Gap Inc. rewarded for efforts to improve lives of female workers

WASHINGTON-- Gap Inc. announced that it has received the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW) Champions for Change Award for Innovation in recognition of the company’s P.A.C.E. (Personal Advancement and Career Enhancement) program. This workplace program was developed by Gap Inc. in 2006 to provide life skills and enhanced technical skills education to female garment workers to help them advance in the work place and in their personal lives. The program currently operates in India and Cambodia, with plans for expansion to other countries. Bobbi Silten, COO, Gap Inc., accepted the award last night during the ICRW ‘Passport to Progress’ event held at the National Press Club in Washington.

“We are honored to receive this award for P.A.C.E.,” said Silten. “Investing in improving women’slives is a natural fit for us. Approximately seventy percent of Gap Inc. employees and 80 percent of garment workers around the world are women. Our company culture, our knowledge of the apparel world and our partnerships with manufacturing vendors and local non-government organizations have allowed us to help make meaningful impact on women and the communities where they live and work,” she added.

According to Gap, more than 3,500 female garment workers have participated in the program.