Fung Group

Fung Group has not made a high-level, public commitment to gender equality and women’s empowerment and has not established a gender strategy that goes beyond general support for diversity and inclusion. The company has not identified any specific, time-bound targets that are related to gender or disclosed information to suggest that it has undergone an assessment or certification for gender equality. There are no details about whether an individual is responsible for the company’s gender equality and women’s empowerment efforts. Neither was information found regarding whether Fung Group engages its employees or external stakeholders on gender issues.

Fung Group does not have a grievance mechanism in place that takes into account the specific needs of women employees. While concerns and any misconduct relating to its code of ethics can be reported to senior management or reported anonymously via email, post or fax, the company’s grievance mechanism does not include additional gender-responsive elements, for example ensuring user confidentiality, prohibiting retaliation and allowing verbal submissions of complaints via a telephone line. Furthermore, no information was found regarding whether supply chain workers have access to this grievance mechanism or whether suppliers are required to establish their own grievance mechanisms for workers to raise gender-related concerns. Affiliate Li & Fung does however require suppliers to establish a grievance mechanism for workers it does however not extend to the entire Fung Group.

Fung Group has not disclosed information to demonstrate that it screens for gender-related issues among its suppliers as part of its audit processes, such as sexual harassment or discrimination against women based on their pregnancy and marital status. Furthermore, no information was found regarding whether suppliers are required to take corrective action if these gender-related issues are identified.

There is little information available to indicate that Fung Group considers the fair representation of women in the workplace. The company discloses a list of its leadership team. This specifies five men and no women on its board of directors, one woman out of four senior executives (25%) and one woman out of seven senior managers (14%). There were no details about the company’s middle management or workforce. Neither was information found on how the company promotes gender equality in leadership, for example by offering professional development programmes.

In the supply chain, Fung Group addresses the systemic discrimination that women face by supporting its suppliers in offering professional development opportunities to women workers through initiatives such as the HERproject run by BSR (Business for Social Responsibility), which has provided training to workers in Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia and Vietnam. The company has also created the WorkerApp offering educational materials to train and engage workers.

While affiliate Li & Fung prohibits its suppliers from using pregnancy tests as a condition of employment or from discriminating against women workers based on their pregnancy or marital status, no information is available to suggest a similar policy is in place at the group level that explicitly protects pregnant and married women workers. Furthermore, there was no information found regarding how the company creates an enabling environment for women to exercise their rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining. Neither were details available concerning whether the company actively procures from women-owned businesses or takes specific actions to increase the procurement spend directed to these businesses.

No publicly available information was found regarding how Fung Group considers the fair compensation of women in either its workplace or supply chain or specifically addresses the gender pay gap. Affiliate Li & Fung, however, publicly reports its gender pay gap information across its entire workforce as well as the breakdown of earnings at the senior and middle management levels and below middle management. Li & Fung also reports that 73% of employees return after maternity leave.

No details were found on how Fung Group considers key family-friendly benefits to support the unpaid care burden carried by its employees or workers in the supply chain.

No publicly available information was found to suggest that Fung Group covers any additional costs surrounding the maternal, mental or sexual and reproductive health needs specific to its women employees. In the supply chain, Fung Group has not made a public commitment to provide workers with a gender-responsive, safe and healthy work environment, for example by requiring suppliers to have an on-site clinic with credentialed health providers. Furthermore, there were no details available regarding the company’s efforts to address the specific health, safety and hygiene needs of women workers in the supply chain, such as requiring suppliers to provide adequately lit factory facilities, toilets separated by gender and personal protective equipment that considers pregnant and nursing women’s needs. Affiliate Li & Fung does, however, require suppliers have a clinic and address health and safety concerns such as requiring access to drinkable water and ergonomic awareness training.

In the workplace, Fung Group seeks to prohibit violence and harassment through its anti-harassment and anti-discrimination policy which upholds values of mutual respect by maintaining a workplace that is free of all forms of harassment. However, no publicly available information was found on how the company prevents violence and harassment in the supply chain. Neither were details found regarding Fung Group’s effective remedy for violence and harassment grievances reported by its employees or supply chain workers, such as not requiring private arbitration or silencing agreements and having clear disciplinary actions for the perpetrator.

No information was found regarding how Fung Group addresses non-discriminatory practices in marketing and advertising, for example by committing to avoid harmful gender stereotypes or ensuring gender-responsive communications and engagement with its customers to support gender equality and women’s empowerment.

Fung Group provides limited information regarding its broader efforts to drive gender equality and women’s empowerment in the communities where it operates. However, affiliate Li & Fung, its employees and the LF Foundation support education, vocational programmes and community improvements at the Seng Girls Vocational Training School in China. Li & Fung employees have also funded over 400 women entrepreneurs in Cambodia, Guatemala, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam through its Make Life Better programme.

Fung Group has responded to the COVID-19 pandemic through subsidiary Meiyume which is prototyping a touchless sampling tester for fragrance and liquid skincare products to create a safe and hygienic in-store environment for consumers and retail staff. Additionally, Meiyume transformed its manufacturing facilities to produce hand sanitisers and hand soap for medical facilities and their staff. It is also working closely with customers to source surgical masks and personal protective equipment materials as well as producing hand sanitisers to donate to local medical facilities around the world.