International Women’s Day feature post by Morag Humble, Alinea’s Director of Health & Gender Equality, and Soyome Alemayehu, Gender & Nutrition Capacity Development Specialist for the Agricultural Growth Program-2 Capacity Development Support Facility, funded by Global Affairs Canada.

Choosing to Challenge gender inequality has been at the heart of both of our professional careers, which span more than 40 years combined. As the world marks International Women’s Day 2021, we are doing this work in a concrete way by supporting the transformation of gender roles with farmers in rural Ethiopia.

UN Sustainable Development Goal 5

Women smallholder farmers face many challenges in their daily lives, including inequitable access to and control over land, productive resources and information, as well as high burdens of household domestic labour. In this past year, the COVID-19 pandemic made their situation more precarious and increased women’s caregiving responsibilities. Currently, many women are struggling to keep their small agribusinesses alive.

Alinea is working in a hands-on way with women farmers to help them recover and grow their businesses. Through the Agricultural Growth Program-2 Capacity Development Support Facility, funded by Global Affairs Canada, we are using the Gender Model Family approach to bring together married couples or female household heads with older or adult male children to talk about the distribution of household labour.

Participants engage in exercises analyzing women’s and men’s roles and responsibilities, as well as access and control of resources and decision-making. Women and men then talk together about whether the distribution of work and benefits is fair for all family members, and if not, what could change to make the situation more equitable. This process leads to the development of household action plans.

Shukur Sherefa and Sadiya Radela

For men, this is often the first time they think about the many roles women juggle.

“I thought I was the only hard worker in the family, but now I realize that it is my wife who works restlessly for more than 16 hours every day,” said Shukur Sherefa, husband of Sadiya Radela. “This is the time to ask for an apology and stand with her for change.”

For women farmers, the household action plans create a new space for them to find time to focus on their businesses. They are excited to challenge the traditional gender-based division of roles in their families.

In addition to supporting this critical household transformation work, we are helping women’s small agribusinesses, referred to as “agricultural common interest groups” or CIGs, grow. We work with CIG members to plan ahead, set goals and develop strategies in the form of basic business plans. The process of building their plans helps CIG members understand how to increase productivity and profitability.

Barkede Gebre and her husband

“Now, we have a plan to scale up our business, and I have a husband who gives me a hand in my household work,” said Barkede Gebre, chairperson of one CIG.

The Gender Model Family approach was developed by SEND West Africa and adapted to the Ethiopian context by Alinea under the Small-Scale and Micro-Irrigation Support Project funded by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and Global Affairs Canada. The Women’s Affairs Department in the Ethiopian Ministry of Agriculture has now endorsed this approach.

In our experience, working with this tool is a powerful pathway to lasting change. It promotes gender equality at the household level, which creates positive impact throughout communities and society overall. Collectively, we #ChoosetoChallenge and support women smallholder farmers in rural Ethiopia.

alinea’s whistleblower policy

1.1 Purpose

The following Whistleblower Policy has been established to provide guidance to Alinea International employees and sub-contractors on how to deal with known or suspected improper conduct within the organization. The objectives of this Policy are to:

Create awareness of the Policy and available whistleblower protections
Act as a reference guide to potential whistleblowers wishing to make a disclosure
Define the structure of the whistleblower system, including reporting and investigation procedures, whistleblower protections, and confidentiality, among others
Improve the communication and transparency in the processes associated with whistleblowing and assure protection against derogatory consequences, namely reprisals and detrimental action
Complement the current communication channels between employees, sub-contractors and immediate managers, and hierarchical channels flowing to the President and Senior Management team
Provide guidance to all parties involved in either whistleblowing or whistleblower protection.

1.2 Scope

Alinea requires all employees and sub-contractors to observe high standards of business and personal ethics in the conduct of their duties and responsibilities. All employees and sub-contractors of Alinea are required to comply with applicable laws and regulations of Canada and the countries where we operate. Any allegations of known or suspected improper conduct or mismanagement of organizational resources will be dealt with in accordance with this Policy, and reasonable steps will be taken to protect those who come forward with allegations. Alinea’s Whistleblower Policy covers both internal and external whistleblowing, and establishes the controls and procedures for dealing with allegations of malpractice, fraud and violations of our code of ethics and/or laws or regulations that govern our operations. This Policy is intended to encourage employees and sub-contractors to report known or suspected improper conduct or mismanagement of organizational resources and to enable Alinea’s Senior Management team to address and correct inappropriate action. It is the responsibility of all Board of Directors’ members, the Senior Management team, employees and sub-contractors to report concerns about known or suspected malpractice, fraud and violations of our code of ethics and/or laws or regulations that govern our operations. This Policy is applicable to all employees and sub-contractors of Alinea International.

1.3 Reporting Procedures

Alinea recognizes the value of transparency and accountability in its administrative and management practices and supports the making of disclosures that reveal improper conduct or mismanagement of organizational resources. Our internal controls and operating procedures are intended to detect and prevent malpractice, fraud and violations of our code of ethics and/or laws or regulations that govern our operations. As detailed in Alinea’s Employee Policy and Onboarding manuals, employees and sub-contractors are encouraged to share complaints and/or concerns regarding ethical or legal violations with their immediate managers. If the employee or sub-contractor is not comfortable speaking with their immediate manager or is not satisfied with the response, they are encouraged to speak with the Gatineau or Calgary Office Managers, the Vice Presidents or, as required, the Chief Financial Officer. All members of the Senior Management team are required to report complaints and/or concerns about suspected ethical or legal violations in writing to Alinea’s Ethics Committee who has the responsibility to investigate all reported complaints and/or concerns. In the event that the complaint and/or concern is about the President, it should be raised by the employee or sub-contractor to their immediate manager or the Ethics Committee who will determine how the investigation will proceed. All reports will be promptly investigated and appropriate corrective measures will be taken if warranted by the investigation. Alinea’s Ethics Committee is responsible for acknowledging receipt of the suspected violation and notifying the whistleblower of the outcome of the investigation. Anyone filing a written complaint concerning suspected improper conduct or mismanagement of organizational resources must be acting in good faith and have reasonable grounds for believing the information disclosed indicates a violation. Personal grievances or complaints related to employment are not covered under Alinea’s Whistleblowing Policy. For cases such as this, employees and sub-contractors are advised to first refer to Alineas Employee Policy and Onboarding manuals when considering a disclosure under the Whistleblowing Policy. Any allegations that prove not to be substantiated and which prove to have been made maliciously or knowingly to be false will be viewed as a serious disciplinary offense.

1.4 Confidentiality

Maintaining confidentiality is crucial to ensure reprisals are not made against the whistleblower. Alinea is committed to safeguarding the identity of the whistleblower and to protecting the whistleblower against detrimental action taken in reprisal for allegations of suspected improper conduct or mismanagement of organizational resources. The Ethics Committee is responsible for ensuring whistleblowers are protected from direct and indirect detrimental action, and that the culture of the workplace is supportive of suspected allegations being made. Any employee who retaliates against someone who has reported a violation in good faith is subject to discipline up to and including termination of employment.

1.5 Review

Alinea is committed to implementing ‘best practice’ policies and procedures for dealing with allegations of suspected improper conduct or mismanagement of organizational resources (as defined by this Policy) and the management and protection of whistleblowers making allegation(s). This Policy will be reviewed periodically to ensure it meets the objectives of relevant legislation and remains effective for Alinea, and may be changed at the discretion of the Board of Directors at any time. For allegations of fraud, securities law, or human rights concerns, or when you are not satisfied or uncomfortable with following the Company’s open door policy, individuals should contact the Company’s Ethics Committee directly.

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IWD2021: #ChooseToChallenge gender inequality in rural Ethiopia

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