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GENDER EQUALITY IN THE SUPPLY CHAIN

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COS stands for equality and empowerment. Throughout our tier-one supply chain (direct business partners and product-manufacturing partners), we contribute to the work of over 128,000 workers in 12 different countries. Each country has a unique culture, societal norms, legal contexts and levels of gender equality, which can result in women being more likely to be unemployed or have insecure contracts.


Having proper employment is one of the most important means for women’s empowerment and independence – with almost 65% of the workers in the factories in our supply chain being women, we have a responsibility to ensure that they are safe, healthy and empowered both in and outside of their everyday work environment.


We have collaborated with Plan International to develop our gender equality strategy for the supply chain. Together with the H&M Group, we have signed the UN’s Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEP) and we are working with our suppliers and other local stakeholders to support our supply chain to meet local laws and International Labour Organisation standards, while striving to reach the UN Sustainable Development Goals.


To create further impact, we have aligned with the H&M Group and Plan International’s strategy to identify four key focus areas: health and safety, career and development, equal pay, and representation. 

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We are tracking progress data for our Tier 1 supply chain and have already seen a positive trend against our 2020 baseline: 

WOMEN ARE SAFE

Women should always be safe and healthy both in and outside of their everyday work environment. We have helped to secure independent grievance mechanisms which enable workers to raise complaints beyond the factory and resolve conflicts. 


Access to external aid has improved by 10.7% versus our 2020 baseline, with 97.7% of all COS supplier factories delivering access to external aid. 

WOMEN CAN INFLUENCE

It is imperative to us that women are represented and have a voice. We have helped introduce regular committee meetings where workers can raise any concerns with management. 


The gender gap in our worker representation forums has reached -1.03% – an improvement of 7.2% since we started our strategy. 

WOMEN CAN ADVANCE

One of our core values is that women are empowered and get the right support to become leaders. 


The gender gap in supervisor roles is -11.2% – an improvement of 4.8% versus the 2020 baseline. 

WOMEN HAVE EQUAL PAY

At COS, we stand for equal pay for work of equal value. 


The gender pay gap in the COS supply chain is -6.7%, which is 1.4% better than our 2020 starting point. 

 

THE REPORT

To find out more about the latest progress in our gender equality strategy and download the 2024/25 report here. 

ARCHIVE

You can also read our past reports here: 

- 2023/24 report

- 2022/23 report

THE COS TOTE: FOR EQUALITY AND EMPOWERMENT
COS Tote
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cos tote bag detail

In addition to the above work, and to further support women in our supply chain, their families and their neighbours, we launched the first of our community investment projects in 2023. Using 100% of the profits from the sale of our COS tote bag, we have invested in partnerships with non-profit organisations to deliver projects that address key gender equality issues in communities surrounding our supply chain.

Find out more about the two initiatives that have benefitted from the funding in Bangladesh and Türkiye below.

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COS Tote

In addition to the above work, and to further support women in our supply chain, their families and their neighbours, we launched the first of our community investment projects in 2023. Using 100% of the profits from the sale of our COS tote bag, we have invested in partnerships with non-profit organisations to deliver projects that address key gender equality issues in communities surrounding our supply chain. 


Find out more about the two initiatives that have benefitted from the funding in Bangladesh and Türkiye below. 


SHOP THE TOTE
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Yanindayiz Dernegi, Türkiye


For the second year running, we are funding local organisation Yanındayız Derneği to deliver trainings to improve awareness and understanding of gender equality and gender-based violence and harassment (GBVH) issues in the workplace and activate men’s participation in the discussion. 


Since launching the initiative in early 2023, we have trained 7,251 female and male workers, including those in the wider community, and funded 78 training sessions on GBVH awareness.

Women and Girls

CARE Bangladesh

Since 2023, we have been working with CARE Bangladesh to fund Women Friendly Spaces (WFS) for women who work in our factories, including their neighbours and friends. These spaces provide education on GBVH, problem solving and decision making, stress management, Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) and food and nutrition. Additional activities such as inspirational talks by female role models, couple’s cooking competitions and street performances further boost the overall reach and impact. The project is a part of Oporajita – a wider programme initiated by the H&M Foundation. 

Since partnering with CARE, 2,595 people have been directly reached through WFS memberships and we have provided 2,540 women with foundational training on GBVH issues. 

Together with CARE, we will begin work to ensure these Women Friendly Spaces (WFS) are self-sustaining for the long term. 

 Photograph courtesy of Erik Stackpole Undéhn 

Women and Girls

CARE Bangladesh


Since 2023, we have been working with CARE Bangladesh to fund Women Friendly Spaces (WFS) for women who work in our factories, including their neighbours and friends. These spaces provide education on GBVH, problem solving and decision making, stress management, Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) and food and nutrition. Additional activities such as inspirational talks by female role models, couple’s cooking competitions and street performances further boost the overall reach and impact. The project is a part of Oporajita – a wider programme initiated by the H&M Foundation. 


Since partnering with CARE, 2,595 people have been directly reached through WFS memberships and we have provided 2,540 women with foundational training on GBVH issues. 


Together with CARE, we will begin work to ensure these Women Friendly Spaces (WFS) are self-sustaining for the long term. 



Photograph courtesy of Erik Stackpole Undéhn 

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