. . . securing Fair Wages to promote economic development for the working poor . . . engaging government to extend Balanced Policies and level the playing field for small producers . . . adopting Sustainable Solutions so the poor too can benefit from green innovations . . . extending meaningful Social Standards to attract investment and protect vulnerable workers . . . removing barriers to create Equal Access to high-value, sustainable markets
PROGRAMS
Opening Markets in India
Gujarat, India: 
In partnership with the Self-Employed Women's Association, GFI is working with 27,000 woman farmers
to reduce food insecurity, improve access to markets and eliminate regulatory barriers facing small producers.
Learn more about the Women Farmers Livelihood Program...»
OPPORTUNITIES
2011 Fairness Award
Honoring Albina: 
GFI's 2011 Fairness Award was held November 8 at the Historic Lincoln Theatre in Washington,
DC. Recognizing the leadership and partnership that creates opportunity for the world's
most vulnerable communities, the 2011 Fairness Award Honored, Albina Ruiz of Peru.
Learn more aboput the Fairness Award...»
NEWS
GFI Honors Albina Ruiz
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
The 2nd Annual Fairness Award was presented to Ms. Albina Ruiz of Peru by GFI Board Chair President Jose Maria Figueres
at an inspiring event at the historic Lincoln Theatre this evening. Ms. Ruiz has led a global effort to bring economic opportunity
and personal dignity to the 15 million waste pickers throughout Latin America and the world.
...Learn more about Albina »
. . . . . . . .
GFI Announces New Board Member Pablo Muñoz
Monday, September 19, 2011
At this year's Board of Directors meeting in New York City the Global Fairness Initiative proudly
welcomed a distinguished new member to the Board, Mr. Pablo Muñoz, Group President, Tupperware Brands Corp.
...Learn more about Pablo »
...Read the Press Release
. . . . . . . .
GFI Board Member Reema Nanavaty Featured at CGI
Thursday, September 22, 2011
GFI Board Member Reema Nanavaty of SEWA shared the stage with former President Clinton
and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at the 2011 Clinton Global Initiative to recommit her
leadership around the goal of introducing millions of clean cookstoves to rural families in India.
...Learn more about CGI »
. . . . . . . .
Secretary Clinton and Ela Bhatt are first Fairness Award Honorees
Monday, November 15, 2010
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton joins 2000 other special guests to honor Ela Bhatt, founder of SEWA, at the 2010
GFI Fairness Award at the Kennedy Center Opera House.
...Read Secretary Clinton's Speech »
. . . . . . . .
GFI Ghana Shea Nut Program wins 2010 SEED Awards
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
GFI's Ghana Shea Nut Economic Empowerment Program has received a 2010 Seed Initiative Award along with 30
other programs recognized as "innovative start-up ventures." The Ghana program, with the Pag Sung Shea Nut Association, is
aimed at providing better access to markets, financing and economic empowerment for women
Shea nut producers in Northern Ghana.
...Read the Press Release
Learn more about the Seed Award »
. . . . . . . .
The 2nd Annual Fairness Award was presented to Ms. Albina Ruiz of Peru by GFI Board Chair President Jose Maria Figueres
at an inspiring event at the historic Lincoln Theatre this evening. Ms. Ruiz has led a global effort to bring economic opportunity
and personal dignity to the 15 million waste pickers throughout Latin America and the world.
. . . . . . . .
At this year's Board of Directors meeting in New York City the Global Fairness Initiative proudly
welcomed a distinguished new member to the Board, Mr. Pablo Muñoz, Group President, Tupperware Brands Corp.
...Read the Press Release
. . . . . . . .
GFI Board Member Reema Nanavaty of SEWA shared the stage with former President Clinton
and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at the 2011 Clinton Global Initiative to recommit her
leadership around the goal of introducing millions of clean cookstoves to rural families in India.
...Learn more about CGI »
. . . . . . . .
Secretary Clinton and Ela Bhatt are first Fairness Award Honorees
Monday, November 15, 2010
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton joins 2000 other special guests to honor Ela Bhatt, founder of SEWA, at the 2010
GFI Fairness Award at the Kennedy Center Opera House.
...Read Secretary Clinton's Speech »
. . . . . . . .
GFI Ghana Shea Nut Program wins 2010 SEED Awards
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
GFI's Ghana Shea Nut Economic Empowerment Program has received a 2010 Seed Initiative Award along with 30
other programs recognized as "innovative start-up ventures." The Ghana program, with the Pag Sung Shea Nut Association, is
aimed at providing better access to markets, financing and economic empowerment for women
Shea nut producers in Northern Ghana.
...Read the Press Release
Learn more about the Seed Award »
. . . . . . . .
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton joins 2000 other special guests to honor Ela Bhatt, founder of SEWA, at the 2010
GFI Fairness Award at the Kennedy Center Opera House.
...Read Secretary Clinton's Speech »
. . . . . . . .
GFI Ghana Shea Nut Program wins 2010 SEED Awards
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
GFI's Ghana Shea Nut Economic Empowerment Program has received a 2010 Seed Initiative Award along with 30
other programs recognized as "innovative start-up ventures." The Ghana program, with the Pag Sung Shea Nut Association, is
aimed at providing better access to markets, financing and economic empowerment for women
Shea nut producers in Northern Ghana.
...Read the Press Release
Learn more about the Seed Award »
. . . . . . . .
GFI's Ghana Shea Nut Economic Empowerment Program has received a 2010 Seed Initiative Award along with 30
other programs recognized as "innovative start-up ventures." The Ghana program, with the Pag Sung Shea Nut Association, is
aimed at providing better access to markets, financing and economic empowerment for women
Shea nut producers in Northern Ghana.
...Read the Press Release
Learn more about the Seed Award »
. . . . . . . .
THE FAIRNESS AWARD
The 2nd Annual Fairness Award:"Celebrating Partnership, Honoring Leadership"
2010 Honorees Ela Bhatt and Hillary Clinton
On November 8th, 2011 1000 special guests will gather at Washington's historic Lincoln Theatre
to honor Albina Ruiz with the Second Annual Fairness Award.
The Fairness Award was conceived to recognize exceptional achievement in opening access and opportunity
for the world's working poor, and each year a partnership of a grassroots and grasstop leader will be
brought together and honored for their work to create opportunity and equity for the working poor. In 2010 with this award a
tradition was begun to recognize what is possible and inspire communities to "find their own way forward to overcome
long legacies of inequality and unfairness" (Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Fairness Award Presenter).
...read more about the 2011 Honoree Albina Ruiz. » .
About Albina Ruiz, 2011 Fairness Award Honoree
Albina sees income generating opportunities for women where many just see intractable
poverty. Albina moved from her community in the jungle of Peru to Lima, the capital, when
she was 16 years old. A hard worker, she studied industrial engineering at a competitive
university. In her walks to the University she saw the mountains of trash piled on the
sides of the road, a sight she had never seen before in the jungle. That was the start of
an idea that would impact the lives of thousands of Peruvians: the creation of local
enterprises to collect and process garbage. The women-enterprises charge affordable fees
for the collection of trash, reducing waste volume in municipal landfills and generating
more income by separating recyclables, spinning off additional microenterprises to produce
compost and other marketable by-products.
...learn more about Albina's Organization Ciudad Saludable »
FEATURE
The Life of Salt Worker in Northern India
Photo by Sally Painter
In the desert flats of Gujarat in northern India thousands of families earn their livelihoods extracting salt from the
the arid land earning an income of just dollars a day per household. Numerous policy and economic barriers
prevent salt farmers from increasing their wages and as a result social barriers have arisen that keep girls from
achieving a basic education, families from accessing healthcare and that significantly deepen the poverty cycle for
these marginalized workers.
...read more about the life of an Indian Salt Worker in the Washington Post Article 'This Is the Destiny
of Girls' »
How GFI is Helping