Virtual reality (VR) plays a role in Artistic Milliners’ new training program to address gender-based violence and harassment.
The Karachi, Pakistan-based vertical denim manufacturer partnered with the Better Work Organization to kick off “A Holistic Intervention Towards Building Healthy, Safe and Respectful Factory Floors.” Launching as a pilot, the program engages workers and encourages critical thinking and empathy using a combination of VR-based behavioral learning, role-playing and games. Artistic Milliners is first to participate in the pilot of Better Work’s inaugural Gender Initiative in Pakistan.
Related Stories
The manufacturer said it reached out to Better Work for help creating a program that would support the company’s ongoing efforts to promote gender equality while preventing and responding to incidents of unacceptable behavior with “new methodologies and innovations.”
Using VR headsets, employees experience the workplace through their coworkers’ perspectives. The program is “designed to promote the recognition, prevention and response to unacceptable behaviors in an environment where men and women felt comfortable sharing, coming forward and interacting with their co-workers within and across genders,” Artistic Milliners stated.
A second component to the program is “Breaking Taboos Through Theater.” This activity encourages workers to participate, fosters critical thinking and empathy, and prompts people to examine difficult topics such as gender-based violence.
A total of 225 employees participated in the program and additional sessions are being planned for the future.
Better Work, a partnership between the United Nations’ International Labour Organization (ILO) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), aims to unite governments, employers’ and workers’ organizations, global brands, factory owners and workers to improve working conditions in the global apparel and footwear industry. Factories enrolled in Better Work participate in a learning process that includes assessments, advisory sessions, industry seminars and training.
Caroline Bates, country program manager for Better Work Pakistan, said Artistic Milliners has done “extremely well” and pointed out that part of the company’s success comes from its “very active management team.”
Artistic Milliners was among Better Work’s first partners in Pakistan and is one of the first in the country to pilot its Factory Improvement Toolkit. The company was also the first to participate in the pilot of Better Work’s inaugural Gender Initiative in Pakistan.
