BUSINESS FOR SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY: http://www.bsr.org/resourcecenter

This website is supported by a number of foundations and businesses to provide businesses with the information they need to understand and implement more responsible polices and practices among companies, and between businesses and other sectors. The Resource Center is set up so that it can be searched to generate reports on specific issues, such as discrimination and codes of conduct. The material is clear, well presented and easy to access.

 

THE CONFERENCE BOARD: http://www.conferenceboard.org

Founded in 1919, the Conference Boards two-fold purpose is to improve the business enterprise system and to enhance the contribution of business to society...striving to be the leading global business membership organization. They provide a variety of meetings and forums, as well as a professionally managed research program that identifies and reports objectively on key areas of changing management concern, opportunity and action. Their research report, Global Corporate Ethics Practices: A Developing Consensus, which can be ordered through the site, is very useful in understanding both theory and practice on corporate codes throughout much of the world.


CHRISTIAN AID - Gender and Codes of conduct: http://www.christian-aid.org.uk

This web site reports on rural women workers in firms supplying supermarkets in the United Kingdom.


 

THE ETHICS OFFICERS ASSOCIATION: http://www.eoa.org

EOA is a professional association of more than 600 corporation ethics officers. The site includes a listing of more than 400 companies that are members. Most of these companies are US based, but many have international operations. Most member companies either have Codes of Conduct in operation or are working toward that goal, and the codes typically mention equal opportunity employment.


ID21 SOCIETY AND ECONOMY: http://www.id21.org/society/index.html

This site is affiliated with the Institute for Development Studies at the University of Sussex. It reports on a number of development related issues, including women’s employment. They have published a series of brief reports on the conditions of women workers in fruit, vegetable, and flower production.


 

INTERNATIONAL LABOR ORGANIZATION (ILO): http://www.ilo.org
        The ILO is a UN agency whose trilingual (English, French, Spanish) site provides information on ILO conventions and recommendations on labor issues and access to key ILO datebases. It also provides up to date information in areas including freedom of association, the right labor law, working conditions, and occupational safety and health.


SOCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY 8000 / Council on Economic Priorities: http://www.cepaa.org/
This site reports on the efforts of the Council on Economic Priorities to develop common monitoring standards for multinational businesses on a series of issues including employment, the environment, and transparency.


WOMEN IN INFORMAL EMPLOYMENT - Globalizing and Organizing: http://www.wiego.org/
This site reports on the efforts of self-employed women and workers in the informal sector to achieve decent working conditions. They are especially interested in the situation of women working for the sub-contractors of multinational businesses. They have initiated a series of efforts to trace the value chains of large businesses from production through distribution to sale, and to link the justice concerns of Northern consumers to the treatment of Southern workers.


WORLD BANK AGRIBUSINESS AND MARKETS THEMATIC GROUP: http:// www.worldbank.org/edds.NSF/Agroenterprise/agro-guide/

This site provides information on agro-enterprise in developing countries. It does not currently treat employment issues.


WORLD BANK GENDER STATISTICS: http://genderstats.worldbank.org

This site provides basic country-by-country statistics on the situation of women and men. The tables can be downloaded and worked with in Lotus format.


 

WORLD BUSINESS COUNCIL FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: http://www.wbcsd.ch
        The WBCSD is a coalition of 120 international companies from 30 countries united by a shared commitment to the environment, and to the principals of economic growth and sustainable development. Their concerns include human rights and employee rights, and their report, Corporate Social Responsibility: Meeting Changing Expectations, has a wealth of practical examples of how companies are actually managing these issues, and why.