There I was, with five other Canadian women leaders wandering the northern Ghana city of Tamale thinking, “Ahhh look how far we’ve come.”
And then we bump right into UK brand The Body Shop. Not a storefront, but a facility built by The Body Shop, to make and supply shea butter for their beauty products. In a part of Ghana that most travelers will never see.
I was struck by two things:
- The facility was staffed entirely by women. And some of them had their children with them while they worked. How many Canadian workplaces are so enlightened? These women were making money and engaging in economy in a tangible way.
- We thought we were off the grid. No cell service, nothing recognizable from home, and then, “Hello Body Shop”. Wait. What? This company went far. They went deep into a remote part of Ghana to secure their supply while also creating economic opportunity for women. To create change you can’t just dip your toe in the pond. You have to go all in.
I’m sure The Body Shop hasn’t got it right every time but progress can’t happen when you’re too afraid of calculated risks.
Comfortably Unsettled 