WEBINAR SERIES SESSION 2: Decolonising Supply Chains: Equity, Ethics, and Inclusion in a Fragmented World

Overview

Global supply chains have long been shaped by colonial legacies — structures of extraction, dependency, and asymmetric power that persist beneath the language of 'efficiency' and 'comparative advantage.' The disruptions of polycrisis have made these inequities starker: it is workers in the Global South, smallholder farmers, and marginalised communities who bear the heaviest burden when supply chains fracture, yet their voices remain largely absent from boardrooms, procurement decisions, and business school classrooms.

The Decolonisation Imperative

Decolonising supply chains is not simply about sourcing from diverse suppliers or including Global South case studies in a syllabus. It requires interrogating foundational assumptions:

• Whose knowledge counts in supply chain design and governance?
• Who bears risk and who captures value across global value chains?
• What does 'responsible' sourcing mean when auditing systems were designed by and for buyers in the Global North?
• How do race, gender, caste, and colonial history shape supplier relationships and worker protections?
• What would supply chain education look like if it centred the perspectives of farmers, garment workers, and artisans rather than procurement managers?

Framing: A Fragmented World

In a world of accelerating geopolitical fragmentation — where friend-shoring, reshoring, and de-globalisation are reshaping trade architecture — there is a real risk that 'resilience' becomes a cover for re-concentrating supply chains in the Global North, leaving the most vulnerable suppliers and workers behind. This webinar asks: can decolonisation and resilience be pursued together? And what is the responsibility of business schools in this moment?

Objectives

• Surface the colonial histories and power asymmetries embedded in contemporary supply chain structures.
• Examine how equity, ethics, and inclusion can be operationalised — not just aspirationally stated — in procurement and supply chain governance.
• Share pedagogical approaches that centre Global South voices and lived experiences in supply chain education.
• Identify research gaps and collaborative opportunities at the intersection of decolonisation and responsible supply chain management.
• Build a PRME WG community committed to transformative, equity-centred teaching and practice.