Women in Sudan have not only been impacted by the country’s current situation, but by years of conflict, war, and other socio-economic restraints, all of which contributed to their exclusion, and underrepresentation in the public and policy-making spheres. Consequently, women’s imprint in leadership positions and decision-making roles remain weak. To make policy improvements and the consequential monumental shift necessary, an evidence-based approach must be adopted, calling for the need for robust academic research.

With this in mind, Haggar Stakeholders latest Forum was held as a conference titled: ‘Women’s Leadership in Sudan: Challenges and Opportunities’ in collaboration with the Middle East Centre (MEC) at the London School of Economics and Political Sciences (LSE) and IEL International on November 26th, 2022. The conference disseminated and discussed the outcomes of the first stage of the project on the barriers and enablers of women’s leadership in Sudan, a project conducted by MEC at LSE and IEL International.

Haggar Group periodically holds stakeholders’ forums through their Corporate Sustainability and Social Impact Department. These forums tackle and put multiple matters into the spotlight – especially ones that align with the Sustainable Development Goals we have been committed to – such as environmental issues, ethical corporate practices, gender issues, and so on. You can view our previous forums by clicking here.

November’s session opened with speeches by key representatives like Ms. Muna Merghani, Chief HR & Sustainability Officer at Haggar Group, HMA Giles Lever UK’s Ambassador to Sudan, Dr Souad Mohamed, Leader of the Women’s Leadership in Sudan Project at LSE Middle East Centre among others. The speeches delved into the historical and socioeconomic background of women’s experiences in Sudan.

Following the opening speeches, the main study results were disseminated by Ms. Aida Abbashar, Research Assistant at LSE and Ms. Hala Abushama Researcher at LSE and University of Khartoum. The presentations highlighted the project’s results generally as well as the Sectoral Analysis/ Industrial Brief and current context of enablers and barriers with an emphasis on barriers. Furthermore, some key points during the session highlighted that over the past 15 years, women’s representation in leadership roles remained low with explanations for the gender gap at the highest levels of leadership positions remaining unclear. The World Economic Forum reported in 2022 that unless women’s limited access to economic opportunities and regional gender gaps are addressed, it is unlikely that gender parity can be achieved in the next 136 years.

Later the floor was open for the audience and attendees to share their thoughts. The audience consisted of representatives from the private and public sector including notable public figures, NNGOs, academic institutions as well as those from UN agencies. Some commented on the privileges men have been given by society enabling them to excel and progress in their career paths. Ms. Aisha Musa Alsaeed, a notable politician and previous member of the Sudanese Transitional Government Council, mentioned that one key barrier is ageism, noting that some individuals are regarded as less capable of holding certain positions and carrying specific tasks due to their age or level of seniority.

Others in attendance also brought up the gap between decision making entities and authority figures and grass-root movements or organizations, leaving much of the public’s needs and issues being lost in between. Bridging this gap will lead to much needed fruitful collaborations and infrastructural change.

The forum presented a wonderful opportunity for society at large to view hard data that reflect a realistic image of the state of women from various backgrounds and lines of work. We were honoured to share this platform with LSE – MEC & IEL International and we are looking forward for the future progress of this project and the possible positive and monumental impact we believe it will create, something Sudanese women from different walks of life have historically been in much need of.

Learn more about this forum by visiting the Haggar Forums’ site here.

Haggar Group’s Corporate Sustainability & Social Impact Department is pleased to share the Carbon Inventory of its different business constituents for the year 2021.

The Carbon Inventory, taken since 2012, serves as a magnifying eye into all Haggar Group’s business units’ operations. It helps in tracking operations and in complimenting, as necessary, other policies, and frameworks –such as the Sustainability Index and Environment, Social & Governance (ESG) Policy- to set tangible metrics to measure progress in environmental activities.

It also paves the way for climate change interventions with relevant organizations to offset our emissions and reduce our carbon footprint.

Visit the link to read the full report and get acquainted with what Carbon Footprint is and what offsetting and mitigation efforts we are currently undertaking to reduce it.

As October of each year marks prominent celebrations of Breast Cancer awareness, it is also utilized to highlight another key health topic that is Mental Health.

At Haggar Group we highly value our Employed Persons level of comfort, happiness and the extent of their wellbeing, not only physical but also their mental well-being. We have had numerous strategies and policies in place to monitor, gauge and improve the satisfaction of our employees, such as our Employed Persons Satisfaction & Engagement Index (EPSI), measured through an annual ‘Make Your Voice Heard’ survey, formulated of a 36-questions survey and disseminated to all Employed Persons within our Business Units.

For the month of October we wanted to put more effort to emphasize the importance of mental health and help elevate the stigma around it. Throughout the month of October we have hosted multiple sessions on mental health awareness in coordination with Ahfad Trauma Centre. We had sessions in our different subsidiaries as well as our head offices. The sessions tackled mental health stigma, the recurrent day-to-day stressors and how we can cope with them by attending to our mental health hygiene.

Furthermore we have also utilized on our online platforms to raise awareness on mental health by collaborating with a Dr Fatima Ahmed, a Psychologist from the Ahfad Trauma Centre, to answer recurring questions around mental health and mental disorders – view video here.

We have also developed the Haggar Mental Health Newsletter; an elaborate online newsletter diving deeper into mental health awareness, with information on misconceptions, common mental disorders and resources for professional help, available both on our website and our social media platforms.

We believe steps like these may not entirely eradicate the stigma around mental health right away but they are crucial ones towards creating a more accepting and knowledgeable society that is well equipped to support those in on-going battles with mental disorders and preserving their mental well-being.

Sudan has witnessed its fair share of socio-economic hurdles, with high inflation rates it is undeniable there’s an ever-growing need for more income generating opportunities especially for marginalized members of society. Women have been held back by the on-going social norms and poor educational infrastructure leaving them struggling to empower themselves or attain opportunities for more economic independency.

Another marginalized group that has been victimized by the on-going socio-economic hurdles are People with Disabilities. With poorly equipped amenities and work environments and a passive attitude from society it has been a challenge for People with Disabilities to establish career paths for themselves in many fields, leaving them with little space to grow their skills and capacities or develop professional experience in their respective fields.

At Haggar Group we have sought to accept these challenges with open arms and create more opportunities for women and People with Disabilities by establishing the Haggar Inclusivity Programme, especially with our commitment to the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) number 1; No Poverty and SDG 5 Gender Equality. We pride ourselves in being an equal opportunities’ employer ensuring all our Employed Persons and applicants are treated fairly and consistently without reference to their race, religion, ancestry, marital status, gender, age, nationality, ethnic origin or disability. Our inclusivity programme aims to create an environment free of any kind of favouritism and one that is supportive of all members of our community bearing in mind each of their unique needs.

The programme is founded on understanding the circumstances and lifestyle demands of both women and People with Disabilities, for an example women going through unique and binding circumstances such as child bearing or having little to no access to higher education and/ or training and experience.

The programme kicked off on October 2022, as it is divided into two stages between the two main targeted groups, with stage one being reserved for women. We initiated our efforts by publishing a list of more than 10 training opportunities in different fields; Engineering, Marketing, Quality Assurance and IT among others. We have opened two platforms for applications; an online form and through our HR email for ease of use.

The turn-out was outstanding as we received more than 16,000 applications on our online forms alone. We are happy the initiative has been received in such a positive light. The feedback has reflected how truly driven and passionate many Sudanese women are but that in return they have had an abundance of obstacles, a reality we are working to switch around.

The first batch of women trainees are expected to start their training at the beginning of 2023 and with such a success and support from women we are more than confident in taking the next step into the second stage of the programme to provide opportunities and more avenues for People with Disabilities at the beginning of 2023.