ABSTRACT
Much of the fruit, vegetables and flowers now found on the shelves of European supermarkets originate from farms in Africa. These products have become increasingly important to several African countries, 2 creating scores of new jobs for African men and women. Women, in particular, have benefited from this growth and constitute a high percentage of the workforce in African horticulture. Yet, during recent years, questions have been raised about the quality of work in global supply chains such as export horticulture that feed consumers in the North. European supermarkets are under pressure to ensure decent working conditions in their supply chains, and producers are increasingly required to comply with a number of standards and codes to guarantee that they do so. This should be good news for workers˙ but, in practice, what do these ‘ethical trade’ codes offer women workers on African farms?
