, by only shopping at businesses which value women and pay them a living wage.