Portland, Oregon, U.S.A.-based Seafood and Gender Equality (SAGE) has earned two grants to improve diversity, equity, and inclusion in the seafood business.
The grants, which total USD 715,000 (EUR 643,000), are from the Builders Initiative Foundation and the Walton Family Foundation. They are intended to support the continued strengthening of SAGE’s Gender Equality Dialogues (GED) program over the next three years. The program, which was piloted last year in partnership with Fortune Fish and Gourmet, Acme Smoked Fish, and Seattle Fish, encourages companies to commit to three goals: championing diversity and equity; educating themselves on the ways in which traditional business practices can limit gender equity; and building workplaces that are accessible to and supportive of people of all genders.
The GED program is intended to help leaders in the seafood industry adopt policies that will lower barriers for women in the field. Only 4 of the CEOs of the top 100 seafood companies are women, according to SAGE.
Concurrent challenges facing the industry, from climate change to human rights violations, have “deprioritized introspection of [the industry’s] own role in improving the work experience of underserved people in the sector."
"However, all of these challenges are interrelated and can be addressed in tandem, especially when we band together," SAGE said in a press release.
SAGE Founder Julie Kuchepatov expressed the organization’s gratitude to the Builders Initiative and Walton Family Foundations for the grants, saying that they would allow more businesses to “evaluat[e] corporate policies and systems through an equity lens and enhanc[e] them to go above and beyond compliance.”
Walton Family Foundation Program Officer Leo Pradela said the foundation made the grants because it “is impressed with the companies in the GED and their commitments to building gender equality in the seafood industry."
"To find solutions that work for people and nature, we need the best ideas from everyone. The seafood industry has often left too many people out of the process," Pradela said. "Over 2,300 employees will be positively affected by the actions these companies take based on what they learned in the GED. We are excited to see this number substantially increase as other seafood companies step up and join future GED cohorts.”
SAGE is sponsored by Coastal Quest, a nonprofit that works collaboratively with partners to build resilient coastal communities, according to its website.
