New Partnerships Expand Reach of Program
In advance of International Women’s Day, Gap Inc. announced
today that over 500,000 women and girls have completed its
signature education and life skills training program, P.A.C.E.
(Personal Advancement & Career Enhancement), which the company
currently operates in 17 countries. Founded on the belief that all
women deserve the opportunity to reach their full potential, Gap
Inc. originally launched P.A.C.E. in 2007 for women working in the
apparel supply chain, where it runs in over 300 factory locations
in collaboration with Gap Inc. suppliers. The company has since
expanded the program to other sites in order to reach more women,
including in rural community settings, academic and vocational
institutions, emergency relief centers, and more. Based on strong
program evaluation results, participant feedback, and independent
research, Gap Inc. has continually refined and scaled P.A.C.E.
through partnerships with nonprofit organizations,
intergovernmental organizations, government agencies, community
groups, and new corporate partners.
The company recently began providing no-cost license agreements
of the P.A.C.E. curriculum and technical training to Abercrombie
& Fitch Co., Avery Dennison, Hasbro, New Balance, PVH Corp.,
and food and beverage company Want Want Group (China), further
expanding P.A.C.E. to supply chains outside of the apparel
industry.
Additionally, the P.A.C.E. curriculum is now benefiting people
who have been forcibly displaced by providing them with vital
skills trainings. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR) facilitated the expansion of trainings to refugee
settlements in Jordan and Turkey. Last year, Gap Inc. and the
International Organization for Migration (IOM) signed an agreement
enabling IOM to implement the P.A.C.E. curriculum modules in
refugee sites in Bangladesh. Gap Inc. also partners with Heifer
International to deliver the program to women smallholder farmers
in Cambodia, and Project Concern International implements the
program in urban, rural and indigenous communities in Guatemala,
Nicaragua, Tanzania and India. In India, Self Employed Women’s
Association (SEWA) is currently leading the largest expansion of
P.A.C.E. in a single geography.
“We’re proud to have launched and invested in a program that
helps women and adolescent girls to be confident, resourceful and
able to plan for their future,” said Susan Goss Brown, President of
Gap Foundation. “The power of P.A.C.E. is clear to us and to the
industry leaders, nonprofit organizations, sourcing partners, and
others who have helped us grow it. Together we can strengthen the
livelihoods of millions of women and their families around the
world.”
Emawati is a young woman who used the skills she gained through
P.A.C.E. to take charge of her life. When she completed the
workplace training at her factory in Indonesia, she said, "The
P.A.C.E. financial module taught us how to manage our finances and
set-up long term goals." Emawati has since started her own side
business selling headscarves online. She added, "I want to be a
role model for all women in Indonesia. Women can earn money on
their own and do not have to depend on men!"
Emawati’s story is one of the hundreds of thousands from women
who have gained skills that will also benefit their families and
communities for generations to come. Participant survey feedback
and independent evaluation shows that women who participate in
P.A.C.E. report increased knowledge, skills and productivity, as
well as higher self-esteem and confidence. The curriculum, which is
contextualized to fit local priorities and customs, includes
courses on communication, problem-solving, time and stress
management, general and reproductive health, water sanitation and
hygiene, legal literacy, financial literacy, and more.
Sarah Degnan Kambou, President of International Center for
Research on Women (ICRW) said, “P.A.C.E. is one of the longest
running and successful life-skills programs for female factory
workers and women and girls in surrounding communities that I’ve
engaged with. I’m also impressed with how P.A.C.E. is structured,
with a thoughtful approach that can be scaled to reach a very large
number of women and girls. Through ICRW’s analysis, we have
validated that P.A.C.E. is having a significant impact, including a
reported increase of 150% in self-efficacy and 100% increase in
workplace influence. We are proud to partner on this important
work!” ICRW is a longtime strategic advisor to P.A.C.E.
Gap Inc.'s longtime partner, CARE, a leading global organization
dedicated to ending poverty, has been vital in implementing
P.A.C.E. to women and communities in 11 countries, including in
Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Haiti and India.
“CARE has partnered with Gap Inc. on the P.A.C.E. program for
more than a decade to promote women’s social and economic
empowerment and enable women to reach their full potential. Women
who have gone through the P.A.C.E. training have reported using
those skills to advocate for a greater voice in household
decision-making, infrastructure in their communities, loans to grow
their businesses, and more. Their improvements in self-esteem,
communication, and ability to advocate for themselves is
transformational, and it has a ripple effect that increases the
well-being of their families and communities. This program truly
changes women’s lives,” said Michelle Nunn, President and CEO of
CARE USA.
More about Gap Inc.’s P.A.C.E. program
Gap Inc.’s global sustainability strategy is guided in part by
the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with the P.A.C.E.
program specifically supporting SDG 4 and 5. P.A.C.E. has informed
the company’s Women + Water strategy, which seeks to address water
scarcity issues through the lens of human rights and gender equity.
P.A.C.E. also supports the company’s goal to transition all tier 1
suppliers to digital wage payments through its financial literacy
trainings.
For more information about P.A.C.E. please visit
https://www.gapincsustainability.com/people
About Gap Inc.
Gap Inc. is a leading global retailer offering clothing,
accessories, and personal care products for men, women, and
children under the Old Navy, Gap, Banana Republic, Athleta,
Intermix, Janie and Jack, and Hill City brands. Fiscal year 2018
net sales were $16.6 billion. Gap Inc. products are available for
purchase in more than 90 countries worldwide through
company-operated stores, franchise stores, and e-commerce sites.
For more information, please visit www.gapinc.com.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200224005180/en/
Mark Snyder Communications Manager, Gap Inc.
Mark_Snyder@gap.com
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