Feminist Collective in Parliament: Inside the Good Business Matters mass lobby
ActionAid’s Feminist Collective attended the Good Business Matters mass lobby in Parliament, calling for support for a Business, Human Rights and Environment Act.
More than 200 constituencies were represented at the Good Business Matters mass lobby of Parliament, where members of ActionAid’s Feminist Collective joined campaigners, activists and human rights defenders calling for support for a Business, Human Rights. Photo: Friends of the Earth
Imagine booking a family holiday and finding flights for a fraction of the price of every other airline. It sounds like a bargain, until you discover the company knew there was a serious risk of harm and had taken no reasonable steps to prevent it.
Would simply telling you about the risk be enough? Most of us would expect more than transparency. We would expect action.
That principle sits at the heart of the campaign for a Business, Human Rights and Environment Act (BHREA).
Currently, much of the UK government’s approach to corporate due diligence relies on transparency rather than prevention. Under the Modern Slavery Act, a business can state that it has taken no steps to prevent slavery or human trafficking in its supply chains and still comply with the reporting requirement.
When harm does occur, those affected can face the burden of proving a company was responsible. A gender-responsive BHREA would seek to rebalance this by requiring businesses to identify human rights and environmental risks, and to show that they had taken reasonable steps to prevent harm. Effectively, making a duty to prevent harm a mandatory part of how businesses operate. Importantly, any new legislation would have to make sure businesses identify the unique risks to women and girls from their activities – and take action to prevent them.
That is what took us to Parliament on 21 October: to call for a system that moves beyond reporting potential harm, and one that requires businesses to help prevent it.
Why is this a feminist issue?
Human rights abuses and environmental harm do not happen in a vacuum.
Existing inequalities shape who works in the lowest-paid and least-secure parts of supply chains, who owns land and resources, who is heard when decisions are made and who has the power to seek justice when something goes wrong. Women are uniquely impacted when things go wrong. But women’s rights organisations are fighting back.
That is why members of ActionAid’s Feminist Collective joined the Good Business Matters lobby.
As one Collective member put it:
"This issue feels particularly urgent, as the climate crisis escalates and rights for women, Indigenous peoples and workers are under growing pressure around the world. That’s why I joined the Good Business Matters lobby day: to ask our MPs to support new legislation to protect people and the planet.”
That urgency carried through the day, as campaigners, community representatives and human rights defenders met with MPs to share their experiences and build support for a Business, Human Rights and Environment Act.
What we heard in Parliament
The day began with talks from people approaching the issue from very different perspectives – from parliamentarians discussing the policy and business case for stronger legislation, to human rights defenders sharing the realities faced by affected communities.
MP for Norwich South, Clive Lewis, gave a frank and compelling talk on how the costs of harmful business practices are often pushed onto workers, communities and the public, rather than carried by the companies responsible. He also spoke about how stronger rules could create a more level playing field for businesses so those already investing in responsible practices aren’t at a disadvantage.
We then heard from human rights defenders, who spoke about the human cost of forced labour in the cotton industry, where both adults and children can be forced to work under coercive conditions.
While this may feel far removed from our lives in the UK, cotton still enters the clothes and textiles we buy through complex international supply chains. That is exactly why legislation like a BHREA matters: it would require UK businesses to take greater responsibility for preventing harm across those wider supply chains and protect the rights of workers, and the environment.
After hearing directly from those working on and affected by these issues, we headed to Parliament to speak with our MPs and build support for this vital piece of legislation.
Our ask was simple: we wanted MPs to back stronger legislation, support the campaign for a BHREA and use their influence in Parliament to help make a gender-responsive duty to prevent human rights and environmental harm a reality.
Turning individual voices into collective pressure
Member's of ActionAid's Feminist Collective attend the Good Business Matters mass lobby of Parliament .
We reflected on how inspiring it had been to see people from such different backgrounds come together and feel that simply by taking part, they were contributing to something bigger.
Advocacy can feel like something reserved for experts or professional campaigners. The lobby day was a reminder that it isn’t. You can learn about an issue, tell your representative why it matters to you, and ask them to act.
That is exactly why spaces like ActionAid’s Feminist Collective matter: bringing people together to learn, build advocacy skills and turn a shared commitment to gender justice into action.
You do not need to be an expert to take part. You just need to be open to learning, and willing to use your voice.
To join ActionAid’s Feminist Collective, and see what we have in store for next year, please click here.
Blog written by Méabh - Feminist Collective Member
