Kenya’s private sector must now recognise gender-based violence (GBV) as a core business priority, central to building safe, productive and thriving workplaces.
As public concern around GBV and femicide intensifies, companies across agriculture, horticulture, floriculture, and food processing face a defining moment. The question is no longer whether GBV affects business, but whether business will lead the response.
At the Global Compact Network Kenya, we see this as a critical moment for responsible business leadership. Business leaders can set the tone at the top, building systems that protect employees, and engaging in partnerships for broader impact that ultimately contributes to more just, inclusive, and equitable societies.
The United Nations Global Compact calls on companies to turn principles into practice and take responsibility for how they treat people. For Kenyan businesses, this means moving beyond statements to safeguards that workers can trust, including training, safe reporting channels, and fair remediation systems. It also means working with partners across the ecosystem so that safeguarding becomes a consistent expectation throughout value chains.
We continue to champion stronger uptake of the Women’s Empowerment Principles and greater transparency through the Communication on Progress. As partners, our message is clear: Make GBV prevention a leadership priority, resource it properly and report progress openly.
Recent engagements between UN Women and IDH have underscored a simple truth: GBV is not a women’s issue but a systemic business risk. In agriculture, it undermines productivity and stability, costing the global economy an estimated $1.5 trillion annually. In Kenya, where agriculture contributes more than one-fifth of GDP and influences far more through its links to manufacturing and exports, the stakes are especially high. The country can only build safe, inclusive and competitive workplaces if business leaders choose to act boldly, invest in prevention, and embed accountability at every level.
Through the Women’s Safety Accelerator Fund, IDH has generated evidence that makes this clear. In workplaces where 30 per cent of women experienced GBV, employers lost an estimated Sh2.4 million each year in productivity. In estates with widespread harassment, losses rose to Sh7 million, up to 7 per cent of annual revenue. These are losses from preventable safety failures.
As global due diligence requirements tighten, export-facing companies cannot afford weak safeguards. Those that have introduced structured safeguarding systems have seen productivity losses fall by up to 71 per cent, alongside reduced absenteeism and more stable workflow.
Buyers increasingly expect clear, credible systems that prevent harassment and protect workers. For IDH, GBV prevention is not a social add-on; it is fundamental to stable, competitive, and future-ready markets.
As Kenya observes the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, the message is timely. Addressing GBV strengthens Kenya’s growth, export reputation and resilience, and builds agricultural value chains that are stronger and more reliable.
At UN Women, we recognise that GBV is not only a grave human rights violation but also a fundamental barrier to women’s economic participation and to Kenya’s broader development ambitions. It limits women’s agency, restricts access to opportunities, and weakens economic systems that depend on women’s full contribution. Addressing it requires a systemic and gender-responsive approach that transforms the structures that perpetuate inequality.
Our work is grounded in Kenya’s national development and gender frameworks, including policies on women’s economic empowerment, protection and inclusive development. By supporting government, private sector and community partners to implement these commitments, we help translate national priorities into measurable change.
We promote the Women’s Empowerment Principles to encourage and strengthen safe, inclusive and accountable workplaces and champion survivor-centred approaches that prioritise dignity, confidentiality and access to justice. Through these efforts, UN Women advances a Kenya where women can participate fully, safely and equally in economic life.
Kenya can show that economic performance and human dignity go hand in hand. Safe workplaces strengthen markets, attract investment and support a confident and productive workforce.
As we move from dialogue to action, we invite leaders, financiers and policymakers to embed GBV safeguards into governance, sourcing and reporting. Let this be the moment when Kenyan businesses demonstrate that safety is non-negotiable and inclusion drives national progress.
Ms Njino is Executive Director, Global Compact Network Kenya, Ms N’Gabala-Sodonon is the Country Representative, UN Women Kenya and Ms Löfbom is Kenya Country Director, IDH.
