Strengthening the Safety Net: Anti-sexual harassment procedures removing barriers to women's workforce participation
In this case study, we explore how Deevabits enhanced its approach to employee safety and achieved remarkable success by implementing robust anti-sexual harassment policies.
As Deevabits set out to expand its operations from 12 to 32 counties in Kenya, the company faced a critical challenge: attracting and retaining women field staff. Extensive travel through remote areas raised safety and security concerns for potential women employees. To address this, Deevabits, with technical advisory from Value for Women, took action by establishing an anti-sexual harassment committee, crafting a comprehensive anti-sexual harassment policy and rolling out a training program for both the committee and all employees.
The results were impressive. Women field staff reported a 122% increase in awareness of whom to contact in unsafe situations. Additionally, now more than 4x as many women field staff feel confident in giving open feedback to their managers without fear of retaliation, and over 2x feel that disrespectful jokes will not be tolerated.
Deevabits’ experience underscores that prioritizing employee safety and dignity is not just a legal necessity but a cornerstone of organizational success and sustainability. This case study offers valuable insights and actionable strategies for other organizations looking to reduce sexual harassment risks and foster a safer, more supportive workplace.
Renée is a Portfolio Lead with Value for Women. She oversees, manages and delivers a global portfolio of innovative gender and business projects, working with impact investors, businesses, and entrepreneurial ecosystem actors. Renée brings to her work a background in financial and digital inclusion, innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystems, along with a passion for supporting women’s empowerment. She has previously worked with Cenfri as Project Lead for the i2i Facility in South Africa, as well as with Divitel in the Netherlands.
Shoshana is an Advisor – Knowledge Management & Communications at Value for Women. Shoshana oversees product conceptualization and technical writing for the organization's publications, ranging from research and evaluation reports to case studies and podcasts. Shoshana brings over 15 years of international development experience in both leadership and field positions across sectors, notably with the Inter-American Development Bank, Danone, Chemonics, TechnoServe and local non-governmental organizations.
Sophia drives project implementation and management for Value for Women advisory projects. She is a versatile and resilient professional, bringing a global perspective to problem-solving and communicating with diverse stakeholders, and has a proven record of ensuring high-quality, measurable results are achieved for Value for Women clients.
With over eight years of experience in market research, strategy development and communications in the agriculture, sanitation and renewable energy sectors, Carlette Chepn'geno leverages her experience to derive insights on strategies and entry points for gender inclusion for clients. Her expertise lies in project management, supply chain development, product and service development, business model development, and people management.
