HanesBrands Inc.

No publicly available information was found regarding HanesBrands overall commitment to gender equality and women’s empowerment across its full value chain. The company does not disclose how it integrates these issues into its governance structure, strategy, processes or management systems, or how it engages with stakeholders to manage and improve its gender impacts.

The company has a gender-responsive grievance mechanism that reflects an understanding of gender roles and the inequalities women face in the workplace, for instance allowing concerns to be reported to someone other than the direct supervisor via a telephone line and ensuring non-retaliation and protection of the aggrieved party. It is also available in multiple languages. However, there are no details available regarding whether supply chain workers can access the company’s grievance mechanism or whether suppliers are required to have their own grievance mechanisms in place.

HanesBrands screens for gender-related issues among its suppliers, including sexual harassment and discrimination against women based on their pregnancy and marital status. It also requires corrective action to be taken if these issues are identified, with over 70 factories disapproved last year.

There is little information available to indicate that HanesBrands considers the fair representation of women in the workplace. Women are underrepresented on its board of directors (25%) and among its senior executives (13%). No information was found regarding the gender balance of the company’s overall workforce, senior management or middle management. Neither were details available regarding the gender composition of its workforce across occupational function or the gender breakdown of employee turnover or absenteeism rates.

The company offers professional development programmes with specific support for women through its annual Global Women’s Leadership Conference and the Women Mentoring Women programme. The latter provides networking opportunities and develops mentor relationships between women students at a local college and HanesBrands employees.

In the supply chain, HanesBrands addresses the systemic discrimination that women face and requires its suppliers to have a non-discrimination policy that explicitly protects married women workers. However, no details were available concerning gender equality in leadership in the supply chain or whether the company actively procures from women-owned businesses or takes specific actions to increase the procurement spend directed to these businesses.

Though no details were available regarding recognition agreements with local trade unions or collective bargaining agreements currently in place, the company expects suppliers to respect the rights of workers to establish and join organisations without risk of discrimination, harassment, interference or retaliation.

No publicly available information was found regarding how HanesBrands considers the fair compensation of women in either its workplace or supply chain or specifically addresses the gender pay gap. Furthermore, while the company allows employees to work from home when needed, there were limited details on how it considers other family-friendly benefits to support employees’ unpaid care burden.

In the supply chain, HanesBrands encourages suppliers to provide a living wage that covers workers’ basic needs and discretionary income, but it does not require them to do so. Moreover, no information was found on whether the company requires suppliers to offer key family-friendly benefits.

No information was found regarding whether the company covers additional costs surrounding its own women employees’ menstrual, sexual and reproductive or mental health needs.

Neither were details available regarding the company’s efforts to address the specific health, safety and hygiene needs of women workers in the supply chain, for example by requiring suppliers to provide adequately lit factory facilities, toilets separated by gender and personal protective equipment that considers pregnant and nursing women’s needs. Furthermore, HanesBrands has not made a public commitment to provide workers with gender-responsive health information and services, for example by requiring suppliers to have an on-site clinic with credentialed health providers.

In the workplace, HanesBrands seeks to prevent violence and harassment through its code of conduct. In the supply chain, the company requires its suppliers to prohibit violence and harassment, including sexual harassment, listing them as zero-tolerance issues that result in immediate remediation or termination of the relationship. However, no details were found regarding effective remedy for violence and harassment grievances reported by the company’s 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 HanesBrands 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.

HanesBrands provides limited information regarding its broader efforts to drive gender equality and women’s empowerment in the communities where it operates. The company partners with Child Care Foundation in Honduras to provide scholarships to several of its employees’ children, covering education, on-site medical services and childcare services. It has also made financial donations to Walk the Walk Worldwide, a breast cancer charity in the United Kingdom.

HanesBrands has responded to the COVID-19 pandemic by using its apparel design and manufacturing expertise to produce more than 20 million medical gowns to be distributed by the US Federal Emergency Management Agency to hospitals and healthcare facilities in need. The Hanes and Champion brands have introduced face masks for consumers and business-to-business customers. Meanwhile, subsidiary Hanes Hosiery is providing free stockings to vulnerable members of the community through the non-profit GLAM4GOOD.