REPORT: Danone, Ecosystem Fund and Ana Bella Foundation Project: Balance & Perspectives (2011-14)

PART ONE 07INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES

PART TWO 09PROJECT DESCRIPTION

PART THREE 15METHODOLOGY

PART FOUR 23THE PROJECT’S IMPACT

PART FIVE 57PROJECT EVALUATION

PART SIX 67CONCLUSIONS

ISBN 978-84-608-2813-6

This report contains an analysis of the social impact of the Ana Bella Social School for Women Empowerment (ESAB) in order to evaluate a project the Ana Bella Foundation and Da-none have jointly managed since 2011. Results are present-ed on: a) the impact of this project on the empowerment of participating women; and b) the operation of the project with-in its institutional and corporate context.

A qualitative analysis methodology has been employed to as-sess the social impact of the ESAB, using data from interviews conducted during June, July, and September 2014. We conduct-ed 46 interviews in total, including: 25 women victims of do-mestic violence participating in the project as brand ambassa-dors; and 21 other stakeholders directly involved in the project.

Our analysis seeks to understand the impact of the project on the process of empowering participating women. Empow-erment is defined as ‘the process by which those who were denied the ability to make strategic life choices acquire such capacity’. This empowerment has three dimensions: econom-ic; personal; and social. In each of these dimensions, we have examined how women’s participation in the project has contributed to their empowerment. Three successful aspects of the project should be highlighted:

1. Economic empowerment refers to the ability of a woman to gain economic independence by working in a job that pays enough to sustain a decent life for her and her family. From this point of view, the job opportunities Danone offers through the ESAB (understood as providing a ‘springboard’ for finding another long-term job) raised levels of self-confidence (per-sonal dimension) and confidence in social and community re-lations (relational-social dimension).

2. The personal dimension includes the variables of ‘self-es-teem’, ‘personal autonomy’, ‘active stakeholder’ and ‘emo-tional stability’. To empower comprehensively, it is essential to develop attitudinal as well as the material aspects. A certain level of ‘activation’ or ‘motivation’ is necessary to improve the situation of women who want to escape personal and relational submission. The participation of women with the ESAB has enabled a transformation in personal attitudes, since the wom-en have the support and accompaniment of professionals, the ‘positive testimonials’ of other women who have been through similar experiences, and help from volunteers.

3. The participation of these women in the ESAB has contrib-uted to improving their networks of relationships and person-al solidarity, while encouraging cooperation in change making improvements for all women. Through this relational-social di-mension, many women have regained the communicative and social skills necessary to relate normally with people around them. In this way, it has been possible for many women to overcome the barriers of introversion, as well as the conse-quences of fearful and even nullified personalities that were the result of years of physical and psychological abuse.

One of the aims of this triple empowerment is to achieve ‘pos-itive rotation’, understood as the process by which a woman who has a job through ESAB gives her position as ambassa-dor to another woman who has suffered domestic violence – so that the latter can become empowered. The initial limit of two years to complete this cycle of empowerment has not always been met due to the difficulties of finding jobs in the current crisis and job insecurity. However, some mechanisms for improvement are indicated.

Overall, the results of the project must be valued positive-ly from a triple perspective (social, economic and personal). Women participating in the project experience turning points that represent a ‘before’ and ‘after’ in their lives. These wom-en have welcomed the opportunity given to them and say that working as ambassadors has led to a major transformation in their lives.

This report concludes with an assessment of the project’s operation, strengths, and the factors that have contributed significantly to its success. Some aspects for organisational improvement are also identified. Recommendations that the various stakeholders could implement to overcome current difficulties are also made.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

7THE DANONE AND DANONE ECOSYSTEM FUND - FUNDACIÓN ANA BELLA PROJECT

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES

This study is being undertaken by the Instituto de Innovación Social (IIS) [Institute for Social Innovation]. The purpose of the study is to evaluate the project which Fundación Ana Bella (FAB) and Danone have carried out on behaviour since 2011. The foregoing Spanish acronyms will be used hereinafter to facilitate reading.

Specifically, the analysis of the Escuela Social Ana Bella (ESAB) For Women Empowerment impact has two aims: (1) to evaluate the social impact of the initiative on the empower-ment of women victims who have survived domestic violence [henceforth termed ‘survivors’ for the sake of brevity]; (2) to evaluate how the project works.

A) In particular, evaluation of the social impact re-quires identification of the extent to which participa-tion in the project has improved the personal, social and relational aspects of these women’s lives. The project will be considered as having had a social im-pact if the women have been empowered and their lives transformed as a result of taking part in the project. The impact on the women’s family settings and friendships and the extent to which survivors in-volve themselves in improving the lot of other women are also analysed.

B) Second, analysis of the way the project works is in-tended to furnish knowledge on what factors improve matters and lead to success. Here, the aim is to make recommendations regarding project implementation.

These objectives are simply two sides of the same coin, namely the process whereby a group of socially-disadvantaged women improve their personal and social circumstances after getting a job through Danone. The women become ‘brand ‘ambassa-dors’ and work with the public in promoting dairy products. This work helps the women improve their personal lives.

PART ONE

9

The Social School provides training for women survivors of domestic violence with a view to maximising their personal potential and providing job opportunities for the newly-em-powered women, thus contributing to firms’ socio-economic development.

The company Momentum Task Force works with Danone S.A., Danone Ecosystem Fund and FAB, acting as an outsourcing partner in creating and carrying out this project for empower-ing women survivors of gender violence.

A joint business plan was jointly drawn up in 2011 and the Ecosystem Fund and Danone undertook to fund and help the School in its first steps in creating a project for providing ser-vice to as many firms as possible and that could be sustained over the medium-term. From the outset, the Danone has been the School’s biggest client, creating 137 jobs.

The idea of setting up the School stemmed from a business need. Danone’s Sales Department chose a different project, drawing on professional advice on the firm’s products and their benefits for consumers’ health at the point of sale. Oth-er companies such as Font Vella, Campofrío, Bonduelle and Panaria joined this social change project later on.

The School began by offering catering services — with scope to employ up to thirty women. Later on, Ashoka, a non-prof-it entity that supported social entrepreneurship, facilitated collaboration with Danone. The 2011 pilot project proved a success and the next step was to train some 200 women as ambassadors for the Danone brand.

Also in 2011, Ashoka (an international non-profit entity sup-porting social entrepreneurship) facilitated collaboration be-tween FAB and Danone. The last two entities jointly set up the Escuela Social Ana Bella para el Empoderamiento de la Mujer [Ana Bella Social School for Women Empowerment (hence-forth ESAB). The Momentum Task Force joined the initiative. Since the success of the School pilot project in 2011, some 300 women have worked as Danone brand reps.

The School sought a paradigm shift in the employment of women victims of domestic violence. Traditional ways of find-ing jobs for battered women focused on low-profile, low-sta-tus, poorly-paid jobs. The School opened up a new path to employment through jobs as ‘Brand Ambassadors’ (reps) who worked with the public and had higher-status jobs. This ap-proach met both a business need (committed reps) and a so-cial one (jobs that empowered battered women, helping them rebuild their lives).

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

2.1. THE SCHOOL’S MAIN OBJECTIVE

The ESAB project for Empowering Women has been jointly created with Danone together with the Fundación Ana Bella (FAB) [Ana Bella Foundation] with the aim of creating a sustainable social company fostering the social integration of women survivors of domestic violence (‘survivors’). It uses individual coaching, empowerment workshops, vocational training and job opportunities to this end.

PART TWO

THE DANONE AND DANONE ECOSYSTEM FUND - FUNDACIÓN ANA BELLA PROJECT 11

2.2.1. GRUPO DANONE [DANONE GROUP]

Danone’s aim is to continue incorporating social initiatives in its value chain, given that it firmly believes in the projects twin economic and social dimensions. At present, projects with social impacts co-created by Danone and a Non For Profit Organisations (such as ESAB) are supported with the aid of the Danone Ecosystem Fund.

From the economic standpoint, Danone currently works with 56 'survivors' as brand ambassadors throughout Spain, boosting sales at points of sales, improving service quality, cutting absenteeism and raising customer satisfaction.

Danone was the first company to employ the women, who were hired to work as Danone Ambassadors at points of sale throughout Spain. This initiative has given jobs to over 300 women since September 2011. This is why ESAB and the Momentum Task Force won the Danone Prize for Best Service Provider in 2012. The initiative has yielded excellent results - a drop in staff turnover from 63% to 2% in 2013, a fall in ab-senteeism from 40% to 2%, and 97% positive feedback from the sales force.

2.2.2. FUNDACIÓN ANA BELLA [FAB]

The Foundation’s mission is to build a fairer society that is free of the scourge of domestic violence. One way of achieving this is to change the way society sees battered women, per-ceiving them as ‘survivors’ rather than as victims.

A key feature of the School’s project is that women are freed to realise their full potential in visible, socially useful work. As brand ambassadors, they are not employed because they are women but rather because of their personal qualities and their fortitude as survivors.

The Foundation publicises the testimonial of women survivors of gender violence as a way of improving women´s job and other opportunities:

«We are sick of seeing pictures of tearful women on the TV, with trembling voices and hidden faces — of women who are frightened to death. If you are being ill-treated and you see this, you think to yourself ¨If I go to the authorities, I will end up like that women’. A businessman or businesswoman will not recruit ill-treated women because he or she does not want tearful, fearful women working for the company», Stakeholder 6

The aim is to help women who have suffered domestic vio-lence from having to take menial jobs that will do nothing to empower them or take their rightful place in society.

ESAB´S HAS THE FOLLOWING KEY OBJECTIVES IN PURSUING THE EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN:

Empowering women at risk of social exclusion. Wom-en at risk of social exclusion — especially those who have suffered domestic violence — are given special personal and professional training at ESAB. Empow-erment workshops and one-to-one coaching are also used to help the women rebuild their shattered lives.

The School does its utmost to turn the women from ‘victims’ into ‘survivors’ by building on their strengths and helping them learn new skills for dealing with work and other pressures. These skills cover things such as body language, adapting to change, coming to terms with failure and overcoming difficulties.

Paradigm shift in employment for women who have suffered domestic violence. The School is aware that financial independence is one of the first steps to leading one’s own life. Accordingly, it offers jobs that involve working with the public and that are socially valued — such as that of brand rep. Since 2011, battered women have shown that they are committed and perservering in their work. Their work empowers them and helps them regain their self-respect.

Creating social and financial value with a view to pro-ducing a ‘multiplier effect’. ESAB not only uses train-ing and job opportunities to help women overcome the trauma of domestic violence. It also encourag-es the women to act as agents of social change and to serve as an example for other women who have suffered ill-treatment. The School thus encourages its students to help empower others.

At present, ESAB is seeking more companies who need em-powered, committed workers for carrying out commercial ac-tivities and promotions.

ESAB offers its clients:

Excellent, well-trained reps: they receive more hours of training in acquiring both professional and per-sonal skills.

Greater brand credibility given that the reps’ profile is much closer to that of potential purchasers in terms of age, interests, running a household and neighbourhood.

Greater commitment and far less staff turnover and absenteeism than is generally found in such pro-grammes. This is so because the reps are highly com-mitted and set great store by this job opportunity.

The most important challenge for the School at the moment is to hone the employment model to make it truly sustainable, attrac-tive and allow it to be scaled for other commercial partners.

2.2.3. AWARDS AND OTHER FORMS OF RECOGNITION

The ESAB project has received many awards and other forms of recognition. Some of the most recent awards are:

The European Business & Social Prize, Changemaker Ashoka Zermatt Summit 2014

ESAB has been recognised as the Best European Co-Creation Project with an economic and social impact.

It was awarded First Prize in the European competi-tion ‘Social & Business Co-Creation’, promoted by Ashoka together with the Zermatt Summit Founda-tion, Fondation Guilé, DPD and Boehringer Ingelheim.

Vision Summit — Social Innovation Award Berlin, 2014

FAB received the Vision Summit award on the 11th of September 2014 in Berlin. The award was for the Empowering Women project jointly set up by Da-none and Momentum Task Force.

Changemaker AshokaZermatt Summit ,2014

The ESAB was recognised as the Best European Co-creation Project in terms of socio-economic im-pact for companies.

The ESAB Co-creation Project for the Empowerment of Women won the first prize in the European Social & Business Co-creation competition, for which 338 projects were submitted and in which 34 European countries took part. The prize money was €20,000 and the award publicly acknowledged the social im-portance of the project carried out by FAB, Danone and Momentum Task Force in supporting survivors.

The competition (titled Social & Business Co-Cre-ation: Collaboration for Impact) was promoted by Ashoka, the world’s biggest association of social entrepreneurs, together with the Zermatt Summit Foundation, Fondation Guilé, DPD and the Boehring-er Ingelheim company.

Participation in Ashoka Changemaker WeekParis, 2014

The gathering was held in Paris in June 2014 and was attended by 100 Ashoka world leaders. Its pur-pose was to speed up social change. One of the people attending was Ana Bella — herself a survivor of domestic violence and who had been chosen by Ashoka in 2011 as a women entrepreneur. Ana Bella is leading the Ana Bella Foundation. Among other reasons, this recognition was accorded for the set-ting up of ESAB.

2.2. INITIAL PROJECT OBJECTIVES


Recognition by Spain’s Ministry for Health Social Services and Equality, 2013

Spain’s Ministry for Health, Social Services and Equality recognised the contribution made by Da-none in the ESAB project, together with the firm Mo-mentum Task Force, in combatting gender violence.

SERES Prize for Corporate Innovation and Social Commitment Madrid, 2013

Fundación SERES awarded Danone one of its prizes for best corporate strategic practices. In awarding the prize, SERES took into account the project’s contribu-tion in fostering social integration, transforming soci-ety and making innovations that create value for both society and companies.

Best supplier to Danone in 2012

Danone 3rd edition of its 2012 Supplier Awards (covering both Suppliers and Dairy Farmers), rec-ognised the excellence of collaborating firms.

Momentum Task Force and FAB received prizes for creating services for women survivors of domestic violence in collaboration with Danone and the So-cial School for Empowering Women.

Dona i Dona SealValencia, 2012

The Dona i Dona Seal is awarded by the Association of Business and Professional Women of Valencia (EVAP-BPW), a member of the International Feder-ation Business and Professional Women. The seal recognises companies that recruit women who face special obstacles to joining the labour market due to their risk of social exclusion.

These awards and other forms of recognition of the School’s work showed how collaboration between FAB, Momentum Task Force and Danone had built a model for a project with a big impact in the social innovation field.

15

A qualitative methodological approach was taken to evalu-ate the School’s social impact. Such an approach was ad-opted because it is the most suitable for in-depth analysis of subjective realities and the meanings individuals gave to the acts making up their daily lives. Specifically, the qualita-tive approach furnished information on how the women tak-ing part in the project built biographical narratives and gave them meaning. The women’s narratives were used to assess to what extent the women’s initial social disadvantage was transformed by taking part in the project. The women’s voices were thus used to grasp the project’s social impact.

This qualitative methodological approach is grounded on So-cial Constructionism, which is one of the emerging paradigms in Sociology. This paradigm maintains that individuals base their subjective constructs of social reality on objective con-ditions of existence. This means that the ‘ambassadors’ and stakeholders construct a narrative of their experiences so that they can grasp their meaning.1

The main information-gathering technique used in this study was in-depth interviews following a semi-structured script. Other research techniques were also used, such as: (1) par-ticipant observation (carried out in the workplaces of inter-viewees following standard practice); (2) documentary analy-sis; (3) gathering of secondary information. These techniques complemented one another and furnished supplementary in-formation on the same phenomenon.

The research followed an emerging design based on succes-sive findings arising from the various interviews. This means that each of the actors interviewed provided and reported on her own knowledge and information.

Last, one should note that the interviews were made of both the women directly taking part in the project (‘ambassadors’) and others involved (stakeholders). Interviewing ambassa-dors and stakeholders shed light on how both viewpoints complement each other. While the ‘ambassadors’ furnish information on daily practice, the stakeholders provide com-plementary information. Thus the description is enriched by nuances to form a whole that embraced the contributions of everyone involved in the project.

METHODOLOGY

1 For further information on this perspective, consult the book by Burr, V. (2007). Social Constructionism. London: Routledge, or another classic work — Berger, P. L., & Luckmann, T. (1966). The Social Con-struction of Reality: A Treatise in the Sociology of Knowledge. London: Penguin Books.

PART THREE


The sample used for the study is of the ‘theoretical’ or ‘inten-tional’ type. Altogether, 46 interviews were conducted. The inter-viewees fell into two clearly-defined groups, reflecting different points of view: 25 brand ambassadors and 21 stakeholders.2

Figure 1. Total number of interviews by type

The most important criterion used in selecting the sample was the quest for as many kinds of experience as possible to yield the widest range of viewpoints. Thus, the greater the dif-ferences between the interviewees, the greater the richness in points of view and the more relevant are the points they share in common.

Almost all of the interviews (93.5%) were held in three Span-ish autonomous regions: Andalusia, Madrid and Catalonia. Andalusia (Seville and Malaga provinces) accounted for 37% of the interviews, Madrid for 30.4%, and 26.7% for Catalonia (Barcelona Province).

Almost half (48%) of the interviews of ambassadors were con-ducted in Andalusia, while the remainder were split equally between Madrid and Barcelona (28% and 24%, respectively).

The interviews with stakeholders followed a different distri-bution from that of the ambassadors. Madrid accounted for 38.1%, while Barcelona and Andalusia accounted for 28.6% and 23.8%, respectively.

Figure 2: Interviews by place held and type of person interviewed 3.1.1. INTERVIEWS WITH BRAND AMBASSADORS

The number of interviews (25) with the ambassadors taking part in the project was sufficient to explain all the project’s complexity. The interviewees were selected to cover the wide range of conditions, situations and personal experiences.

Beyond the differences among the places where the ambas-sadors were interviewed, there were also differences in the time spent in the project and the interviewees’ ages.

While most (56%) of the ambassadors were still linked to the project at the time of the interview, 44% had left it and hence referred to it in the past tense.

Figure 3: Time spent by the brand ambassadors interviewed at ESAB

The sample revealed a very wide range with regard to time spent in the project. While some ambassadors had not yet begun working at the point of sale, others had been in the project from the start in 2011.

It is estimated that the average time spent by the interviewees in the project was 15.76 months (a little over two campaigns). However, one in five interviewees had spent only a few months in it — or roughly half a campaign. Roughly quarter (24%) had spent between six months and a year, and a third (32%) be-tween one and two years. The most veteran women — those spending over two years in the project — made up almost a quarter of the ambassadors interviewed.

Figure 4: Brand Ambassadors’ continuity in the project (%)

There was also considerable diversity in the ages of the ambas-sadors interviewed. While the average age was around 45, the interviewees ranged between under 30 to over 60. Practically women of all working ages were represented in the sample.

Figure 5: Ages of the brand ambassadors interviewed (%)

3.1. DEFINITION OF THE SAMPLE EMPLOYED

46% 54%

Steakholders

Total: 46 interviews

Ambassadors

44% 56%

No continuity

Total: 25 interviews with

Continuity

2 The classic definition of a stakeholder is “any group or individual who can affect or is affected by the achievement of the organization’s objectives” (Freeman, R. E. (1984) Strategic Management: A Stake-holder Approach, Boston, MA: Pitman). Nevertheless for the purposes of this case, I would say that a stakeholder is “A person or group of people who have a vested interest in the success of an organisation and the environment in which the organizstion operates” (Association of Project Management (UK) APMP Syllabus 2nd Edition, January 2000, Abridged Glossary of Project Management Terms (Rev.4)).

AmbassadorsStakeholder

12

5Andalucía

6

8Madrid

6

6Catalunya

1

0

1

1

País Vasco

Other(París)

Average of duration

15,76 months

32%

20%

24%

24%

Less than half a campaign(less than 6 months)

Between half and one campaign(from 6 to 12 months)

Between one and two campaigns (from 13 to 24 months)

More than two campaigns(more than 24 months)

Average of age

45 years

Less than 40 years

Between 41-45 years

More than 50 years

26.7%

33.3%

Between46-50 years 13.3%

26.7%

Total: 46 interviews


3.1.2. INTERVIEWS OF STAKEHOLDERS

There were 21 interviews with people who have some kind of direct involvement in the project. Most of these interviews were with stakeholders who had managed the project: Danone Group staff (5), FAB employees (5) or staff from the Momentum Task Force company (3 interviews).

Interviews were also conducted with other actors who knew the project first-hand. Thus, four of the interviews were with rep-resentatives of Public Administration (ranging from municipal services to ministries) and four with representatives of Civil Society (ranging from women’s groups to job agencies and or-ganisations helping those in danger of social exclusion).

Figure 6: Type of stakeholders interviewed (%)

This sample comprised 46 in-depth interviews with individuals whose circumstances, positions and experience differed wide-ly. This ensured a broad spectrum of viewpoints and approach-es to the issues. The number and range of the individuals in the sample thus allowed a fair number of interpretations.

3.2. CONCEPTUAL APPROACH

One needs to make an initial conceptual approach if one is to gauge the social impact of the project carried out by FAB and Danone since 2011. To do so, the following two questions need to be answered.

a. What do we understand by violence against women?

b. What is meant by ‘women’s empowerment’?

3.2.1. VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

According to UN General Assembly Resolution 48/104 of the 20th of December 1993, “Violence against women means any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to wom-en, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary depri-vation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life.”

This means that violence against women can take different forms and have different consequences. However, what all forms have in common is that they effectively limit women’s freedom and hamper their self-development. Violence thus lim-its women’s autonomy and opportunities for advancement. In practical terms, it boils down to harming women, their relations with others and their commitment to and membership of the rest of society.

Violence against women by their spouses and partners takes four basic forms: (1) emotional violence (especially involving bad language and behaviour) — whether by omission or com-mission — whose purpose is to intimidate, control or denigrate women; (2) physical violence (which includes all deeds caus-ing physical harm); (3) sexual violence (all acts or omissions threatening or harming a women’s sexual freedom and integ-rity); (4) economic violence (all deeds aimed at controlling a woman’s earnings or financial resources).

Violence perpetrated by a spouse or partner is more likely when the woman is economically or financially dependent. This in such circumstances, the woman faces stark choices and has limited options when deciding whether to continue or to end the relationship. A woman’s financial independence is even more limited when she has small children and/or does not have access to social support. The chances of her suffering from severe physical violence is higher under such conditions.

Even so, women’s control over resources and income may also lead to domestic strife. When the property owned and resources commanded by women do not dovetail with social norms, ten-sions and conflict in the home and between the couple may arise. This is particularly so when the woman is better-heeled than her partner — something that may be seen by the male partner as a challenge to his power and authority. In such circumstances, the man may resort to violence to re-establish his authority.

The sources of conflict that lead to acts of violence shed light on: (1) relations between men and women; (2) the demands wives make of their men and their expectations of them; (3) husbands’ prerogatives and power; (4) cultural beliefs on the relations between husbands and wives.

In any event, the origins and persistence of violence against women lie in a set of social norms and values that assumes male superiority and which results in power asymmetry be-tween the sexes to the detriment of women. These strong gender norms establish different socially-acceptable roles for men and women. In turn, this provides social justification for violence between women when one of the partners (usually the woman) does not meet the socially-assigned gender role. This gives the other party a pretext to punish the partner seen as ‘breaking the rules’.

In this violence against women, the survivors tend to blame themselves. Ill-treated women tend to assume that they are the cause of their partner’s violence and suffer depression, lack of self-respect, worry and difficulties in their relations with others — especially the opposite sex — compared with women who have not suffered from this kind of violence.

3.2.2. THE CONCEPT OF EMPOWERMENT

‘Empowerment’ is one of the ways of overcoming the disad-vantages women face. Empowerment is “the process by which those formerly denied the chance to take strategic decisions in their lives gain the power to do so”.3 Empowerment thus concerns the way in which women gain greater control of their personal, material and intellectual resources.

Empowerment must necessarily provide the means by which women gain access to the resources they need if they are to make informed decisions and take control over their lives.

3 Kabeer, N. “Resources, agency, achievements: Reflections on the Measurement of Women’s Empowerment”. Development and Change 30 (1999): 435–464.

23,8%

23,8%

14,3%

19%

19%

DanoneGroup

FAB

Momentum Task Force

Govement

Civil Society

Stakeholders interviewed: 21


Nevertheless, empowerment is not a linear process with a clearly-defined beginning and end that applies to all individ-uals. Rather, it is a process that each person experiences in his or her own way. It is shaped by each individual’s own history and context. In this respect, one can say that empow-erment stems from diverse experiences of education, organi-sations, employment and so on.

One should also note that empowerment is a multi-dimension-al phenomenon. In the case of women who have suffered from gender violence, it is clear that empowerment is expressed in public and private spheres and has financial, personal, social and psychological consequences.

Speaking generally, in analysing the project’s social impact, one can define three dimensions to the women’s empower-ment: financial; personal; social-relacional.

A) ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT

One of the things that can trigger women’s empower-ment is the availability of social and financial resourc-es. Having the financial wherewithal is an important factor but it is not the only one. Indeed, the relation-ship between empowerment and the availability of resources is a two-way street: access to resources facilitates the empowerment of women, while empow-erment provides access to both more resources and to new ones.

While it has often been said that working outside the home creates a double burden for women (especially if the woman has to look after young children), having a job makes women more financially independent and hence increases their freedom in other spheres. On the other hand, this financial empowerment protects women from gender violence — another benefit arising from the empowerment process.

B) PERSONAL EMPOWERMENT

Having a job makes the women feel useful, self-con-fident and optimistic about life. Having a paid job not only brings them income but also boosts their confi-dence and self-respect, which in turn reinforces the empowerment process.

The women feel self-confident and begin the pro-cess of ‘psychological empowerment’, have a greater chance of attaining their personal goals and are more likely to feel happy and thus overcome their initial negative self-image.

This kind of psychological empowerment helps the women change how they see themselves, take great-er care of themselves and become better at coping with the challenges that crop up. Self-confidence is what most influences their contentment with life and is even more important than material or social re-sources.

C) SOCIAL AND RELATIONAL EMPOWERMENT

After becoming financially and personally empowered, the women control their economic resources and have a more positive view of themselves and show changes in how they relate to others. They not only act more confidently in their relations but are also capable of getting involved in and mobilising self-help groups.

The involvement of the women in support groups fur-ther reinforces the empowerment process they have begun. A woman is capable of overcoming her circum-stances and getting involved in causes that improve the lot of others.

This social and relational empowerment also chang-es the personal relations the women forge. Some-times they re-establish old relationships that fell in abeyance during the period of domestic abuse. On other occasions, they forge new relationships based on greater equality.

Finally, once the empowerment process takes hold, the women are able to forge new loving relationships and thus overcome past painful, traumatic experiences.

These three dimensions of empowerment do not nec-essarily trace out a linear, cumulative process but rather are dynamically interrelated. Social relation-ships are the most important factor for feeling happy. The happier one feels, the easier it is to forge quali-ty social relations in at least three spheres: friends, family, partner. Likewise, when a woman is self-con-fident, she is more effective at attaining her aims — including job-related ones.

23

THE PROJECT’S IMPACT

The qualitative analysis of the interviews allows one to me-asure and calibrate the impact of the DANONE, Ecosystem Fund & Fundación Ana Bella (FAB) Project for the empower-ment of the women survivors of gender violence who took part in this study.

As noted earlier, gender-based violence stems from the social structure itself through various socialisation agents — family, school, religion and so on — which have repressed women merely for being what they are. It is also sometimes termed ‘male chauvinism’. It forms part of a patriarchal system (cul-tural mores) that gives men the whip hand over women.

This patriarchal model of relations between the sexes expects men to affirm their superiority (by showing strength, directing and governing, adopting an active role in the business sphere and taking a dominant role at home). By contrast, women are expected to play second fiddle in the public sphere and be submissive in the family circle. This mindset sees women’s role as little more than bearing children.

Paradoxically, growing equality between the sexes and the greater independence of women may be one of the main cau-ses of rising male chauvinist violence. Men’s fear of losing their authority over women and having their manhood ques-tioned by society are keys to understanding male aggressive-ness towards women.

4.1.1. GENDER VIOLENCE AND ILL-TREATMENT

One should distinguish between gender violence and ill-treat-ment. In legal terms, ill-treatment is considered the lowest rung on the ladder of gender violence. While there are some common factors to individual cases (alcoholism, drug addic-tion, mental problems) that can trigger or facilitate violence. Nevertheless, one needs to see male violence against women as a social problem.

Consequently, gender violence (or male chauvinist violence) is understood as violence perpetrated against women within the framework of a system of power relations. This system is characterised by inequality and discrimination by men against women. The violence against women may be of one or more kinds: (1) physical (2) psychological (insults, scorn, threats, harrying, intimidation; (3) sexual; (4) financial (control over the woman’s income, forcibly keeping the woman house-bound, etc.).

Most ill-treated women tend to suffer multiple risks of social and employment exclusion. Hence the need for an integrated approach to deal with such cases when they arise and to pre-vent other cases in the future.

As one of the interviewees put it: «As an ill-treated woman, you are treated like nobody and a good-for-nothing. But with the help of FAB and Danone’s Empowerment School, you beco-me a woman who can once again lead her own life»Ambassador 14

4.1. INITIAL CONSIDERATIONS

PART FOUR


4.1.2. GENDER VIOLENCE AND ILL-TREATMENT

The ill-treatment meted out to women through gender violence varies, as do the consequences of such abuse. One can say that those who are poorly-educated, have little or no work experience, have children or other dependents and have been unemployed for a long time are the ones who suffer most.

In any event, gender violence — as we have seen from the fo-regoing discussion — limits women’s freedom, hindering their development and chances of making a life for themselves.

Sadness, nihilism, bitterness, worthlessness and hopelessness are just some of the emotions found among battered women.

«I had stopped working because the company closed and I was laid off. I had two children and then there was the sepa-ration. Things seemed utterly hopeless»Ambassador 3

«I was shattered. I didn’t look people in the eye, I didn’t trust anyone. You retreat into your shell, you do nothing, you stay in, nothing matters»Ambassador 12

Your feelings show in little things such as how you dress, deal with others and look after yourself.

«I always used to dress scruffily...I felt I was under great bur-den when I walked the street»Ambassador 2

«When I was with him [her former partner], I was embittered and scorned»Ambassador 17

These personal situations that women have suffered this kind of violence contribute to create a cluster of personal disad-vantage conditions.

4.1.3. TOWARDS EMPOWERING WOMEN

Empowerment is a fairly complex term whose scope remains vague. In the case of women who have suffered gender vio-lence, empowerment involves a process designed to make women independent and give them control over their lives. In other words, empowerment allows women to take decisions (personal, financial and so on) and be aware of their conse-quences.

The purpose of empowering a ‘survivor’ is to transform an adverse situation into a much better one. As one interviewee acknowledged, the aim is to undo the harm caused:

«It is not that we wish to make superwomen who are stronger than their ordinary counterparts. Rather, we want to gradually repair the harm they have suffered»Stakeholder 11

Empowerment of women who have suffered gender violence is a complex, multi-dimensional phenomenon. It affects diverse aspects: employment; family networks and friendships, and a woman’s self-respect. The sundering of links with friends and family and being denied the chance of a job can turn women into little more than household slaves. They lose confidence in them-selves. One interviewee said, it was hardly surprising that «a woman feels humiliated when everything she does is criticised»Stakeholder 11

«In cases of domestic violence, the woman’s self-respect is very low whether it be in social, work, or personal sphere. We try to repair the damage, depending on how violence has affected the person’s life»Stakeholder 11

The ESAB’s women’s empowerment programme tries to undo the harm caused by domestic violence.

«You are bombarded with “You are a shit, you are worthless, you are this and that, nobody likes you...” It really hurts your self-respect. To make the Project work, women must realise they have a great deal to contribute, that they can do a job. It has even more merit in the middle of an economic crisis when even women without ‘domestic problems’ find it hard to get a job»Stakeholder 8

So, how can this project help empower women? This is the pur-pose of our analysis. At root, it seems to have mainly helped at the personal, relational and financial levels. It spurs women to ‘hit the street’ (for example, looking for a job), to forge new links with colleagues, bosses, clients, etc. One of the strongest signs of empowerment was that the women had rebuilt their circle of friends. In some cases, these friends were other sales staff, people they already knew or were even regular customers (once a bond of trust had been forged at the Point of Sale). The encouraging messages conveyed to the women by Danone (or other firm hiring them) gave positive feedback. Furthermo-re, customers were happy with the brand ambassadors’ pro-fessionalism and friendly manners. This message contrasted strongly with the scorn heaped on the women by their erstwhile partners. This all helped the women show their worth in their jobs and that they were qualified to do them.

In addition to these encouraging messages, Danone (or other contracting firm) gave the women positive feedback, which proved much more valuable than for other workers. Further-more, this set of inputs helped the women improve their job performance because such positive feedback was the opposi-te of the degrading treatment they had suffered during 10, 15 or 20 years of domestic violence.

The women enjoyed good treatment in their jobs as reps and the benefits of this were reinforced by therapy workshops, in which the girls worked on things such as: how they saw themselves; empowerment; self-respect; other aspects that helped them see themselves in a more positive light.

To sum up, the joint Danone-FAB project achieved integrated empowerment by offering the women jobs. This meant:

Recovering an active role for the women in the work sphere, giving them the chance of employment (which put them on the path to rebuilding their lives and finding a job in the general employment market).

Breaking with the forcible confinement of women in their homes. This led to the women ‘hitting the street’, forging links with others, working with the general public, coming out of hiding, regaining their self-respect (dressing up, using make-up, becoming more confident, etc.) and taking control over their lives (by making decisions).

Most importantly, preventing ‘double victimisation’ or ‘double stigmatisation’ of the women either when they were suffering ill-treatment or afterwards. The women thus became ‘survivors’ (strong individuals who had overcome the trauma and so could add value to the fir-ms employing them). This new paradigm meant going beyond pity to focus on the courage of these women, their positive attitudes and depth in overcoming ad-versity (with the help of psychological therapies, etc.) and making them believe in their future.

This section therefore sets out to evaluate the transformation undergone by the women thanks to the Danone-FAB project. To this end, we analyse to what extent the women taking part in the project have changed the way they see themselves, social realities and where they fit. The aim was to discover how par-ticipation in the project empowered the women and fostered individual and family welfare, health and social development. In other words, the idea is to find out whether the project pro-duced a ‘before and after’ in the women’s lives and whether there were ‘success stories’ in the three dimensions (financial, personal, and social-relational) of the empowerment process.


4.1.4. A TRIPLE EMPOWERMENT

Women’s empowerment, despite its complex terminology, has three dimensions which can analysed separately.

Figure 7. Dimensions of women’s empowerment

A) THE FINANCIAL DIMENSION: this includes the finan-cial independence gained by women through getting a job that pays enough to make a decent life for them and their families. This dimension is also the key to putting the shattered women’s lives back together. The job offered by Danone acts as a springboard, boosts the women’s self-confidence (personal dimen-sion) and social relations with their circles and the wider community (relational-social dimension). Howe-ver, the project must be wider in scope so that it not only provides work but also covers the various factors (personal, social networks, etc.) bearing on domestic violence and the trauma it leaves in its wake.

B) THE PERSONAL DIMENSION: this includes the ‘self-respect’, ‘personal freedom’, ‘active agency’, and ‘emotional stability’ variables. Integrated em-powerment goes beyond material considerations and requires a change in attitude. ‘Activation’ and ‘mo-tivation’ are needed to overcome the situation. The women co-operate with and are supported and ac-companied by professionals, by ‘positive witnesses’ (other victims), and by volunteers. They are therefore not alone on the path to empowerment. Here, there are synergies between the personal dimension and the relational dimension (support groups).

C) RELATIONAL-SOCIAL DIMENSION: this includes the following dimensions: ‘agent of change’; interac-tion/sociability; ‘participation in associations (NGO) and/or media’, ‘social recognition’, ‘social stigma’, ‘visibility’, ‘accompaniment’, ‘support groups’. When women escape from the housebound lives imposed on them by their partners, it means they communica-te and socialise with others, (whether they be other women who have suffered ill treatment, people in ge-neral, work mates, clients, neighbours, family, etc.). Put baldly, it means the women recover communi-cation skills so they can interact normally with the people around them on a daily basis. At the same time, it helps break down the barriers that women (who are often introverted, frightened and unwilling to express opinions) erect after years of abuse.

In other words, the School’s aim (to foster the social and labour re-incorporation of ‘survivors’) has been a success, empowe-ring the women who took part.

Through this empowerment process, the women put their stren-gths and abilities into action, recovering their self-confidence, and taking the first steps in beginning a new life of freedom. In FAB, women receive individual and group coaching on their life project, empowerment workshops, vocational training, and the chance of a first job as a Danone brand ambassador at a Point of Sale. This job fosters social integration and helps make the women feel they are part of a team and gives them a measure of financial independence.

The empowerment process does not necessarily depend on women’s education and training. What characterises gender violence is that it is part of the structure of society and is en-demic to all social groups. Nevertheless, its consequences for women are the same.

«There are many women who are university graduates who are shut up at home and are at their wits’ end, with no idea of what they should do. They have a profession but what good is that if you your nerves are shot to hell and you lack the tools to make your own way in life?»Stakeholder 1

The School provides the tools, personal support and individual coaching needed to get the women to discover their skills for themselves. It therefore constitutes training that complements the women’s participation in the labour market and the em-powerment it offers.

«We are speaking of people who are undergoing radical chan-ge. I could recount many such cases. Paqui is one. Irene from Granada is another — she was stuck at home, now she is taking the second year of a degree in Pharmacy»Stakeholder 1

The Danone project focuses on helping the survivors of gender violence to rebuild their lives. Such violence accentuates the couple’s financial interdependence, damaging women’s self-es-teem and self-image. This is why the project offers women jobs, which both confer a measure of financial independence and en-hance the survivors’ self-image. As noted earlier, both aspects are closely linked.

The project’s impact is less important in terms of financial independence (which is hard to achieve on the modest wage alone) and more significant in terms of boosting the women’s self-image. Communication with work mates and clients enri-ches relations and thus helps the women see themselves in a more positive light. In any event, the job acts as a financial springboard, opening up better prospects.

This springboard job is only for two days a week but even so, it bars them from receiving RAI (a State Benefit in the form of a training job ‘wage’). On the bright side, their job changes how they see themselves and give them the chance to become ac-tive agents of change.

4.1.5. THE PROCESS FOR ANALYSING INTERVIEWS

Last, one should note that this report thoroughly analyses the 46 in-depth, semi-structured interviews of the women taking part in the project and of stakeholders.

The Atlas/ti computing programme was used to code the interviews to systematise the information obtained in the fieldwork and thus establish links among the phenomena. A systematic interpretation was made after information coding and analysis, yielding a general explanation of the ESAB Em-powerment Project´s social impact.

We used 42 codes to classify and analyse the interview re-sults. The codes are used to summarise the complex informa-tion emerging from the interviews. The codes are listed below. Their meaning is spelt out in later sections.

FINANCIAL DIMENSION

PERSONAL DIMENSIONWOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT

RELATIONAL-SOCIAL DIMENSION


The codes were grouped into three Code Families based on the three dimensions defined in the empowerment study of survi-vors described earlier. The number of quotations linked to this code family is given for each dimension. This figure shows the number of times these items crop up in the 46 interviews. The number gives information on the aspects that crop up most in the interviews.

One should note that this report only discusses those codes that were most significant for the purposes of this study.

Table 1: Codes used in analysing interviews

FINANCIAL DIMENSIONQuotation(s): 293

PERSONAL DIMENSIONQuotation(s): 138

RELATIONAL-SOCIAL DIMENSIONQuotation(s): 193

Codes (15):

• Company subsidies

• Conflict of interests: Danone-FAB

• Work-life balance

• Working conditions

• The economic crisis in Spain

• Employability

• Work expectations

• FAB-Danone training

• Incorporation in the job market

• Education and work experience

• Achieving normality through work

• Risk of ‘making do’/’putting up’

• Profile of women in the Danone Brand Ambassadors Project

• Springboard Job: pros

• Springboard Job: cons

Codes (4):

• Active agent

• Self-esteem

• Personal freedom

• Emotional stability

Codes (12):

• Accompaniment

• Agent of social change

• Support Groups

• Interaction-Sociability

• Media participation

• Participation in organisations

• Risk of dependence-paternalism

• Risk of stigmatisation: work sphere

• Risk of stigmatisation: Support Group

• Social Recognition

• Relationship with partner

• Visibility versus Invisibility

CODE (I) CODE (I I)

1. Accompaniment 22. Social report

2. Public Administration 23. Entry to the labour market

3. Active agent 24. Interaction-Sociability

4. Agent of social change 25. Education and work experience

5. Aspects of the Project to be improved and changed 26. Achieving normality through work

6. Self-respect 27. Participation in the media

7. Personal freedom 28. Participation in organisations

8. Company subsidies 29. Risk of getting into a rut/making do

9. Certification of ill-treatment 30. Risk of dependence-paternalism

10. Conflicts of interest: Danone-FAB 31. Risk of stigmatisation: the work sphere

11. Work-life balance 32. Risk of stigmatisation: Support Group

12. Working conditions 33. Risk of stigmatisation: State aid

13. The economic crisis in Spain34. Profile of women taking part in the Danone Brand Ambassador Project

14. Definition of empowerment 35. Social recognition

15. Employability 36. Rehabilitation of ‘wife-beaters’

16. Empowerment 37. Relationship with partner

17. Emotional stability 38. Springboard job: cons

18. Social stigma 39. Springboard job: pros

19. Employment expectations 40. Generally positive assessment of Project

20. FAB-Danone training 41. Gender violence

21. Support groups 42. Visibility versus Invisibility

Table 2: Summary of the codes by dimensions


4.2. FINANCIAL EMPOWERMENT

The evaluation of financial empowerment seeks to establish the extent to which the Danone Brand Ambassador job open-ing: (1) gave the women financial freedom; (2) triggered per-sonal and social-relational empowerment. It also considers: (a) whether the job acts as a springboard to other kinds of employment; (b) the working conditions offered by Danone; (c) the women’s experiences in doing this job.

The interviews reveal that the Project participants took advan-tage of the opportunity to enter the labour market. Neverthe-less, the economic crisis means they find it just as hard to find jobs as everyone else.

Figure 8. The dimensions of economic empowerment

4.2.1. THE IMPORTANCE OF WORK

The financial empowerment provided the job helps the wom-en achieve other personal goals. First and foremost among these is having work:

«We know that work is important if one is to lead a decent life» Ambassador 1

Work provides dignity and recognition. It boosts self-confidence and facilitates personal relations. In the case of victims of do-mestic violence, having a job is even more important. That is because is a tool for rebuilding a shattered life and making a new start. Having a job often prevents domestic violence by reducing the women’s dependence on their former partners.

«It is vital that a victim of domestic violence and any woman for that matter has a job. Financial independence is key. One of the main reasons why women are ill-treated by their part-ners or become dependent on them is because they have no earnings of their own»Stakeholder 5

«The job has helped make me independent — wholly indepen-dent. That gives me great strength»Stakeholder 2

Women who have a job and an income can develop and recov-er more quickly from the psychological scars left by domestic violence.

«Financial independence is key because often there psycho-logical dependence. The fact is, a psychologically dependent women with financial means is easier to ‘recover’ than one who lacks them and is financially dependent on someone else»Stakeholder 5 «A job is a way of getting on the path to recovery. Furthermore, it gives you a great deal of strength. In other words, work is everything»Stakeholder 6

As a result, the women who have gone through the School for women empowerment have undergone one of the most important therapies on the path to recovery. The job has en-abled them to overcome the fears, frustrations and memories that stopped them leading a normal life.

«It was a therapy working there, it really was. One day, I said to myself, “the next he comes by, I will talk to him”. He often turned up but I didn’t go over to him or he walked up to the stand and I stacked yoghurts on the shelves instead of chat-ting to him. I finally plucked up courage and chatted to him. He was about the same age as my former partner. It came as a pleasant surprise to find he was really nice — not all men are the same. It was like a therapy, it did me a world of good»Ambassador 13

The Danone job gives the women income, a kind of therapy and helps them learn skills that are useful in their personal and work lives. It is a job that helps them recover their dignity and learn new skills and discover their aptitudes.

«When they gave me the job, I was over the moon because women who suffer domestic violence feel very low. It’s a job I like and it is like a therapy. When you are on the job, you are recovering your strength and self-esteem»Ambassador 1 «It was a therapy and a life challenge. I was happy I had start-ed on the path to recovery. Many women can lead a decent life thanks to the Danone Project»Ambassador 10

4.2.2. THE TRAINING GIVEN

The brand ambassadors are given special training at the be-ginning of every campaign. Normally, the women’s training covers sales techniques, customer service and the nutritional nature and benefits of Danone products.

The sales/customer service training is carried out by School staff based on materials and other support provided by the Momentum Task Force. It is aimed at all the women in the School, including those who may take part in the campaign in the future.

The training is compulsory and is held two or three times a year. The first training course is held at the beginning of the campaign and later courses build on this and cover the launch of new products. Danone nutritionalists cover features in the sessions on the company’s products.

The first course is given at the beginning of each campaign and the two remaining ones are ‘booster courses’ which go over the same ground. These ‘booster’ courses are turned to advantage to speak of products that have been added to the line and of ones that have been withdrawn. Information is also given when a special campaign on a product is under way and for which extra knowledge is needed.

Other special training covers the campaign approach and the daily work of the staff from when they arrive at the Point of Sale to when they leave. It provides practical tips on how to get through the security gates at the workplace, uniform, shelf-stacking, how to place dairy products, approach custom-ers and even how to fill in the weekly report.

Apart from this training, the brand ambassadors attend FAB workshops designed to further progress at work.

«Training is one of the things that works well», said one of the interviewees»Stakeholder 17

TRAINING

WOMEN PROFILE

SPRINGBOARD JOB: PROS

WORK-LIFE BALANCE

LEVEL EDUCATION

JOB EXPECTATIONS

RISK OF ACCOMMODATION / CONFORMITY

WORK EXPERIENCE

WORKING CONDITIONS

WORK-LIFE BALANCE

WORKING CONDITIONS

SPRINGBOARD JOB: PROS

RISK OF GETTING INTO A RUT

POSITIVE TURNOVER

ECONOMIC CRISISIN SPAIN

BONUSES COMNANIES

EMPLOYABILITY

FINANCIALDIMENSION


Not surprisingly, training is a core function. When the School began, it started by training its trainers. At the beginning of the Project, training fell to Momentum Task Force, but now ESAB gives training on its own. In any event, Danone and Mo-mentum Task Force staff are always on hand:

«We attend each training course to see if they need anything but School staff give the courses. In that respect, the School now runs the show,” noted someone from Momentum Task Force»Stakeholder 17

The training seems to have yielded results:

«The good thing is that the women receive excellent training. (…) They are very well trained»Stakeholder 18

«There are women who have spent so much time on the job that they know everything. Some of them even put the nutri-tionists right»Stakeholder 17

«Given that we have spent a lot of time in the Project, we know the product inside out. I think we know the product and the line very well indeed»Ambassador 15

The training given to the survivors is another element in their empowerment. While the training is aimed at performing spe-cific work tasks, it also helps foster the women’s potential.

«With the training, I can persuade a customer to buy Danone rather than Activa [another brand of yoghurt]. I don’t only con-vince the customer but also myself. That gives me the self-as-surance I need to ‘sell’ the product»Ambassador 14

«The course was wonderful. It did me a lot of good — it gives you confidence»Ambassador 19

«There is the case of a girl in Málaga. She is a gypsy and had almost no schooling but she is a great saleswoman because she spent her whole life selling stuff in markets. In the last course, she said “I want to thank you”. I replied, “What do you have to thank me for?”. She answered, “I have spent my whole life selling but I have never spoken as well as I do now”. She

said, “These sales techniques have really improved my sales patter”. It was an eye-opener»Stakeholder 1

The training is held in high regard by both the trainees and the stakeholders.

Nevertheless, some people have been at the School for some time and there is the risk that they may provide too much information or lose interest. This is why new training methods and contents have been introduced — for example, the use of gaming approaches in the training preceding the 2014 campaign.

«How many times have you attended a training course and said to yourself “Not again!”. That is why changes are needed to make the training different »Stakeholder 17

Another way training could be improved is to cover new prod-ucts. Maybe the company’s urgent needs at Points of Sale mean there is not enough time to give training: In these cas-es, training is carried out over Skype or by telephone when presence-based training proves impractical.

«When they bring out new products — for example, in the sum-mer — we need training. Danone should give training on the new products that are coming out»Ambassador 13

«For instance, let’s say they bring out a Danonino product [mini-yo-ghurt for kids]. You know about the strawberry one because it has whipped fruit and is creamier. The fruit is whipped because it is easier for kids to eat. The strawberry is natural and the yoghurt creamier. Finally, I asked my supervisor, “So what do we say about the natural yoghurt”. He said. “Say it is a treat”. So I came up with: “The natural yoghurt is so creamy it is a treat to eat»Ambassador 13

On other occasions, there are no sales arguments or the brand ambassador has no answers to the customer’s questions. However, one can always refer the shopper to the company’s Customer Service Line. This tends to occur when reps ask highly specific or technical questions about a given product.

The brand ambassadors get asked such detailed ques-tions that it is very hard to come up with answers. That is when they ask you what they should say. They realise that if they don’t know the answer, they should not make one up. Danone has a Customer Service Line. A brand ambassador may ask a very specific question — such as: “A customer wants to know if this product is safe for diabetics, what should I say?” If the girl taking the call does not know, she will answer “You should call this number and they will tell you straight away”. This lets the brand ambassador off the hook, especially if it is a health-related issue» Stakeholder 18

Finally, another area where the interviewees thought the School could improve was in the monitoring of the training given. With this mind, each rep has details of the courses and workshops she has attended. These are set out in a so-called ‘training passport’.

«The only thing I would ask them to do is keep a record of the woman’s training history. It would be like a ‘passport’ and easy to put into effect. It could put: “She is currently taking the brand ambassador course, the nutrition course (4 hours), course ‘X’ (two hours), sales techniques course (one hour), empowerment course, and so on» Stakeholder 14

In addition, this information (which is available to reps) may help the women in their search for other jobs. That is because diplo-mas and certificates specifying the duration, dates and subject of training would likely be of interest to a prosepctive employer.

4.2.3. EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY: SPRINGBOARD JOB

What does a ‘springboard job’ mean in the context of the Da-none project? The job is no ordinary one. Rather, it is because it is a two-year programme in which women act as brand am-bassadors, receive training, psychological support and other help from FAB.

The job was conceived as a bridge to regular employment, not as an end in itself. FAB’s job-training workshops encour-age the women to ‘leave the nest’ and even help them get a better job.

Thanks to the opportunity provided by the springboard job, some of the women have been able to find a normal job and thus enter the labour market. In other words, they have en-tered (or re-entered) the job market and have been financially empowered as a result.

Some of the interviewees have been able to make a quali-tative leap into service sector jobs (for example, as cooks, supermarket till girls, saleswomen, telephone customer care workers, waitresses, cleaners, etc.).

«Some women found work — for example in Carrefour hyper-markets. If they see someone who is a good worker, they put her on the till. There are people who have seen how well they work and have snapped them up»Stakeholder 14

«When Carrefour [supermarket chain] sees a woman on the Danone stand and is interested in recruiting her, it is good news for us (…) Carrefour sees the kind of person you are, takes you and gives you greater opportunities and more work»Stakeholder 11

There are even entrepreneurs, who have taken the plunge and opted for self-employment. These women are the so-called ‘success stories’. For them, the springboard job was not only a stepping-stone to better posts but it also paved the way to working in a co-op or starting up their own businesses (for ex-ample, in the interior decoration, catering, hairdressing, and dance school sectors).

An example of this kind of entrepreneurship can be seen in a project for setting up a furniture firm. The project was begun by two women who took part in the School and are interior designers.

4 The idea is basically to use game methods to enchance motivation, concentration, effort, loyalty and other values fostered by games (Cfr. Deterding, S., Dixon, D., Khaled, R., & Nacke, L. (2011, September). “From game design elements to gamefulness: defining gamification.”, Proceedings of the 15th International Academic MindTrek Conference: Envisioning Future Media Environments (pp. 9-15). ACM.


4.2.4. EVALUATING THE JOB OPPORTUNITY

The interviews reveal that the brand ambassadors have both positive and negative views of their jobs. However, the pos-itive views predominate with regard to the way the job em-powers the women in financial, personal and relational-social terms. The negative views are in a minority but are significant nonetheless.

In general terms, the brand ambassador job gives the women a degree of financial independence, which is needed if they are to become empowered.

«For me, personal empowerment was key when I got the job»Ambassador 9

A rep’s job consists of promoting all the usual products on Fri-days and Saturdays. The task is to give customers information on the various products stocked on the shelves in order to boost sales. Apart from tendering advice to customers, the reps also hand out discount cupons and organise product tastings.

The main features of the job were analysed prior to carrying out the evaluation. For this purpose, the following eight di-mensions of this kind of work were taken into account:

1. ENTRY INTO THE JOB MARKET

First of all, one should note that the job is an opportunity to enter the labour market from which many women have been excluded for years. There are many women for whom this is their first chance to work after separating from their partners as a result of domestic violence.

The job is therefore aimed at women who are hard up and may be an effective way of getting them into paid employment:

«We came up with this job for women who lacked financial re-sources and as a way of getting them into the labour market»Stakeholder 7

The post is sometimes the first proper job for many women, who have either not worked before or have only done casual jobs (for example, as home helps). «There are women who have never worked before, have nev-er made Social Security contributions. Their first job is with Danone» Stakeholder 1

Those who have not worked before or who have been unem-ployed for a long time have been excluded from the labour market and the chances of finding a job are remote — espe-cially in the case of older women.

The problem of having no previous history of employment is made worse by domestic violence. Working as a brand am-bassador therefore has special meaning for these women. In such circumstances, the women interviewed saw the chance of a job in a very positive light.

«For those who have not suffered domestic violence, it is hard to grasp what this job means. The women in the programme see it as a golden opportunity and our experience with them has been very positive»” Stakeholder 2

«For older women who have not worked for a long time, this job is a chance to get back into the labour market»” Ambassador 21

Contact with the labour market is a chance to learn new skills and adapt to a new setting and pace of work for most women. However, one of the most important advantages of getting a job is that it lets women plan their future.

«We are trying to get a firm called Ana y Elvira off the ground. What we do is pick up old furniture. We do not restore it but rather make new furniture from old, coming up with new cre-ations in the process. In a way, there is a social message. It is that ill-treated women may feel they are good-for-nothings but with the help of FAB and Danone’s Empowerment School, they can rebuild their lives and forge ahead» Ambassador 14

To some extent, working as a Danone brand ambassador for two days a week during campaigns is simply a way for the women to rebuild their lives. It is the first link in a chain that leads to full empowerment.

«The job is the first link in the chain. It is a means to an end. Remember that some of our women have been out of the la-bour force for a long time. It is a path back into employment. Moreover, it is compatible with their family commitments. It also gives them a small income. The job is well-paid if one compares it with what is being offered elsewhere in today’s depressed labour market. Clearly, if they can find a second job, they are not going to stop at working just two days a week. The job should be seen as a springboard»Stakeholder 7

The job became a springboard for the women, giving them the chance to get a better job and climb the social ladder. This springboard was conceived as a way of getting into employ-ment and empowering the women in all three dimensions: financial, personal, relational-social.

Nevertheless, the economic crisis and the shaky nature of new jobs has made it harder to enter the labour market. The women’s main aspiration is to get a full-time job — preferably a Monday-to-Friday one. Unfortunately, it is a wish many wom-en will be unable to fulfil.

«I would like to have at least one job from Monday to Friday but it could also be Saturday — I am not fussy. I would like to work every day, just like everyone else»Ambassador 3

«I realise it is a springboard to get another job but some peo-ple cannot find other work. I know, because I have been work-ing solely with Danone for the last three years»Stakeholder 12

The incorporation of survivors into the labour market was one of the key objectives in the multi-disciplinary project. As we have seen, finding women a job and a profession is one of the best ways to help them escape domestic violence. Having a job involves socialisation, financial independence, produc-tivity, and self-esteem. A job gives a woman the chance to reveal her talent — something that is impossible if she is housebound and the victim of domestic violence. Finding a job lets her rebuild her life and free herself from the shackles of financial dependence on her partner.

This is why ‘positive turnover’ is important. It seems that there was positive turnover in the beginning and that the wom-en went on to better things. However, Spain’s current econom-ic crisis and sky-high unemployment rates means that there are very few jobs to be had.

«Until the economy has picked up a bit, one has to focus on Danone because it is what keeps the wolf from the door. You have to be realistic»Ambassador 12

The slump means there are also brand ambassadors who left the Project to start a new job but who have been forced to return because of the deepening crisis.

«We now know the score. Today you are here, tomorrow you are there. Many women who found other jobs end up coming back because they have been laid off, or were substituting for someone, or whatever. There are always new women but a lot are ones returning to their old job»Stakeholder 3

There are now big hurdles to getting a job, which makes the School’s mission of getting women into better-paid employ-ment much more difficult. These problems have forced chang-es in the way the Project works.

«Basically, the crisis killed the original Project, which was for the women to spend a year in skill workshops, a year being empowered and then for a new batch of women to take their place the following year» Stakeholder 10

ENTRY INTO THE JOB MARKET

WAGES

DURATION OF THE JOB

WORKING CONDITIONS

WORK-LIFE BALANCE

THE POSSIBILITY OF COMBINING THE JOB WITH OTHER EMPLOYMENT

‘POSITIVE TURNOVER’

RISK OF GETTING INTO A RUT

1.

2.

4.

3.

5.

6.

7.

8.


In working as brand ambassadors, the women sometimes decide to continue their training and begin a career — some-thing that they had never thought about hitherto. This first job allows them to plan their working future.

«One girl said that thanks to the job in ESAB, she had dis-covered she liked working with customers and that she felt at ease with people. It came as a revelation to her. She is thinking about becoming a receptionist or something similar so that she can find new job opportunities»Stakeholder 3

Metaphorically speaking, one can say the chance to work as a brand ambassador has given some women the ‘push’ they needed to overcome prejudices and the hurdles to getting a regular job. It is an opportunity to learn how to sell, how to relate to customers, supervisors, work mates and shopping centre staff.

The brand ambassador post gives women an entrée into the labour market and once they have learnt the ropes, they work hard to advance their careers. For them, the job with Danone is the stepping stone to a regular job.

2. WAGES

Those interviewed consider they earned a fair wage as brand ambassadors but that it was not enough to make ends meet. The women only work two days a week, which makes it hard for them to live solely on the earnings of this job. The aim is to reduce the women’s reliance on benefits and help them earn a living wage and take charge of their lives.

In any event, the salary for this job is above the market aver-age. The wage, though modest, helps the women make ends meet. In general, the women consider themselves well-paid but given that they work few hours, their take-home pay is fairly modest.

«The job helps a little — it is not badly paid. It is alright as far as wages go but it is not enough to make ends meet. After all, it’s only two days a week»Ambassador 19

«It’s not much but it helps»Ambassador 2

Brand ambassadors find it next to impossible to get by on this wage alone.

Many of the women want to earn more so that they can lead more independent lives, make ends meet and not have to de-pend on others for money. Some of them have to share a flat and expenses with others. It is something they do not want to do in the future.

«I cannot imagine making ends meet. I would like to be able to pay for my room and do whatever I like. To tell the truth, I would like to live on my own. With my flat-mate, we can make our money go a little further but I would prefer to live on my own»Ambassador 12

«I would like to live on my own, be able to pay for the heating in winter, switch on the lights, take a shower — things like that. As things stand, that is a pipe dream. What I earn now is not enough to get by with. I have my heart set upon being able to live on my own someday»Ambassador 16

The job is limited to certain seasons each year, when promo-tion campaigns are held. Generally speaking, the job lasts from February to November. There are promotions in some centres on the coast during August (the peak holiday sea-son). The reps are only paid for those months when sales campaigns are under way. This means that the women do not have any income during the slack months, when it is harder for them to make ends meet.

To make sure that this situation does not create hardship for the reps, efforts are now being made to offer the women work on other campaigns/promotions. The School is seeking new clients so that the women can work the whole year round.

«When things get tough they tighten their belts but the prob-lem is in months when they don’t work — such as in August when everything stops for the holidays. They earn nothing in those months and have no job and no wage»Stakeholder 7

Nevertheless, the wage issue is secondary if one considers the other benefits the women say flow from their jobs as brand ambassadors. Money is important but there are other things the women prize too.

The women feel appreciated for their work. In entering the labour market, they forge contacts, create networks of work

mates, friends, rise to new challenges, and learn how to deal with the public. This makes them happy and feel more self-as-sured — which is hardly surprising given that their erstwhile partners spent years telling them they were good-for-nothings.

«It’s not so much about money because this wage is not enough to live on. It is much more important knowing that people trust you, that you have a job and that it might lead to another one. That was the most important thing for me»Ambassador 16

«When you look round and see that women in their 20s, 30s, and 40s are on the dole and you (60) are working, you thank your lucky stars are earning a wage, low though it is»Ambassador 16

The non-monetary benefits the ambassadors receive are therefore important — at least for them. There are even cas-es where women prefer to take this job rather than accept one with similar pay but which involves subsidies and charity.

Working gives the women the chance to forge new social rela-tions, feel they are capable of living on their own and manag-ing their finances as they see fit.

«We get a family allowance, but I wouldn’t care if I didn’t get a penny. I needed to get back into work, forge contacts with work mates and with the boss. I needed to start living again because up until then, all I did was take the kids to school, stay at home, clean the house, go shopping. The whole day was taken up with children and the home»Ambassador 10

The extent to which job satisfaction offsets the miserable wage can be gauged by the fact that some women do not want to look for something else:

«I am thrilled to bits with the job. I wish they paid a bit more. Whatever else happens, I will stick with Danone. I haven’t left the job because I love it and it’s the same story with the Foundation»Ambassador 12

Although the brand ambassadors’ are generally happy with their jobs, some of them would like to have bigger perfor-mance incentives. Such incentives, they argue, are needed to prevent people ‘resting on the oars’. The ambassadors’ wages comprise a fixed element and a variable one.

«In fact, the ambassadors do receive a performance bonus. The fixed component makes up roughly half of the pay packet. The other half is based on various targets. One of these tar-gets is to send in an end-of-week report because “If you don’t give people an incentive to file a report, they don’t»Stakeholder 17

Other incentives cover: punctuality; neat uniforms; image; good behaviour; effective salesmanship (approaching customers, coming up with good sales arguments, beating down objections); 100% attendance during the campaign. These incentives are used in assesing the variable component of salary. The team leader makes the evaluation. The bonuses are almost always paid because the women usually meet their targets.

There is also an incentive bonus for turning up regularly to work. It is paid providing the brand ambassador does not miss a day’s work in any given month. However, if there is a good reason for the woman’s absence, she is paid it anyway.

There is another a sales-based bonus. The target is 300 con-tacts with customers and a sales conversion rate of 80% of these. This information is contained in the weekly report but it is very hard to check the data. In practice, there is no penalty for failing to reach these targets.

«If these targets [300 contacts, with an 80% sales conversion rate] are not met, we cannot penalise the women. Bear in mind that contacts are the customers — the brand ambassa-dors have a counter to keep tally. The counter can be tinkered with. The sales conversion rate can also be fudged — you can put a packet of yoghurt cartons in the trolley and then take them out when nobody is looking. It is hard to keep check»Stakeholder 17

One should note that 300 is a guideline figure, given that not all the points of sale have the same through traffic. That said, the figure gives a rough guide to how active the rep is.

«It is hard to evaluate, even if they say “I swear I have spo-ken to 300 people, of whom 80% have put yoghurt in their trolleys”. That is because they have no idea if the shopper has put the yoghurt back on the shelf when the ambassador’s back is turned»Stakeholder 17


One should also note that the incentives depend on the pur-pose of the social programme and the commercial campaigns (whose purpose is to tell customers about Danone products and their benefits).

The present incentives for reps thus cover: punctuality; uni-formity; attitude; doing things right; reporting; showing up for work throughout the campaign.

3. WORKING CONDITIONS

Apart from financial sustainability and independence, some interviewees opined that improvements should be made to working conditions. While the women taking part in the proj-ect were generally happy with working conditions, there were also some complaints.

The first complaint was that the Danone stands were cold, given that they are sited right next to the dairy product chill cabinets.

«I love my work but it’s freezing on the stand. It gives me ear-ache. Even so, I love my job»Ambassador 12

Some workers have their own tricks for keeping warm, for in-stance by wearing thick clothes under their uniforms. This helps them withstand the cold near the dairy product chill cabinets.

Even so, some respondents made light of the cold:

«It there is one drawback to the work, it’s the cold but one gets used to it. One can get used to anything»Ambassador 23

The second thing some of the interviewees complained about was the uniform. Some felt the uniform should not only look good but also be warm. Accordingly, they suggested two uni-forms — on for summer and the other for winter.

«We only have one uniform and mine is threadbare.»Ambassador 15

Other brand ambassadors disliked the uniform because they considered it old-fashioned. The women liked the uniform’s fetching combination of blue and white but some thought the style old-fashioned and unflattering.

«I don’t like the uniform. The colour is very nice with a lovely combination of blue and white which really stands out but the style is very outmoded» Ambassador 19

These two issues — the cold and the uniform — seem to be minor ones that the women have coped with and do not con-sider that important. It is hardly surprising that the area next to the chill cabinets is cold but if Momentum Task Force were to make a uniform with a fur lining, it would be easier to with-stand the chill coming from the shelves. A meeting was held in Madrid with the brand ambassadors and they were asked for their views on which uniform they would most like to wear throughout the campaign.

«There were sketches of three uniforms and we held a meeting so that the brand ambassadors could say what they thought. They said they liked one or the other because of the collar and so on. That said, it is impossible to please everyone»Stakeholder 18

Other suggestions for improving working conditions con-cerned campaign logistics. Some brand ambassadors wanted somewhere they could store promotional items and hand out products. At present, the women have to carry promotional items and the desk from home each day. However, the women acknowledged that these issues depended on the policy ad-opted by each store and that there was little that such as be done on this score.

«I wish we did not have to carry the stand home and that the store let us leave it there. Then we wouldn’t have to lug it from home»Ambassador 19

The ambassadors pick up the campaign materials from the Momentum Task Force in Madrid or Barcelona. For those living outside these cities, the material is sent by courier to the am-bassador’s home address. They have to carry the promotional material from home to the Point of Sale given that materi-als cannot be left at the points-of-sale because they take up space. Anything left behind is broken up by supermarket staff and thrown away.

The split working hours for those ambassadors living a long way from the workplace is one of the difficulties that crops up frequently in the interviews. Some shopping centres are in the outskirts, which are hard to reach without a car.

On other occasions, the ambassadors work a split shift, with a three-hour break at midday. They have to stay in the shop-ping centre, either because there is not enough time to go home and return to work or because it was cost too much in bus/train fares. This can be very tiresome, even though some shopping centres do allow the ambassadors to rest in their staff rooms.

«I live in San Pedro [Alcántara, Málaga] and I now work in Estepona [Málaga] so I have to spend the whole day in the shopping centre. I cannot go home at midday because I would have to spend all of my wage on transport [work and home are 23 kilometres apart]. So I have to spend three hours kicking my heels at midday before I can go back to work»Ambassador 12

Going beyond this particular case, working in a company — es-pecially if one does not have experience of promotional work or in a salesforce — can be daunting and hard to adapt to.

Entering a sector like this with the idea of turning it into a normal job can be a bit of a let-down for the ambassadors, who are used to more friendly treatment. Nevertheless, being treated as just another worker may be seen as part of the process of recovery and personal empowerment.

«One of the things we have to accept is that all the women should be treated equally. That is a way stage on the path to recovery and getting them back into society. In other words, you are just another member of the group and can expect to be treated as such. That is because if you are treated differ-ently, you remain a victim»Stakeholder 17

There is a dearth of hard evidence but one can say that the issue of victimisation is a source of conflict — a point made by some of the ambassadors those interviewed.

«Some make an effort to overcome everything that is thrown at them. Others prefer to play the victim, cry crocodile tears and work it to their advantage. There are some real worms — it’s embarrassing. You shouldn’t pity those who do not de-serve it. Maybe I am too tough but then life has been tough on me. On the other hand, I think there is nothing wrong with taking responsibility for one’s actions» Ambassador 21

4. THE PART-TIME NATURE OF THE JOB

As noted earlier, the brand ambassador’s job is a part-time one, with just two days of work a week and then only when the company holds marketing campaigns. These campaigns are irregular and are held whenever Danone has a compelling business reason for conducting them.

«At best, they carry out 2 or 3 campaigns a month»Stakeholder

Generally speaking, the ambassadors would like there to be more campaigns because this would boost their earnings. At present, most of the women have to look for other sources of income to cover the periods when they are not working as brand ambassadors.

«It is a pity that this job cannot be done in a way that would pay better. During the week I spend my time looking for ways to make more money because I earn very little right now»Stakeholder 4

However, this comment on the few hours of work available should not be construed as a criticism but rather a wish for more work. The brand ambassadors like their jobs and want more of it.

«I would be thrilled to bits if I could work one more day a week. I like my work and do it well. What a pity I can’t spend more time at work» Ambassador 12

«If I could work more days, that would be great — it would bring in more money and I like the work anyway. I like chatting with the other girls. They are also very happy with the work. We all say that two days a week is just not enough»Ambassador 3

The women are happy with the job and the skills it fosters — something that should be weighed against the ambassa-dors’ wish to work more and boost their earnings. The women acknowledge that this job opportunity is just a beginning and see it as such.

«Of course, I would be happy if I could work more days but in any case, the job fosters social relations with others»Ambassador 22


«I think we work 8 hours a day, two days a week — it’s not much but it is good for the women both as job experience and at the personal level»Stakeholder 3

On the other hand, the short working hours are also seen as an advantage in some cases. It gives the victims of domestic violence the chance to work but also time to meet others and take heart.

Perhaps — as some of those interviewed said — longer working hours would not have helped the women solve their personal problems. The present working week is about right because it gives the women enough free time to further their own empowerment.

«It would be very tough if I have to go to work every day from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Having to do that when you feel low and have kids to look after would be hell. It would have done more harm than good»Ambassador 5

«It’s just two days work a week but it is enough for me. Ob-viously, I will need to work more but it is fine for now. Once I have got used to working and have picked up a bit of expe-rience, I can look for something else. No doubt I will tackle this when I feel strong enough to tackle interviews and drop my curriculum off. Right now, I have enough on my plate and it suits me fine»Ambassador 5

Other women said they needed to work more hours. When they can, they supplement their earnings with another job but it is sometimes hard to find anything.

«You hope you will not spend your whole life doing this, that you need to look for something a little more challenging. You have to find a second job to make ends meet»Ambassador 19

Although the short working hours foster empowerment, they also have unwanted side-effects. When the women go to a Job Centre, they cannot take certain work counselling pro-grammes because these cater to the unemployed. The fact that the women have a job (albeit only for sixteen hours a week during campaigns) means these resources are not avail-able to them.

Being unable to use such employment resources may make the women’s employment situation more precarious and force them into unwanted part-time work. ESAB is currently working to expand its client base and reps’ working hours. The School seeks socially-committed firms that believe in the women’s potential to make the company’s sales campaigns a success.

«When doing a precarious job deprives you of other employ-ment opportunities, it is hard to get out of the rut»Stakeholder 5

Another problem experienced by some brand ambassadors was that their part-time job stopped them accepting other work with overlapping hours. The Danone job takes up Fridays and Saturdays and it is hard to find a job from Monday to Thursday or from Sunday to Thursday.

Despite these hurdles, the women have a very positive view of the opportunities provided by the job, which allows them to forge social links and relations and to (re-)enter the labour market.

«They can’t take a Monday-to-Friday job because they work for Danone on Fridays. On the other hand, it is a wonderful opportunity for women who have been out of the work market for a long time and cut off from society and friends. The job has considerable benefits for them»Stakeholder 9

Another time limitation built into the ESAB project is that each woman’s employment contract is for a maximum of two years. For some people, this limitation is a drawback, setting tempo-ral bounds to the empowerment process.

At the outset of the ESAB project, it was envisaged that the job would only last two years. This was the time span within which the reps were expected to complete their training and work in the campaigns. Two years was thus the time given to successfully carry out the empowerment process and to get the women into regular jobs.

Some women felt this two-year horizon was a handicap, al-though they were also quick to concede that the experience had helped their empowerment. They also noted that women who had not been able to find regular jobs within the two years were able to continue working as reps.

The two-year length of the programme and the empowerment process is a guide rather than a fixed term. That is because each woman’s needs and pace of development are different.

Accordingly, ESAB, Danone and Momentum Task Force allow women to take for the programme for as long as considered necessary but encourage them to move on. One should also note that the depth of the economic crisis in Spain means that alternative jobs for the women are pretty thin on the ground.

«I would like to have continued in the job, I really would. It gave me my life back. It is hard to put into words»Ambassador 7

5. WORK-LIFE BALANCE

As mentioned, one of the advantages of this part-time job is that it is compatible with looking after one’s family.

The job is not only compatible with the care of children and the elderly but also gives the women enough time to look for a full-time job or to undergo vocational training to enhance employment opportunities.

«The bright side to the working hours in the Danone job is that one has time to look after one’s family»Stakeholder 2

«The hours give single mothers the chance to look after their children. That is important because the courts usually award custody to the mother. The first thing one has to consider is whether the job is compatible with the candidate looking after her children»Stakeholder 7

«This job allows me to study and better myself at the same time. At the moment, I am working at a Dental Clinic. I quali-fied as a Dental Hygienist while I was working at Danone. If it had not been for the Danone job and its short hours, I would not have had that opportunity»Ambassador 23

This chance to combine work with family duties is seen as a big plus. Even so, a few interviewees considered that the job made things harder because someone had to be found to look after the children while the mother was at work. Sometimes the children were left unattended.

«We have lots of bills to pay and what with the crisis, we can-not afford a baby-sitter»Stakeholder 11

That said, very fiew women raised this objection when accept-ing the job. For some of those interviewed, the women need to set priorities when making their choices but family circum-stances are not usually a problem.

«The woman [brand ambassador] has to decide priorities: looking for a job, looking after her kids — that is the ques-tion. That can be tricky — for example, one of the women said to me “I have nobody to leave my three daughters with on Saturday”»Stakeholder 2

As mentioned earlier, for women that have suffered domestic violence, the job triggers empowerment and helps the women overcome the initial difficulties.

A brand ambassador’s job thus seems to be compatible not only with the ‘survivors’ family duties but also with helping overcome the trauma caused by domestic violence.

«It was a great help at the time. It was hard to cope with ev-erything — emotions, mental state, and organisation (I have a five-year old son). I could do this job because of the hours and psychologically speaking, there was a big incentive to take it»Ambassador 23

6. OPPORTUNITIES TO COMBINE THE JOB WITH OTHER EMPLOYMENT

Here, we shall shed a little more light on the opportunities for and obstacles to combining the job with other employment. In some cases, the women were able to capitalise on these opportunities, which boosted their earnings and self-respect. Success gave them the feeling that they had made big strides towards empowering themselves.

«The brand ambassador’s job can be combined with hotel work. The firm respected my commitment to Danone on Fri-days and Saturdays and I work the other days at the hotel. The two jobs dove-tailed without a hitch»Ambassador 4

«The job at Danone was compatible with the other job be-cause they asked me to work in the kitchens again. I was able to do both jobs»Ambassador 11


«All I have right now is the job with Danone. Things are simply awful — you can send CVs until the cows come home but nobody replies»Ambassador 18

Although everyone taking part in the project knew that the job was only for two years, the economic crisis has made the initial plans go awry. The solution has not been to sack the ambassadors based on their initial commitment but rather to give the chance to continue in the Project.

«We do not end the contracts of the ambassadors who have spent two years in the project. We spoke to Danone, which said given that the girls had worked so well and that everyone was happy with their work, there was no point in switching horses in mid-stream»Stakeholder 10

Even so, the aims underlying the concept of ‹positive turn-over’ have not changed. These women are also keen to see such turnover, which they see as advancing their empower-ment and giving other women the chance to rebuild their lives. Unfortunately, Spain’s economic crisis has radically changed things, making finding a new job — let alone a better one — well nigh impossible.

The stated aims of ‘positive turnover’ and the ‘transitional’ na-ture of the job remain unchanged. Nevertheless, the depth of the current economic crisis in Spain (with sky-high joblessness and precarious employment) has spurred greater flexibility.

Despite the crisis, it is still seen as desirable that the women ‘leave the nest’ to find better jobs. Here, working as a brand ambassador is thought of as a springboard and a chance for the women’s to get their lives back on an even keel. It is envisaged that they will then be able to begin training or an ordinary job (whether part-time or full-time) from Monday to Friday or from Monday to Saturday.

«The success everyone yearns for will be made possible thanks to the time spent as brand ambassadors. It will be a springboard to a decent, full-time job. It is not possible right now but one has to see the problem in context in a country suffering 25% unemployment»Stakeholder 6

A minority of the interviewees think that given the circum-stances, ‘positive turnover’ may not be such a good idea. High staff turnover may be bad for both the women and the

Brand. Even through there are drawbacks to ‘positive turn-over’ for Danone (it is much easier to continue working with a successful team), the company still encourages the women to seek better jobs elsewhere. It does so because it considers this is in the women’s best interests.

«Obviously there may be some staff turnover in the Danone Project — when the women find something better, they leave. But I think that high turnover is bad both for the women and Danone. Someone who shops at Alcampo [supermarket] and sees a different woman on the stand every week is not unlike-ly to respond to their blandishments»Stakeholder 4

In any event, one should acknowledge that there has been ‘positive turnover’. All parties — both the women (who have obtained better jobs) and the School — prize this. Leaving the Project means the women have attained a large measure of financial and personal empowerment.

«Many of the girls have found other jobs and that’s good. On the one hand, they are sad to leave but the fact is it’s in their best interests. We are all happy to see them make this step»Ambassador 5

Successful ‘positive turnover’ also sets an example for the women still in the Project. These departures show how one can overcome hardships and make a better life for oneself.

8. RISK OF GETTING INTO A RUT

The Empowerment School realises that the women may ‘get into a rut’ and make do with the wage they get as brand am-bassadors.

The problem may arise when the women feel they have little prospect of improving their lot. This leads to loss of ambition and ‘drive’ and wanting to stay on in the job indefinitely.

«People also get used to things here and end up losing their ‘get up and go’. They just give up trying because — among other things — working just two days suits them fine»Ambassador 21

«Many women ‘rest on the oars’ and lose sight of the fact that this is a fleeting opportunity, not a way of life»Stakeholder 11

One should note though that while some women found com-plementary jobs, they still considered the one at Danone as the main one. This gives an idea of how grateful the women were for the employment opportunities opened up to them by the Danone project.

«She said that it had given her a new chance in life and that she was thrilled. She had got a job in a hotel from Monday to Thursday but she still said her main job was at Danone»Stakeholder 1

Those who had not yet found a second job was seeking one.

«With just two days spent on the job, I have the rest of the week free to look for something else. I am looking for another job now» Ambassador 17

One can say that for these women, one route to empowerment is: (1) work as a Danone brand ambassador; (2) find a sec-ond, complementary job to become financially independent; (3) find a full-time job.

In taking this path, some women also managed to overcome the trauma caused by domestic violence.

«Just as I began to get over my problems, I began working. I was still getting over the trauma of it all but I gradually opened up and made good»Ambassador 17

«The job [brand ambassador] is compatible with other activi-ties and for those with a little strength of character, it can act as a springboard»Stakeholder 2

«I am no longer working for Danone but when I was, I some-times worked as a telephone pollster. That job was from Mon-day to Thursday — three weeks in one company, two months in another, working four hours a day. I always tried to combine such jobs with the Danone one, until I found my present job, which is incompatible given that it is for five days a week, from five in the morning until ten. That is why I ditched the Danone job»Ambassador 17

It therefore seems that combining jobs is one of the ways to take advantage of the ‘positive turnover’ forming part of the project’s design.

7. ‘POSITIVE TURNOVER’

Positive turnover’ means that victims of domestic violence can work as Danone brand ambassadors for a maximum of two years. Once vacant, the post is taken up by another woman to put her on the path to recovery and empowerment. When the project was drawn up, two years was the length of time thought necessary to achieve empowerment, which means that the programme participant should have begun a new job to make space for a new candidate.

This turnover may be seen as a mixed blessing. However, most of the women saw it as a drawback. The majority of them felt that they had worked well and hard at the Point of Sale and deserved to stay on for longer and thus achieve greater financial stability.

The women saw termination of their contracts as a penalty — especially at a time when finding jobs is hard. The jobs that are available are usually precarious and badly-paid. Brand ambassadors are frightened of the leap into the unknown that taking another job entails. When Danone, at least the job terms are reasonably stable, making it possible to plan over the medium term.

«They are given a contract for six months and then get the sack. For example, she has been working for Danone for three years and the firm has never let her down. Now she is worried. These are people who are vulnerable and have lots of problems at home. Making the wrong decision could be disastrous so they want to be absolutely sure before taking the plunge. Unfortu-nately, the crisis means there are very few good jobs to be had»Stakeholder 5

«It is hard for women to enter the job market because the crisis has hit Spain hard. There are no permanent jobs to be had and the same goes for full-time jobs»Stakeholder 9

Many of the brand ambassadors are middle-aged women, which makes it even harder to find another job. Companies tend to recruit young girls as sales promoters. Age is thus another handicap for job-seekers and yet another reason why the women tend to see ‘positive turnover’ in a negative light.

«The crisis has bitten hard and we also have age against us when seeking a job. I also stand no chance of being hired as a promot-er by certain firms. For instance, a firm looking for someone to promote a Calvin Klein cologne is much more likely to choose my 20-year old daughter than me. That’s just the way it is»Ambassador 13


4.2.5. THE EMPLOYABILITY OF BRAND AMBASSADORS

As explained in the foregoing pages, there are hurdles to achieving positive turnover. While it is true that the School has given women new employment opportunities, in reality it seems that the chances of another job are pretty slim. This is so not only because of the crisis and the difficulties of finding and keeping a job but also because of the employability issues.

The data seems to show that it is hard to find an ordinary job and thus meet one of the Project aims, namely ‘positive turnover’ of brand ambassadors. Despite the adverse circum-stances, the work still helps empower the women.

«Furthermore, the women feel that they would be letting us down if they were to leave. They like the work, we treat them very well and we praise their efforts. The ‘spring’ has gone out of the springboard job for a while now but there is still positive turnover, there really is»Stakeholder 17

The ambassadors’ personal qualities clearly influence their opportunities for promotion and chances of empowering themselves. That is why the following section analyses the hurdles to employment and the extent to which these difficul-ties affect the kind of women taking part in the FAB School.

a) Hurdles to improving employability

Some of the difficulties that the brand ambassadors encoun-ter in improving their employability are set out below:

Certification of ill treatment. To employ an ill-treated woman as such, the victim must have made a state-ment to the police alleging domestic violence and a Court must have served the defendant with a Restrain-ing Order. Nevertheless, FAB also helps ill-treated wom-en who need help but do not meet these criteria.

Emotional instability. Eligibility for the project and indeed for any other job requires that the candi-date be emotionally stable. Among other things, this means she must not be receiving psychological therapy or psychiatric treatment involving drugs, If the woman is to hold down a job, she must have overcome the first stage of trauma (for example, uncontrollable weeping, mental blocks caused by obsessive thoughts, panic).

Deep-seated economic crisis in Spain. The crisis has made new jobs highly precarious (in part due to the government’s labour reforms).

Age, education and work experience. Most of the women are middle-aged and have families to look after. They also have little education and few skills. Most of the women who do have an employment history are sepa-rated from/divorced their partners/spouses and worked as home helps, cleaners or in the catering industry.

Companies and society in general see such women as victims and hence tend to assign them jobs that are precarious, unskilled (for example, office-clean-ing) and out of the public eye.

b) Profile of Danone brand ambassadors

Analysis of Danone brand ambassadors reveals that they all have something in common. Whatever their social or geo-graphical origin, all the women strive to overcome the disad-vantages they have suffered as a result of domestic violence. They tend to stick together because they have all had to make an effort to ‘make good’.

Most of the brand ambassadors are aged between 40 and 60. Some of them are foreigners, who generally find it harder to find work and have little or no social network to fall back on. Added to this, they generally have: little education; major fam-ily commitments; little work experience. Age, low educational levels and lack of a decent employment history make these women unattractive to would-be employers.

«The most common profile is of a woman over 40 — in some cases with an employment history of part-time jobs and in others, with none», Stakeholder 16

In the case of Danone brand ambassadors, this profile is an advantage rather than a hurdle. That is because middle-aged women more easily identify with the average customer at the Point of Sale.

«For Danone’s Point of Sale, the brand ambassadors need to be older women anyway because identification with customers is greater in the case of saleswomen aged 40, 45, 50, or 55 than a girl of 25», Stakeholder 16

«Maybe we have failed to make it clear to them that this is a training opportunity. They should be looking to unleash their full potential, take charge of their lives and look hard for a real job. Other programmes do not do that: at most you get a little practice and then the firm decides whether to hire you or not — it boils down to working for free. Here it is a different kettle of fish — the women have passed a selection process and they learn in a real, paid job. It’s the real thing»Stakeholder 6

The way some women adapt to circumstances does not seem to stem from deceit or cunning. Rather, it tends to be the re-sult of feeling lucky to be working and of being highly appreci-ated for one’s efforts. They feel trust has been placed in them and that they have been able to rebuild their lives. One can therefore understand why they do not want to look for another job and prefer to keep a job they see as a good one. «You cannot imagine how far they are willing to go to get this job. They see it as a job worth having»Ambassador 1

«We tell the women the job is a temporary one but then they settle in and don’t want to change — it’s understandable»Stakeholder 6

It might be argued that the School needs someone to encour-age the women to look for another job and that merely giving the women workshops on job-seeking is not enough. Maybe there should be a stronger link between the work done by Danone reps and the rest of the job market. Maybe someone should advise the women on looking for a new job as soon as soon as they begin their work as reps.

However, the School’s role is not that of a recruitment agency. Its mission is confined to empowering the women to rebuild their lives and to find a better job. Even so, when job postings are sent to the School as part of agreements with other com-panies, the women are informed of the vacancies.

«In the School Project, there should be someone who forges links with the general labour market. Once the women have been working as brand ambassadors for a while, that person could give guidance on how best to go about finding another job» Stakeholder 11

‘Adaptation strategies’ can only be understood it the women find other sources of income — which mainly come from State Aid (Renta Activa de Inserción, RAI) for women who have been certified as victims of partner-perpetrated domestic violence. Other sources of income tend to be ‘jobs on the side’ (gen-

erally looking after others or ‘home help’ chores) or mainte-nance payments arising from separation or divorce.

«With a wage of around €400 a month, they need other sourc-es of income — a subsidy, maintenance payment. If they have that, they can make ends meet»Stakeholder 2

To avoid the risk of women ‘making do’, those interviewed felt that measures should be taken to encourage a more active approach to job-seeking. They also argued that the RAI sub-sidy made it all too easy for women not to make the effort to find work. They argued the subsidy should be scrapped and that incentives for working women be introduced.

«I would not waste my breath pontificating on domestic vi-olence but instead would tell the women they have free ac-cess to a kindergarten, a school, a job. I would not mess around with subsidies like RAI, which is a measly €426. A job is everything. What we are doing now is letting them fester at home with €426 a month and making them feel like victims instead of survivors capable of leading independent lives»Stakeholder 4

Last but not least, one should note that few resign them-selves to their lot, given that the overwhelming majority of women want to improve their lives and their standard of living.


4.2.6. ADDED VALUE FOR COMPANIES

According to some of the interviewees, former victims of do-mestic violence face adversity with greater fortitude, which leads them to make a greater commitment to work. They also prize the job more than most staff. One brand ambassador recognised this:

«The women who have suffered domestic violence are used to working under pressure and coping with things that other women are spared. We prize the good things in life more and that is especially true of the job»Ambassador 9

In this respect, the brand ambassadors have become an as-set for companies, which makes firms less unwilling to hire ill-treated women. Survivor’s notable strengths are:

Strength (tough women)

Tolerance of failure. They quickly overcome frustra-tion and adversity and forge ahead

Perseverance

Commitment

Optimisation of resources

Masters of body language

The ability to work under pressure

Fortitude (tough women)

All of these qualities make the women strongly-committed to and highly effective at fostering the firm’s social and business development.

In the view of most of those interviewed, brand ambassadors are generally more committed, more professional, take less time off work and hence have less turnover.

«I consider that they are people who best respond to the op-portunities given them»Stakeholder 16

«My son was sick but I have never taken a day off. If there were still customers when it was time to go home, I served them all the same. It didn’t matter if it was 9.20, I stayed on. I believe that commitment is important»Ambassador 1

«The proof of their commitment lies in their low staff turnover. When someone is not happy in the job, you can tell. You can put up with things because you do not have a better job to go to but you can see it in the worker’s attitude. However, that does not happen with the brand ambassadors»Stakeholder 18

The interviewees’ comments revealed that Danone is pleased with the brand ambassadors’ performance. The factors that most contributed to employer satisfaction with the women were:

Greater commitment

Greater identification with the brand (the brand am-bassadors are Danone’s public face)

Full identification with customers. The work done by the ambassadors at Points of Sale has yielded excellent results. The ambassadors have enjoyed greater social recognition as a result.

Full commitment to the job and/or involvement in the campaign

Unstinting enthusiasm at the Point of Sale

Fall in absenteeism

Less staff turnover during campaigns

Suitable training for sales work

«The School is not a social project, it is a business one. We are going to make a business service out of something that we hope will empower us. That is the social part of the deal but it does not interest me — from my standpoint, the social bit is simply a means to an end» Stakeholder 6

Nevertheless, there is a small segment of women with a bet-ter profile (with higher education, including university gradu-ates) and who seek much better jobs. For these better-edu-cated women, the springboard job falls far short of what they have a right to expect in view of their skills and/or status. Even so (and money apart), such women consider the brand ambassador job as an excellent opportunity to get their lives back on an even keel.

Maybe under normal circumstances, a better-educated wom-an might feel that her qualities were wasted in a job like this. Yet even the women in this sub-group fall within the general profile of victims of domestic violence insofar as they have been denied financial independence.

In any event, while there are few university graduates among the women, the Danone job is important to them as well be-cause: (1) it fosters their integrated empowerment; (2) domes-tic violence has deprived them of much richer working lives.

Here, one should note that there is another group of victims of domestic violence who have special difficulties and who have not taken part in the School’s project. These are women who are especially vulnerable and whose social and personal problems are more specific:

Women victims of domestic violence who are hand-icapped.

Women over 65 who are victims of domestic vio-lence (women in this group are least likely to report ill-treatment to the police).

While a greater proportion of foreign women tend to suffer from domestic violence, much more resourc-es and specific legislation are used to help them.

The size of the local population makes a difference when it comes to reporting domestic violence. In smaller municipalities, the percentage of women declaring themselves to be victims of ill-treatment is lower than the average.

In any event, FAB takes a personalised approach to caring for women victims of domestic violence, bearing in mind that each case is different.

One should note that not all Danone brand ambassadors have suffered ill-treatment. Of the women taking part in the Project, some belong to other groups at risk from social exclusion but that have not necessarily suffered from domestic violence. However, all the groups taking part in the Project share some things in common.

«The profile of women who have suffered domestic violence is strongly linked to those with the other profiles we seek. Women from other groups were always aged over 45 and also at risk of social exclusion — not only because of domestic violence but also for other reasons», Stakeholder 17

Nevertheless, the job gives the women a fair degree of an-onymity, which means that their immediate superiors (team leaders) usually do not know whether their staff have suffered from domestic violence.

According to the data furnished by FAB, 47.5% of brand am-bassadors who work at Danone are survivors of domestic vi-olence, 33.9% of women over the age of 40 have difficulties in getting into the labour market. The remaining 18.6% of women (aged between 30 and 39) previously had low-status jobs and/or had been on the dole for a year or more.


A pilot study was carried out before deciding whether to use victims of domestic violence. The pilot revealed the women were ideal for such promotion campaigns.

«We carried out a pilot study and the campaign results were spectacular. We went from one hostess — that is to say, a young girl at the Point of Sale and who only worked alternate weekends — to having the women on the stand every weekend. The results were excellent: there was no staff turnover during the campaign, the women’s commitment was impressive. Furthermore, the women, who had hitherto only worked in low-status jobs such as cleaning and catering, were now doing a much more challenging job — namely, advising customers», Stakeholder 6

It seems that the results greatly exceeded the company’s ex-pectations of brand ambassadors. Indeed, the results out-stripped those obtained by less socially-disadvantaged staff.

«Things crop up that you do not expect. Maybe it is easy to say so with hindsight but when you begin, you do not even know whether the victims of domestic violence will do a better job than cell-phone-wielding university chicks»

«If you have a model and a hypothesis, that’s good news. If you validate your hypothesis, that is even better. When your expectations are surpassed, that is best of all. If that had not been the case, we would not have been employing these wom-en for the last three years. From the business standpoint, I couldn’t be happier»Stakeholder 14

Last, hiring this kind of brand ambassador caused some chang-es within companies. The Project helped make companies aware of the social problem represented by domestic violence. To some extent, it had helped humanise work relationships.

«The brand ambassadors showed us how we she see a group of women who had suffered, how to show greater empathy and understand them better. This has made us much more aware of the issues. For instance, you give these women a chance of a job but they may not even have the money for the bus fare to work. Some women have never connected to Internet in their lives and you have to show them how to file reports. That means you have to ‘hold their hands’ and not expect too much of them on the computer front»Stakeholder 18

«As a company, we wanted people for the campaign. Our policy was clear from the outset — if a woman was not up to the job, we would sack her and hire someone else. It was ‘make or break’ because I have to give a service. These women have shown that it is worth giving them a second or even a third chance and what’s more, we have done so in a more supportive fashion»Stakeholder 19


ESAB helps the women: (1) get (back) into the labour market; (2) rebuild their shattered lives; (3) recover their self-respect; (4) become more confident in their ability to run their own lives.

Attaining emotional stability is a priority for bolstering the women’s autonomy and helping turn the brand ambassadors into agents for change. However, one cannot understand wom-en’s empowerment without an attitudinal component. In other words, one needs to boost women’s motivation and change their attitudes so that they can overcome disadvantages. Both things are needed if they are to make their own decisions.

«Being able to decide for oneself confers advantages in life. You are being given an opportunity and you have to decide whether to accept it. You may make the wrong decision but at least it is you and you alone who make the choice. For good or ill, the decisions are yours. What should you do now? Well, you choose»Stakeholder 1

This is a long-term process of empowerment for which you need the support of experts, volunteers, and also the positive testimony of women who have taken the same path. The pro-cess transforms the way the women think about themselves to the point where they see and recognise the change.

«I was eager to find out who I was, what I lacked to make me whole and what I was capable of. There was a before and after in the process. I didn’t see myself as a survivor until they used the word ‘survivor’. The fact is, I survived domestic violence»Ambassador 10

When women believe they have taken control over their lives, they take their own decisions — which usually transforms the way they think about themselves.

4.3.1. ENHANCED SELF-CONFIDENCE

In general, the women’s self-confidence is boosted by the two key features of the Danone job.

«My self-respect has risen a great deal, it has given me my life back. My life before was no life at all»Ambassador 7

For most of the interviewees, a sign of recovering their self-re-spect was that they began to care for their appearance when they went to work, laughed more often and took a more posi-tive attitude to life. One hardly need say that this self-respect was linked to greater emotional stability. For example, they stopped crying and were quicker to ‘bounce back’.

«You feel happier and like a new woman — that is when you look in the mirror to check you look smart and pretty. That’s when you have fully regained your self-respect»Ambassador 4

«You have no choice but to crawl out of the pit. You realise that you want to live, that you have duties, that you also want to ‘grow’ as a person. I have found this out for myself little by little. Weeping does you no good — you have to take the bull by the horns»Ambassador 9

The Danone job has helped the women change their public im-age. Some of the interviewees even say it change the women’s facial expression: “The job changed them completely. When you talk to them now, you can see they are more self-assured and useful.” They argue that these women “Know that they can care for their children and their puts their minds at rest”.

This transformational process explains why ambassadors put their heart into the job. They try to hang on to it for as long as possible to win time to make changes in their lives.

The brand ambassador job has provided most of the women with the path to greater self-confidence. This not only applies to financial matters but also to personal relations and the women’s autonomy. It has also made the women more enthu-siastic, happier and eager to better themselves.

«The women had let themselves go. Now they have to take care of their appearance because of the nature of the job. So we help them see themselves in a more positive light and feel

4.3. PERSONAL EMPOWERMENT: “TAKE CHARGE OF YOUR LIVES!”

better about their appearance. That makes them feel more highly-valued»Stakeholder 11

«If you have a cleaning job, you do not take care of your ap-pearance or use make-up. Maybe you tie your hair in a po-ny-tail and wear a track suit. You tend to let yourself go and maybe that’s also because of the suffering you went through»Stakeholder 10

One of the psychological scars of ill-treatment is that “you feel you are good for nothing and that’s tough”. Many women had rebuilt their shattered lives after taking part in the pro-gramme. They had become happier, found freedom, ‘found themselves’, and had stopped blaming themselves. For the women, recovering their identity is a key factor in rebuilding their lives. “Now we see ourselves as human beings”, said one of the ambassadors.

4.3.2. INCREASING PERSONAL AUTONOMY: ‘ACTIVE AGENTS’

The women tend to become ‘active agents’ once they have be-come more autonomous. Being an ‘active agent’ means “tak-ing charge of your life”. Full empowerment means the women must be capable of making their own choices. They must be able to make free choices and forge ahead with their lives.

«The brand ambassadors begin to act, show stronger motiva-tion, and discover that they can make good on their own. That is because at the end of the day, the women are the Project’s protagonists. The Project provides the means but it is ambas-sadors’ inner strength that brings success»Stakeholder 8

The interviews reveal that most brand ambassadors had changed their attitudes to decision-making and had thus be-come ‘active agents’.

Nevertheless, it is not easy for women to rebuild their lives once they have recognised and come to terms with their ill-treatment. For most of them, it is difficult not to take the submissive role that they played when they lived with their former partners. After years of not being allowed to decide anything, they suddenly find they have to re-socialise if they

are to take charge of their lives. They need to change their mindsets so that they can leave their old lives behind and begin new ones.

To sum up, one can say that this new attitude has the follow-ing implications:

Starting again from zero, with a new life (for exam-ple, having one’s own home, educating one’s chil-dren, changing one’s neighbourhood, etc.).

Recovering, rebuilding and reforging one’s personal and/or professional life

Having projects for the future and ambitions — be-ginning or re-starting studies

Maturing (or becoming mature)

Developing

Being able to ‘pick oneself up’ when one is feeling low and being better motivated

Trusting people again

Gaining self-confidence and “taking off once one feels sure of oneself”

Seeing oneself as a ‘survivor’ rather than as a victim

Serving the public or self-employment

Leading one’s own life and becoming fully independent

Other measures aimed at women who have suffered domestic violence are based on a ‘self-help’ approach.6 Some measures by the Social Services involve welfare benefits. Such ‘hand-outs’ may foster financial dependence and thus do nothing to help the women recover their dignity. Furthermore, they do not help women transform themselves and their situation and so fail to foster women’s autonomy and empowerment.

According to the interviewees, the Project avoids this bene-fit-based approach and the two consequences that flow from it, namely that beneficiaries: (1) become dependent on hand-outs; (2) are socially stigmatised and labelled as victims.

6 According to Mario Fuentes Destarac, public welfare comprises an action or set of actions by the State to provide help, favour or aid to individuals or groups of people who lack protection or who are either temporarily or permanently vulnerable. Its origins lie in public charity, which is based on benevolence, compassion and pity and gives rise to ‘alms’ or help for the needy and sympathy for the suffering of others. (Cfr. Mario Fuentes Destarac (2008). “¿Asistencialismo o inversión social?” [Welfare or Social Investment]?, El Periódico de Guatemala, 10th November 2008.


One cannot understand personal empowerment without rela-tional-social empowerment. Both kinds of empowerment are mutually-reinforcing. Thus, brand ambassadors’ recovery of their self-respect and autonomy through their work makes it possible for them to relate to others and thus transform their social relationships.

«I have always tried to communicate with customers and so far I have had no problems in that respect — in fact, quite the opposite. They come to me»” Ambassador 4

Personal empowerment means coming to terms with a past marked by domestic violence. The entails getting out of the house and socialising with others — whether they be other ‘survivors’ or work mates, customers, neighbours, family and so on. That is why empowered women tend to recover their communication and social skills, enabling them to interact normally with others in their daily lives.

«I really opened up. Everyone can see that you are open with others. That is when others say how nice you are. These things make you ‘grow’ as a person. Those customers you smile at soon smile back. They say how pleasant you are, they ask you how you are. I now have some Dutch friends that I met in Alcampo [supermarket] through the Danone job»Ambassador 17

This means the women shed the role of victims, characterised by: introversion; blaming oneself for the past; seeing oneself as a good-for-nothing; being frightened; having no views. They become new women who feel and act like survivors and show themselves to society as such.

4.4.1. GREATER SOCIAL RECOGNITION

The visibility of the brand ambassadors’ job fosters greater in-teraction and socialisation with work mates in general and with customers in particular, helping the women break their isolation.

«In this job, ambassadors are constantly relating to others, which means they are continually forging links with new and potential customers»Stakeholder 11

In addition, the School gives the ambassadors support, bolstering their empowerment and helping the women re-build their lives. Help Groups, comprising other women in the Project, share their experiences and hear the testimo-nials of women who have overcome the victim syndrome.

The job opportunity given by the School clearly confers many advantages fostering the relational dimension of brand am-bassadors’ empowerment. These advantages are:

Job visibility. The ambassador works with the public (whereas many other jobs she might do would ren-der her ‘invisible).

The social recognition that comes from working with a leading brand such as Danone. Many of the am-bassadors interviewed said they had wholly identi-fied with the brand and had done their utmost to promote it. Having worked for Danone (this showed on their CVs) opened up opportunities to getting a normal job. In any event, the women took heart from the fact that their efforts had been recognised in a professional setting and this made them feel valued by others.

Self-respect. The job gives the women greater self-confidence and shows them they can work to professional standards.

Therapy. For some women, the job was a therapy in-sofar as it stopped them dwelling on past traumatic experiences. The job allowed them to relate to others, strengthen and widen their social networks. As a re-sult, they were able to make a new start to their lives.

4.4. RELATIONAL-SOCIAL EMPOWERMENT: “FROM VICTIM TO SURVIVOR”

The job also helped the women overcome frustration, teach-ing them how to deal with unpleasant circumstances and un-fairness.

«The Director for the Centres has his or her targets and they could not care a damn what happens to you. So you have to prepare them for the frustration that arises in such situations» Stakeholder 8

4.4.2. IMPROVING SOCIAL RELATIONS

Most of the interviewees prized the relational strides made by Danone brand ambassadors. One can summarise the improve-ments in social relation under the following heads:

A) Making society aware of gender violence.

B) Boosting Support Group participation in fostering ‘interaction-sociability’.

C) Helping the women become agents of social change.

D) Influencing the media with ‘success story’ testimonials.

A) Making society aware of domestic violence

Unlike other resources earmarked for women victims of do-mestic violence (for example, State-run Women’s Shelters), the School tackles the problem by toughening women so that they can lead normal lives rather than letting them continue as victims. It wants the women to speak of their past without shame and to hold their heads high.”

This is a new way of approaching the issue of domestic vio-lence that puts the women in the public spotlight while en-suring that they can recount their stories without shame or reticence.

«We are neither ashamed nor stigmatised when we say we are survivors of domestic violence. We show our faces and we appear in all the media because we want everyone to know about the problem»Stakeholder 6

B) Boosting Support Group participation in fostering ‘interaction-sociability’»

The ‘accompaniment’ provided by Support Groups has helped most of the women to boost their self-respect, which is need-ed if they are to begin rebuilding their lives. These Support Groups are of two kinds: (1) self and group help; (2) ‘accom-paniment’ (which are held at FAB.

Most of the brand ambassadors interviewed say that the help groups gave rise to a kind of ‘gratifying catharsis’, giving them the strength to take a more positive attitude to life and take the path to empowerment.

The Help Groups do not dwell on negative experiences or be-come collective exercises in self-pity. Instead, they share the testimonies of women who have empowered themselves or are on this path. These Help Groups encourage the women to use ICT and social networks such as WhatsApp and Facebook to help one another.

«We felt that it was vital to set up a support network in which the women helped one another. That is because domestic vi-olence isolates its victims. The therapy works very well at the individual level but group therapy is also essential so that the women feel supported by that peers»Stakeholder 9

«Some of them have WhatsApp groups — they write to one another and arrange meetings. They often lack this kind of social network in their lives, lacking a family or having little contact with others beyond their own small circles»Stakeholder 3

The Accompaniment Groups monitor the women’s progress and the work and personal support given by FAB. This ‘accom-paniment’ goes beyond just acting as a go-between with the women’s employer. The Groups help the women overcome the dependence and feeling of worthlessness that arise from the women’s history of domestic violence. A path to recovery is charted for each woman, depending on her circumstances.

The tools provided by FAB through its School to help ‘sur-vivors’ empower themselves include: psychological support (individual and group coaching); empowerment workshops; training; employment guidance.


C) Helping the women become agents of social change

For most of the women, the last stages of empowerment in-volve recounting their experiences to society. The aim here is to help other women (who are currently suffering from domes-tic violence) by showing them that there is a way out of their living hell.

While more of the brand ambassadors end up working with the FAB, some use other platforms and activities to put the message across. Two of these initiatives are particularly noteworthy. The first is (AMUSUVIG)7 [Association of Women Survivors of Domestic Violence]. It developed the first Smart Phone application for preventing and dealing with gender vi-olence. The App gives the user access to testimonials and provides a list of bodies that can help deal with domestic violence.8

There are also ambassadors who have acted as agents of change in firms, making the company and their colleagues aware of the issue. In any event, FAB is where most of the women have managed to empower themselves and have worked towards a society free of the curse of domestic vi-olence. These women say they have worked hard in order to open new horizons for other women needing help. This re-veals their strong commitment to the Project above and be-yond serving their own interests.

«I knew that if I did my job well, opportunities would open up for other women — something that is happening now»Embajadora 1

C) Using ‘success story’ testimonials to influence the media

To transform society, some of the ambassadors appear in the media as ‘survivors’. Their testimonials are constructive and designed to offer hope. In recounting their experiences, they show optimism and avoid victimisation, banality, sensation-alism, and morbid curiosity. The emphasis is on life skills (tough women who are persevering, tolerant of failure, and so on). These are the success stories of women who have over-come domestic violence and become ‘survivors’. The ambas-sadors show how they have given their lives a new direction and taken charge of their destinies.

«We use the media to show that we survivors are valuable. We want an ill-treated woman to be able to say “I am going to the police because I do not want to end up as a corpse. I want to end up working for Danone’.

This is one of the Project’s strengths. It gives us the chance to appear in the media as an active agent, as a company as-set. It’s priceless, it’s amazing.

But we have to take this first step ourselves. The first step is to appear on TV without hiding your face and as a survivor, not as a victim. That’s the first step — changing the label from ‘victim’ to ‘survivor’»Stakeholder 6

To sum up, one can say that the aims behind appearing in the media are:

To make public opinion aware of domestic violence through the testimonies of those who have been through it and overcome the trauma

To foster awareness with a view to preventing do-mestic violence

To use these testimonials to help those currently suf-fering ill-treatment to take the path to empowerment

To tell women who are suffering domestic violence that they are not alone and that they can enlist the help of organisations dealing with the issue

To shape media language and introduce a new para-digm for understanding the nature of gender violence

Despite the achievements in terms of relational-social em-powerment, analysis of some of the interviews revealed risks of stigmatisation. Such risks arise when a group sharing a given attribute is ‘labelled’ or ‘pigeon-holed’ in a way that might lead to discrimination9.

7 http://amusuvig.blogspot.com.es/

8 http://libres.aplicacionesmnsi.com/descarga/

9 Goffman, E. (2014). Stigma: Notes on the management of spoiled identity. New York: Touchstone.

4.4.3. RISKS OF STIGMATISATION

The ambassadors may have to face two kinds of social stigma. The first is linked to the work sphere, the other to the Support Groups.

A) Risk of stigmatisation in the work sphere

One of the School’s aims is to remove the stigma suffered by the victims of domestic violence by putting them in the spot-light. However, this approach may prove counterproductive.

«When we send a woman candidate’s details to the company, the firm is given no inkling that she is a ‘survivor’. The woman is just another applicant. The problem is, how we send them to the firms that already work with us… Even so, we know from experience that they are given a real job and that things work best when a woman’s violent past is hidden. This is to avoid our women being labelled by work mates and/or by the firm as those deserving special treatment. Being singled out in this way would not help the ‘survivors’ in the slightest»Stakeholder 9

In some circumstances, the job vacancy is earmarked for ill-treated women. As one of the interviewees pointed out, this can make things worse by causing two kinds of stigma:

Supermarket counterparts (for example, till girls) tend to look down on the Danone brand ambassa-dors, whom they associate (even unconsciously) with ill-treated women.

In an attempt to overcome the foregoing stigma, the Danone brand ambassadors include both ‘sur-vivors’ and women who have not suffered from domestic violence. The latter may find themselves labelled as ill-treated women by association. This constitutes a second kind of stigma.

Nevertheless, in the views of other interviewees, this does not appear to be the case of the Danone ambassadors given that anonymity and confidentiality has been maintained at all times.

B) Riesgo de estigmatización en los grupos de apoyo

Insofar as the women at the School meet in or communicate with Support Groups to undergo therapy, they share feelings and similar situations — something that may make them re-gress emotionally if the participants dwell on the past and feed each other’s bad memories.

Nevertheless this hypothesis seems to be groundless given that most of the interviewees state the opposite. While it is

true that it is painful to listen to certain stories that awaken evil memories, the purpose of these Support Groups is to cre-ate a sense of fellowship and empathy among that members and to help them free and strong.

In addition, one should note that the victims are often fright-ened of being misunderstood. That is why it is important to give them the chance to open their hearts to others who have been through the same kind of torment, encouraging them to speak more freely.

«You don’t forget these things but as far as I am concerned, it is dead and buried. When there are lots of women, it brings back memories, it brings a lump to one’s throat because you grasp just what they mean. Who wouldn’t feel empathy for someone who has been through the same things as you? If you haven’t experienced domestic violence yourself, you can’t grasp what it means»Ambassador 9

«Meeting other women who have been through the mill made a big difference. When you hear them speaking of their expe-riences, it seems like they are telling your story. ’ There came a moment when I began to feel stronger and there were things I couldn’t bear to hear. Even now, I am not strong enough to listen to their stories.»Ambassador 13

On the contrary, the interviewees considered that sharing these experiences had helped their own empowerment. They identified with many of the stories, which allowed them to grasp that their case was not an isolated one and this seems to stop them blaming themselves. Discovering that ill-treat-ment of women is a social phenomenon and hearing women bear witness helped the survivors overcome that problems and set an example to others.

«It helped me a great deal knowing that I was not the only one. They spoke about how long they had been on the path to recovery, how well it was working out, of their work mates who had been through School and had become professional sales-women or had found a better job. “If you can do it then so can I. One day I will be like you”, is what I said. The Group therapy was very positive, it really was. I used to find it hard to talk, I stuttered, I was nervous, I didn’t know how to recount what I had lived through. Now I approach things differently» Ambassador 17

In any case, the Project’s benefits in terms of improving rela-tions outweigh the risks cited above.

57THE DANONE S.A. AND DANONE ECO-SYSTEM FUND - FUNDACIÓN ANA BELLA (FAB): BALANCE AND PERSPECTIVES (2011-2014)

PROJECT EVALUATION

PART FIVE

The overall results of the project are highly positive. This is true from the social standpoint and to some extent it is also so from the financial standpoint. From the social perspective, it has helped empower the women taking part in the project in both financial and in social-relational terms.

One can say that the Project marked a ‘before and after’ in the women’s lives. They praise the Project and the opportunity it gave them. Working as brand ambassadors transformed the women.

Most of the Danone brand ambassadors interviewed said they felt very lucky to have taken part in the programme. They read-ily acknowledged that it helped them realise their true worth and gave them the strength to take on a full-time job. That said, the current economic crisis makes it much harder to realise the objectives initially envisaged to get these women into ordinary jobs.

As a result, the success of this project lies in the personal and relational-social dimensions of women’s empowerment. Analysis of the interviews reveals just how successful the project has been in these regards.

It is therefore not surprising that the subjective evaluation of those who took part in the project was so positive.

The brand ambassadors’ evaluation of the project went far beyond just its financial impact. According to them, the pro-gramme was a ‘life-saver’ and had conferred non-financial benefits too. They said the job had meant:

A challenge and a unique experience in the wom-en’s lives

An emotional boost

A therapy that made the women feel stronger and more valued

This was revealed by some of their statements:

«I used to feel small and insignificant when I walked down the street»Ambassador 18

«Having worked in Danone made me feel important»Ambassador 18

«It was a wonderful experience, which helped me a great deal»Ambassador 20

«They were good times» Ambassador 18

Satisfaction at having taken part in the Project meant most of the women expressed gratitude. They were pleased that they had had the opportunity and said that it had helped them em-power themselves.

«The Project gave me my life back and continues to do so. It has shown me what I am really capable of. This change oc-curred thanks to Danone and FAB»Ambassador 12

«It was a unique experience. It was a therapy and also a life challenge. I am happy I joined. Thanks to the Danone job, many women can lead a decent life»Ambassador 15

«I am thrilled and it touches me to hear the stories all the women tell of how the Project has changed their lives»” Ambassador 15

5.1. THE PROJECT’S GENERAL SUCCESS. OVERALL EVALUATION

5.2. SUBJECTIVE EVALUATION OF THE PROJECT


The positive views of the School’s role in empowering the women were not confined to the ambassadors. Other stake-holders held the same opinion. These stakeholders agreed on the Project’s value.

«99.9% of the girls in the campaign are happy with the way things are. Proof of this is that there are girls who have been with us since 2011, right from the pilot project. They couldn’t be happier” Stakeholder 19

«If I had to give a score, it would be ten out for ten. When I think of what the job has done for the girls and its other re-sults, I would give the Project a score of ten. The same goes for the girls’ empowerment»Stakeholder 1

«It is touching when you see a 40-year old woman who had been shut up at home with the kids and who had never been given the chance of a job make good. It tugs at your heartstrings when you see how grateful they are for what we have done for them. It is the only project that has moved me to tears»Stakeholder 20

«We have seen women who have joined a campaign and within just a few months they are new people. You say to yourself “Goodness me, how she has changed!” It’s not just a ques-tion of attitude, they even look different. It is a radical change for the better. I have seen it for myself in many cases»Stakeholder 19

There seems to be no doubt among either the brand ambassa-dors or those running the initiative as to the Project’s success.

This success does not lie in whether the women found a full-time job or at least a less precarious job. Rather, success should be gauged by the change in the women’s attitude to life. Given Spain’s deep economic crisis, it is hard to improve the women’s employment. The rest of Spain’s working popula-tion has similar difficulties.

The change in the women’s attitude is clearly shown if one compares their circumstances at the beginning and now. Many of the women acknowledge how they have undergone a per-sonal transformation and have stopped feeling like victims and blaming themselves to feeling like empowered survivors. Shed-ding this burden of guilt is a vital step on the path to recovery.

Most of the participants say that as a result they see them-selves in a much better light. The process is a slow one and it is likely to take over a year. It involves rebuilding oneself. Subjective questions are also needed to evaluate the pro-gramme’s impact on the women.

There is also a financial dimension to the Project. Here, one can say the overall impact of the Project was positive. The Project was seen by ambassadors and stakeholders alike as a shared success, both in financial terms and social ones.

«I am very happy that I took part in the Project because it gave me a great deal and it was the first time I had dealt with more this just business»Stakeholder 19

Given business needs, the School contributed an effective solution in combining a leading company (in this case, Da-none), the promotion sector, and commitment to ‘women survivors’. Since 2011, when ESAB was set up, over a 100 women have been through the Project and have rebuilt their lives as a result. Over a 100 jobs have been created for wom-en at risk of social exclusion and currently over 60 women survivors of gender violence are working as Danone brand ambassadors.

These women’s effort and professionalism in the job is widely acknowledged. Furthermore, the women show others who are still suffering from domestic violence that there is a way out. The brand ambassadors serve as agents of social change and their testimony helps women victims of domestic violence find an escape route.

The job allowed the women to relate to others, empower them-selves and to rebuild their lives and lay plans of their own. The programme’s success lay in the fact that the women were able to recover their dignity and are now able to forge ahead.

«We set up the School to train the women and help them realise their potential so that they would no longer see them-selves as victims. We helped make them see that they had excellent qualities — hidden by years of ill-treatment — that which they could now use to take charge of their lives and do what they pleased. These aims were served by a job dealing with the public and that helped them realise their potential»Stakeholder 6

Ambassadors and FAB managers widely acknowledge the key role played by Danone in the Project. They justly recognise the company’s pioneering efforts in a project of this nature.

«Danone made a big commitment and it could have gone wrong but they believed in us and everything went like a dream»Stakeholder 19

«Danone was a pioneer. No other company had made such a big commitment»Stakeholder 9

Interviewees also recognised the key role played by FAB staff in the School.

«We would not have been able to bring off the project with any other NGO. Ana Bella played a key role here — she is charis-matic, shows leadership, enthuses and convinces others. She is remarkable» Stakeholder 14

The challenge now is how to: (1) replicate this model of co-operation with other firms; (2) engage firms and motivate them to take part in transforming both society in general and the lives of brand ambassadors in particular; (3) facilitate a change in the way gender violence is seen.

«We want to change the mind set of big businessmen — we want them to see us an asset, not as a problem to be solved»Stakeholder 6

«This has broken the mould and made other companies see us as a potential asset, given that it allows them to help fight domestic violence in a way that goes beyond charity and the idea of giving alms to a bunch of helpless, hopeless victims»,Stakeholder 6

«Saying that survivors are an asset for a firm, that they are brand ambassadors is remarkable. This success went beyond our wildest dreams»Stakeholder 6


Although the School has generally had a positive impact (en-abling many women to empower themselves) there are vari-ous organisational and functional aspects that could be im-proved upon.

5.3.1. ORGANISATIONAL IMPROVEMENTS

Improvements to the School suggested by the interviewees were:

Scaling up: Increase the number of Points of Sale (PoS) and of brand ambassadors. Some of the interviewees would like to see more PoS so that more victims of domestic violence could be given a chance to empower themselves.

Be more practical: Avoid sterile discussions and measures and, above all, give the School a stronger business orientation and thus more opportunities for the women. The interviewees said that at times the School lacked the will to recruit new clients and tended to engage in sterile debates and waste time considering impractical projects.

Take a more systematic approach to work and ini-tiatives: Use know-how and experience to meet new challenges by systematising procedures. After al-most three years’ experience, the cumulative knowl-edge of project management could be applied to other spheres but to do so, greater systematisation of procedures and their internal dissemination is needed (for example, when and how to impart train-ing, the best personal profiles for training purposes and so on).

Establish an operational protocol to ensure that the School treats all victims of domestic violence the same: This should ensure that any woman approach-ing the School will get equal treatment, regardless of the region or the person monitoring her case.

Setting up and spelling out a special, cross-cutting methodology used for empowering women: For ex-ample, it would be worth drawing up a protocol defin-ing the stages of empowerment for women entering the School.

Avoid organisational improvisation and plan future scenarios. In this respect, it is worth drawing up vari-ous future scenarios and taking measures to ensure the most desirable one comes true.

Make ESAB sustainable and continue supporting ill-treated women and similar social groups.

Make it easier to scale the initiative. Win new cli-ents, enabling the benefits gleaned from the Da-none brand ambassador project to be applied to other services and products.

The interviewees also noted that there was too much ‘red tape’ in the School and that the amount of paperwork re-quired was excessive. The social reports and activity reports are seen as a chore.

«I would cut out the red tape. We are sometimes buried by our own paperwork. They ask for tons of details. It is stressful but you can’t refuse because the client calls the shots» Stakeholder 6

Nevertheless, other interviewees felt that these were not real problems and that filling in the social reports was pretty straightforward. They considered that the difficulty lay in stan-dardising procedures. If the information were gathered in a more systematic fashion, it would be easier to deal with these social reports.

There were also several co-ordination problems stemming from daily practices. Difficulties tend to arise in establishing the specific roles and relations between the three parties: Danone, Momentum Task Force and FAB. Sometimes the role played by each party is unclear and this leads to gaps and overlaps. An effort was made to clarify the role of each of the stakeholders.

«There were gaps in co-ordination because you are being su-pervised by two parties — one is the firm you work for and the other is the one that hires you.” Stakeholder 15

Another problem the interviewees felt needed to be addressed concerned the School’s management procedures. They said that the School’s modus operandi was shaped by FAB’s way of doing things. Sometimes it did not operate as a company but rather had its own idiosyncratic ways of doing things that hampered liaison and co-ordination with other stakeholders.

«They are very energetic but also much disorganised. There is a clash between a rather chaotic foundation on the one hand and on the other, the business culture and organisation need-ed to give clients first-class service»,Stakeholder 19

Despite the natural difficulties arising from the fact that Proj-ect stakeholders had different interests, things went fairly smoothly. Hurdles were overcome by earmarking more re-sources and putting the School’s management on a more pro-fessional footing. The School learnt a lot in this respect over the three years that the Project had run.

«We had to earmark more resources — sometimes double — for such measures than would have been the case if we had carried out the selection and the training ourselves. However, we had to: (1) teach the women; (2) turn them into profession-als. We tried to ensure that Danone did notice any shortcom-ings and we were successful»Stakeholder 19

«We taught them how to be professional in their work but they also taught us a great deal»Stakeholder 19

5.3.2. SUGGESTED IMPROVEMENTS

The suggested operational improvements were gleaned from the interviewees’ comments on the brand ambassadors’ working conditions. Despite the views expressed by most of the interviewees, the Project generally worked well because in many cases it facilitated the women’s entry into the labour force. The interviewees mentioned several financial aspects of the programme that could be improved upon.

The suggested improvements were:

Increasing the number of working hours and thus the wages. If the women worked more hours, they would earn more money. This is what some of the interviewees wanted — especially the brand am-bassadors.

Pay travelling expenses, which were not included in the wages.

Facilitate transport of advertising and other sales materials

Avoid over-supervision on the job and over-protectiveness.

Chances of internal promotion. Some of the interview-ees said that they had put a lot into the job and that their efforts had not been fully rewarded. Some of them hoped the job would give them the opportunity

for promotion and were disappointed that they had been paid the same as any other brand ambassador.

Re-evaluation of the profile of brand ambassadors. The profiles of the women sought as brand ambas-sadors may exclude those who need more empower-ment. For example, women who cannot find anyone to look after their children cannot take up this job. Thought should be given to expanding the programme to include such women.

Some of the interviewees felt that Danone put promotion and sale of their products in the hands of the most skilful wom-en. This stops the least well-prepared women getting the job but who most need empowering. It is possible that the latter kind of woman is the one that have the greatest need of the job, even though they lack certain attributes (physical appear-ance) required for the post.

«In the beginning, we made the mistake of taking pity on one of the girls and of trying to help her but she was emotionally unstable. That made her bad at the job and that affected ev-eryone around her»Stakeholder 1

The profile of the women needed to carry out sales promo-tions was decided by the client. The client decides who he wants, which depends on the kind of sales promotion he has in mind. However, in the case for Danone brand ambassadors, the profile was drawn up based on decisions jointly taken by the School and the client.

«Together, we decided that the brand ambassadors did not have to be models with a 90-60-90 figure [centimetres, not inches!], that they could be over 45 because that is close to the age of many of the customers they will be serving»Stakeholder 6

The challenge for the School was to offer a range of candidate profiles depending on market needs at any given moment. This would enable the School to draw up a wide spectrum of professional profiles for each of the women in the School, thus making it easier to find them jobs. Sometimes only one profile and job had been considered:

«If we want to cater to the market, we need the whole gamut of candidate profiles»Stakeholder 6

5.3. ASPECTS OF THE PROJECT TO BE IMPROVED UPON


WEAKNESSES THREATS

• The School’s lack of business orientation

• Lack of systematisation of cumulative know-how

• Lack of information standardisation

• Lack of a protocol for dealing with women victims of domestic violence

• Need to draw up an itinerary

• Economic sustainability of the Project

• Weakening of empowerment because of the reps’ lack of financial and employment advancement

• Greater management expertise

• Over-dependence on personal leadership

• Ability to maintain the management structure and care of women victims of domestic violence

STRENGTHS OPPORTUNITIES

• Personal empowerment

• Change in self-image

• Social-relational empowerment

• Wage

• Positive view of life

• Positive testimonials

• Brand ambassadors’ commitment and professionalism

• Economic value of brand ambassadors

• Replication of the School’s successful model

• Scaleability

• Incorporation of other brand ambassador profiles

• Social change regarding gender violence

• Expanding PoS and number of brand ambassadors

• Improvements to management

• Broadening the profiles of brand ambassadors

SWOT Analysis of the Project based on the interviewees’ opinions In the School, there seem to be two main threats to the Proj-

ect’s future. The first is getting used to the present state of affairs and dropping the aim of ‘positive rotation’. The second is that the women may become dependent on the School or on Danone.

5.4.1. CHRONIC PROBLEM: ‘MAKING DO’

There is a risk that brand ambassadors will ‘make do’ with the Danone job. Some of the interviewees opined that the job had not encourage the women find other employment. Some-times a woman who ‘makes do’ with the job may resign her-self to being a victim of circumstances and just ‘getting by’.

«I feel I have settled in and am not striving to better myself. Like it or not, it is €390 a month and that is what I am living on»Stakeholder 9

Nevertheless, some interviewees said that other factors were at work in the job:

The strong commitment to the project and gratitude to Danone for having given the brand ambassadors this job. The women feel indebted to the brand and that taking another job would be tantamount to be-traying the firm. Following this line of thought, it is not that the women are ‘making do’ with the job but rather that they are loyal to the firm.

Other interviewees said that there were personal hurdles to getting a normal job (for example, age, gender, nationality, having suffered domestic vio-lence) or structural problems such as the economic crisis which make it well-nigh impossible to find al-ternative employment. The dire need to earn money makes the women prefer to stick with the job. This is a rational decision that has nothing to do with ‘resting on the oars’.

The programme managers tell the women why they should not resign themselves to their lot and why they must overcome these hurdles:

«I say to them: People have also become millionaires during crises — you could do the same. Use your imagination, cre-ativity and strive to make your own way in the world»Stakeholder 9

5.4.2. EMOTIONAL AND FINANCIAL DEPENDENCE

A second potential risk is that of making the women emotion-ally and financially dependent on FAB.

Dependence and paternalism can arise in the women’s links with the School and other intermediaries in the empowerment programme. Sometimes the School’s ‘accompaniment’ may be misconstrued by some of the women as an almost ‘ma-ternal’ form of care — something that does not help them empower themselves.

In addition, some of the interviewees criticised the School’s control and over-protection of the women. This creates a feed-back loop that hinders attainment of the Project’s objectives. This was clearly expressed by the following interviewees: «We do not want to create dependence. These women have been emotionally dependent on the menfolk who mistreated them for years. The last thing we want is to make them dependent on us and we do our utmost to avoid it. That said, they do not feel abandoned once their job as brand ambassadors has ended»Stakeholder 10

«I do not like paternalism because it is bad for the women. It is a bit like with children — if you mollycoddle them or do not bring them up right, things work out badly. I think it is the same with adults — we don’t need someone doing everything for us. You have to teach people to help themselves»Stakeholder 6

Another one of the risks is the School’s financial dependence on Danone. Over the medium term, the aim is to make the School financially sustainable and self-funding. The School’s future would be assured if it were to gain more corporate cli-ents. Efforts are being made to replicate the Danone brand ambassador model with other companies.

«We are trying to enlist more firms and brands to work with the School. The aim is to find other brands that already have their own promotion projects. We will be able to give them a first-rate service that yields better results than would the case employing other women» Stakeholder 19

«No tengo ningún interés comercial. Mi único interés es que la Escuela sea sostenible. Estamos luchando, y ya hemos conseguido que nuevos clientes se incorporen, como Cam-pofrío o Bonduelle»Stakeholder 14

5.4. RISKS TO BE AVOIDED IN THE PROGRAMME


The School’s sustainability therefore depends on replicating the successful model used so far with other firms. This is because the model works well, yielding excellent financial and social results.

«It is so hard to make a project viable from both social and business standpoints. When you find something that works, you cannot afford to let it drop. You have to slog to make it work. It took a lot of effort to launch the School. We have three years’ work under our belts and have seen that the model works and gets results. Ditching it now would be a terrible pity»Stakeholder 14

5.5. RECOMMENDATIONS MADE

1. DANONE

• Facilitate transport of advertising and other campaign materials to the PoS, especially bulky and/or heavy items.

• Plan marketing campaigns in a way that allows the brand ambassadors to organise their time. Sometimes one gets the impression that the School is a project run by Danone. That could stop other companies taking part.

• Reconsider the publicity given to Danone in the Project. The company is the School’s client but one sometimes gets the impression that the School is a Danone project. This could deter other firms from taking part.

• Broaden marketing campaigns to cover Danone’s non-dairy products.

• Adjust the length of the promotional campaigns to take account of brand ambassadors’ needs.

• Draw up the sales profiles needed at each PoS, depending on the shopping centre, its location, the availability of public transport, etc. to choose the best person for the job.

2. FAB

• Enhance the women’s professional profiles with a view to boosting their chances of getting a job that reflects their training, personal skills, experience and so on.

• Boost business activities and take a more active approach to seeking clients.

• Systematise care of victims. Need for a protocol covering care and measures that ensures everyone is treated alike without losing personalised care no matter what a woman’s particular circumstances may be.

• Define a path to women’s empowerment, setting objectives and targets and establishing processes.

• Standardise information to ensure social reports are quicker and easier to complete.

• Draw up future scenarios and thus identify the various circumstances in which the School might find itself.

• Seek the School’s financial sustainability and generate income from employment agency activities and training.

• Take on more management tasks in agency services in order to reach more clients.

• Carry out more professional staff training and selection activities that are more result-oriented.

3. MOMENTUM TASK FORCE

• Introduce performance-related pay for brand ambassadors to motivate them more.

• Incorporate realistic job targets for brand ambassadors.

• Introduce Quality Control tools covering brand ambassadors’ work.

• Facilitate the transport of advertising and other campaign materials, especially bulky and/or heavy items.

• Take brand ambassadors’ need for free time into account.

• Consider the women’s participation in other kinds of campaigns.

Below we summarise the recommendations made by the interviewees draw from the three main sets of players behind the Project.

67THE DANONE AND DANONE ECOSYSTEM FUND - FUNDACIÓN ANA BELLA PROJECT

CONCLUSIONS

PART SIX

By way of conclusions, general ideas are set out below on the lines that DANONE and the Danone Ecosystem Fund might explore for the Project. The foregoing pages considered the points of view of brand ambassadors and stakeholders. By contrast, this section contains the author’s evaluation of the Project. While in overall terms, the project was considered to have yielded good results, this concluding section looks at: (1) the extent to which the Danone-FAB Project’s initial objec-tives were met; (2) the Project’s future orientation.

We shall begin by diagnosing the opinions of interviewees (see Figure 10 below).

Figure 9. Overall diagnosis of the Project

The first thing one should note is the three kinds of wom-en’s empowerment. Of these, the Project has reaped greatest success in the sphere of personal empowerment. This is fol-lowed by socio-relational empowerment and then by financial empowerment.

One can distinguish several dimensions for each kind of empowerment. Thus, financial empowerment is analysed in terms of pay, ‘positive turnover’ and training. Personal em-powerment breaks down into self-perception, confidence, and life-work balance. Finally, in connection with socio-relational empowerment, one should note issues bearing on: relations with other women; brand ambassadors’ integration in a social group; the possibility of helping other women; fostering public awareness of gender violence issues.

Each of these empowerment dimensions is scored on a scale from 1 to 3, in which ‘3’ indicates the objective has been fully achieved, ‘1 not achieved and ‘2’ that it has been partially achieved.

According to this scale, the dimensions that have the highest scores bear on personal empowerment, specifically: self-per-ception, confidence, and optimism — all things achieved by the women in the Project. By contrast, financial empowerment had the lowest scores, given that the Project was much less successful in this regard. Thus the objectives bearing on brand ambassadors’ wages and training were only partially achieved and the Project failed to deliver ‘positive turnover’, even through there are women who have taken the leap.

Lastly, personal empowerment ensured the social-relational objective were largely met. The School helped the brand am-bassadors relate to other women and to escape their isolation by incorporating them in a much wider social group. However, the objectives of helping other women and fostering public awareness of gender violence were only partially attained giv-en that only modest progress was made in this direction and there is still a lot to be done.

Remuneration

3

2

1

0

Positive turnover

Training

Self-perception

Self-confidence

OptimismWork-Life Balance

Social Group...

Helping other women

Social awareness of...

Financial empowerment

Personal empowerment

Relational-social empowerment

Relationship with other women


In reviewing the School’s three-year track record, we propose that Danone’s future Project involvement should focus on helping achieve the four objectives listed below. Some of the measures fall to Danone but others require dialogue between the Project’s key partners: FAB and Momentum Task Force. The aforementioned objectives are:

1st. TO ENSURE THE PROJECT’S SUSTAINABILITY and keep up the effort.

2nd. TO HELP PUT THE SCHOOL ON THE PATH TO FINANCIAL VIABILITY and empower FAB to broker relations with other

organisations.

3rd. TO BOOST ‘POSITIVE TURNOVER’ of brand ambassadors and focus job profiles on

a wider range of clients.

4th. TO BROADEN THE PORTFOLIO OF CLIENTS to facilitate Project scaling and to disseminate its

benefits so that Danone can share the Project burden with other firms and even work alongside them.

The concluding session discusses a series of points that should be considered as recommendations to Danone, the School and FAB for the following months.

6.1. ACTION PLAN TEN RECOMMENDATIONS:

1. Build a sound business case for firms that want to join the Project. The case should be built on social and financial impact indicators based on existing data. Following the ‘shared value’ approach, other organisa-tions (mainly companies) would be invited to take part and contribute to the four objectives set out in the foregoing section.

2. Draw up a plan for fostering/boosting FAB capabilities with the help of other organisations. This would turn these organisations into collaborating agents and effective leaders of the Project.

3. Boost brand ambassador outsourcing mechanisms. This would create stable and semi-stable jobs (with transitional jobs in other firms and the option of returning after a certain time in the Project), as well as one-off jobs.

4. Analyse the Project’s special value within the framework of a set of initiatives undertaken in the Danone eco-system (and established KPIs) to: (1) evaluate affinity with the Danone eco-system’s mission; (2) align the Project with future content.

5. Separate FAB’s organisation from that of the School (ESAB). Having separate organisations for each would facilitate the management of both projects. In practice, some people occupy posts in both organisations and this creates management problems. Clearly-defined organisations would facilitate management of the two projects, whose purposes and strategies differ.

6. Re-cast the School in a service company mould with a social impact. One way of capturing new corporate clients is to turn the School into a supplier of marketing and sales services whose differentiating feature is their underlying social purpose. This differentiation may make justify the additional expense that funding part of the School would entail.

7. To foster a change in the School’s leadership model, which would empower new managers. In an entity like the School, over-centralisation based on a given style of leadership can harm the organisation and exclude a rational chain of command and division of tasks by the hierarchy. Such leadership can also threaten the Project’s survival once the charismatic leader has gone.

8. Draw up a training and empowerment itinerary for the women which would let them know which stage they were at, the training they had received, and the things they still needed to achieve. This itinerary would avoid some brand ambassadors ‘resting on the oars’ and establish the stages applicable for new women joining the programme.

9. Foster the ‘positive turnover’ of brand ambassadors by charting a course for getting them into normal jobs while still meeting individual needs. The School could help brand ambassadors in their quest for a regular job by improving their employability through special training. The purpose would be to get the women into a proper job. Furthermore, this ‘positive turnover’ would reduce the risk of the women being stigmatised by having got a job through a School that works with victims of gender violence.

10. Overcome the contradiction between ‘visibility’ and autonomy in the role played by Danone in its relation-ship with the School. Currently, the decisive role played by Danone in the School’s development may limit the latter’s autonomy and ability to interest other firms in taking part in the project. If Danone has a high profile in the School, other companies may see the whole thing as a project solely serving Danone and be deterred from taking part as a result. On the other hand, at the moment it would be hard for the School to continue if Danone were to withdraw from the Project. Accordingly, it is recommended that a calendar be drawn up for giving the School greater autonomy from Danone and — in the longer term — becoming financially independent.


INSTITUTE FOR SOCIAL INNOVATION

The mission of the Institute for Social Innovation is to develop the capacities of individuals and organizations in the business and non-profit sectors to strengthen, in its own activities, their contribution to a more just and sustainable world. To this end, the Institute generates and divulge knowledge and provides training in the areas of corporate social responsibility and relationship with stakeholders, leadership and management of NGOs, social entrepre-neurship, sustainability and social innovation.

THE AUTHORS TEODOR MELLENPhD in Sociology. University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU)Degree in Sociology, Autonomous University of Barcelona

Teodor Mellen is specialized in techniques and methods of social research. He has worked as consultant in public and private through applied social research. Academic Assistant at ESADE since 1999 he has been researcher at the Observatory of the Values (Chair of Leadership and Democratic Governance) and the Institute of Labour Studies of ESADE.

He currently teaches methods and social research techniques at several universities and he is research fellow at the Department of Theory and History of Education at the University of Barcelona. His research interests are focused on the processes of social change, the nonprofit sector and the processes of educational change.

DAVID MURILLOPhD in Sociology. University of BarcelonaDegree in Humanities. Universitat Oberta de CatalunyaDegree in Business Administration. University of Barcelona

David Murillo has worked in the financial, public and non-profit sectors, where he has gained experience in commercial banking, as a local development agent and as an NGO manager in the field of community mental health, respectively.

In 2002, he began his collaboration with the Institute for the Individual, Corporations and So-ciety (now renamed the Institute for Social Innovation), first as a Research Assistant and then as a Research Associate from 2006 onwards. Since 2009, he is lecturer of the Department of Social Sciences at ESADE and conducts research at the Institute for Social Innovation.

David Murillo has served as an advisor on CSR-related issues to the Generalitat de Catalunya, the Ministry of Industry of Spain and the UNDP (United Nations). He regularly presents his research findings at conferences around the world and is a regular contributor to the newspaper Avui.

CAMPUS BARCELONA · SANT CUGAT

Av. Torreblanca, 5908172 Sant Cugat del VallèsBarcelona (Spain)T. (+34) 93 280 61 [email protected]

www.esade.edu

This report has been written thanks to the support of the Danone Ecosysteme Fund.

FONDS DANONE POUR L’ECOSYSTEME

15 rue du Helder75439 Paris Cedex 09

www.ecosysteme.danone.com

Date post:	16-Apr-2017
Category:	Government & Nonprofit
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REPORT: Danone, Ecosystem Fund and Ana Bella Foundation Project: Balance & Perspectives (2011-14)

Government & Nonprofit