Opportunity inequality, sexism and gender discrimination. They exist and occur frequently, even today. Likewise in Ecuador. A positive aspect in this are the nurseries, which play an important role in creating safe employment opportunities for women.
Thanks to the work in the nurseries, more women have access to a stable income. They also help narrow the gender pay gap. This helps to improve women’s independence.
Nevertheless, there is still much work to be done. Why? The culture and local traditions often have a male overtone. Education is also not equally distributed everywhere. Luckily, growers such as Jet Fresh work hard every day to improve this.
Jet Fresh’s Social Commitment.
Jet Fresh is one of our Ecuadorian suppliers and a very socially committed grower. When they took over the rose nursery in 2018, they saw opportunities everywhere, but above all a need for improvement.
An enormous effort was immediately made to improve production processes for people, the environment and flowers. For example, more efficient methods were implemented, a high-tech irrigation system was introduced, improved working conditions (according to legal standards and beyond) and an all-round safe working environment were ensured.
Extra steps for female employees.
In addition to good working conditions and a safe working environment, every day the Jet Fresh team is committed to their female employees. The fact that management is largely made up of women may have had an effect, but the focus on helping women has been a critical part of their policy from day one.
Their method? See where the need was greatest, and how they could meet that need as quickly and easily as possible.
Free laundry service.
An example? Relieving the domestic (time) pressure immediately. In Ecuador the average family composition is quite large. The female employees do the laundry for the entire family on weekends. Husband, children, grandpa and grandma… A big job that consumed a large part of their free time.
The solution? Jet Fresh installed its own launderette at the nursery, including a laundry service. The employees can now deliver the laundry at the start of their day and pick it up clean, folded and ironed at the end of the day. Completely free of charge. More than 60% of the employees now use this service, which means they have more time over the weekend.
Better care, without major expenses.
They also help with the fitting and financing of glasses and/or contact lenses. Once in a while a specialist comes to the farm. Anyone who wants can do the eye test for free. The glasses or lenses are then partly financed by Jet Fresh. The employee can also pay her share on an installment basis. Jet Fresh also sponsors menstrual cups, which provide employees with significant savings for many years. In this way they benefit directly from better care, without having to incur large expenditures.
Sharing knowledge and building trust.
They also regularly invite female speakers to share their knowledge and experience. For example, about contraception, where there is still a lot of misinformation. Whatever it is about, trust, support and discretion are key. In addition, by regularly talking to the employees, Jet Fresh wants to take a step every day to improve the position of Ecuadorian women.
We are proud to work such a socially committed farm, as corporate social responsibility plays a significant role in our operations too.
Do you have any questions or comments? We would love to hear from you. Use the form below or go to the contact page.