The year 2018 marks the 100th anniversary of the suffragettes victory in achieving votes for women in Great Britain. The suffragettes were trailblazers, revolutionaries who went against the conventions of the day in the simple pursuit of fair play, demanding that the voice of women be heard in all sectors. Since then much progress has been made in the fight for equality between the sexes in the world of politics, culture and business.
GAN has in its way been a trailblazer and visionary not simply in its approach to the conception of its products but also through the empowerment of the women who design, develop and make its products.
GAN is a company that operates in an industry traditionally dominated by men, but its team is mainly comprised of women. At GAN, the principle of equal pay for equal work has been the order of the day since its beginnings. Mapi Millet, GAN’s director, is particularly proud of the collaborations that the company has established with the communities of India, where the various collections are manufactured. GAN sponsors a women’s development project in rural communities in northern India, in the state of Uttar Pradesh. There, the women use their skills in embroidery and sewing to make some of our most popular collections. The idea is simple: providing financial independence and autonomy through stable and well-paid work.
Providing employment to these craftswomen, and therefore financial independence, has a knock-on effect that translates into greater stability for the family, better educational prospects and rising living standards for the general community.
The female sensibility that characterises GAN is also evident in its creations and its many collaborations with female designers. Collections such as Mangas Space, Bandas and Garden Layers created by Patricia Urquiola, the Parquet kilim collection by Front, Valentina by Alejandra Gandía-Blasco, Canevas and Silaï by Charlotte Lancelot, the Knitted Stools by Claire Anne O’Brien, Waan by Dienke Dekker and the Mix&Match trays by Flavia del Pra, are all clear evidence of our mission of collaborating with women and providing mutual support… Happy International Women’s Day!
