International Tea Day - Time to Talk About the Hidden Cost of Your Brew
The UK now drinks over 100 million cups of tea every day—but how often do we think about the people behind the leaves?
Across global tea supply chains, women workers continue to face gender-based violence and harassment (GBVH), poor pay, and unsafe conditions. At Women Working Worldwide, we’ve spent decades working to change this, including through our recent collaboration with THIRST, (the international roundtable on sustainable tea), tackling human rights abuses and GBVH in the tea sector – see our groundbreaking report – “Consent. Just consent then you can come to work”.
This #InternationalTeaDay, we reflect on the progress made—but also share our concern in the attached media release at the quiet demise of Typhoo Tea’s Fear Free Tea initiative, which had taken real steps to address these critical issues. We call on the rest of the tea industry to have the vision and values of the old Typhoo and work with us to make all tea fear free.
We stand with women tea workers around the world and call for renewed commitments to human rights, gender equity, and safe, fair supply chains.
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Chari
It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of our dedicated Trustee and sister, Tasneem Azad on the 11th May 2025. She brought a quiet determination and deep insight to the board and work of Women Working Worldwide, drawing on her experience of finance in the city and her belief in better rights for women; she will be much missed. Taken from us far too soon, we send love and condolences to all the Azad family at this sad time.
Women Working Worldwide
'continues to punch above its weight'
Oxfam Novib
Women Working Worldwide’s vision is of a world where equality is a reality.
Our core mission is to work in partnership with grassroots organisations around the world, to assist and empower women workers in global supply chains to claim their rights and gain decent wages for their work.
We work with companies to advocate on behalf of women workers, and we advise companies on how to best to meet their commitments to gender equality and women’s rights across their supply chains.
Contact
Contact
We are still working from home, for any enquiries or for further information on our work, please email caroline@women-ww.org or fill out the following form:
Women Working Worldwide
535 Royal Exchange,
Old Bank Street, Manchester,
M2 7EN
United Kingdom
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Tel: 07947808710
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"Consent. Just Consent.
Then you can come to work"
How GBVH enablers manifest specifically within the tea sector in this groundbreaking report.