ABSTRACT
The overall purpose of this chapter is to explore how multistakeholder initiatives that train women workers in global value chains provide opportunities and challenges for them. The author argues that to examine the effects that multistakeholder initiatives have on women workers, it is essential to understand that global value chain activities are linked to both the productive economy (paid work) and the reproductive economy (unpaid household activities usually carried out by women). Based on a study of women workers working in the value chain for the Better Cotton Initiative in Pakistan, this chapter proposes that although multistakeholder initiatives potentially improve women workers’ income and health conditions through training, the training does however not change the embedded female roles related to household activities or the attitudes concerning the overall role of women in society.
