Social Sustainability
Social Upgrading
Definition
Social upgrading is the process of improvement in the rights and entitlements of workers as social actors, and in the quality of their employment — wages, security, conditions, voice — within global value chains. Developed in the global value chain literature (Barrientos, Gereffi and others), it is deliberately distinguished from economic upgrading: firms and countries can capture more value while workers' conditions stagnate or worsen, so social upgrading must be pursued through standards, bargaining, regulation and purchasing practices.
References
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This reference provides supporting context for how “Social Upgrading” is defined and used.
Overview
How it is used
The framework structures value chain development programmes, trade-labour linkage analysis, buyer purchasing practice reform, and research on decent work in global production.
Why it matters
Social upgrading names the difference between growth that reaches workers and growth that passes over them — the test of whether value chains develop or merely extract.