Gender

Why do female garment workers face so many challenges?

Women make up a large majority of the workforce in the garment and textiles sector in Asia. Despite being a large proportion of the workforce, they continue to face many challenges and are a minority in management positions as well as in leadership positions in trade unions and employers' associations.

This section brings together leading insight and resources to help you understand and drive improvements to Gender equality in the garment sector. In addition to authoritative commentary and analysis, you will also find best practices and learning resources that can be used in the workplace, as well as unique opportunities to interact with and learn from Gender experts in the field.

What challenges do female garment workers face?

The Asian garment and textiles sector accounts for more than half of global textiles and clothing exports and employs some 60 million workers. However, among the industry’s many long-term sustainability challenges, ensuring gender equality for its workforce is one of its most pressing (ILO, 2022a).

Women make up a large majority (sometimes up to 80 percent and beyond) of the workforce in the sector in Asia, but they typically face multiple challenges in the workplace (ILO, 2018). Women’s wages, for example, generally lag behind that of equally qualified men. Female workers are also too often employed on short-term contracts (ILO, 2018c; ILO, 2022a; Yibo, 2023), which adds to income and livelihood insecurity for them and their families.

Various forms of discrimination, harassment and violence, are commonly reported in garment workplaces that violate women’s labour rights (ILO 2019). Despite growing industry awareness of these issues in recent years, government efforts to improve and enforce related laws, together with as company efforts to change workplace attitudes and safeguard workers’ rights in these areas have largely fallen short.

Data also shows that female factory workers often have fewer opportunities for advancement than their male peers - and to make matters worse, they also typically lack the voice and influence at decision-making levels to claim their rights and redress inequalities (ILO 2018c; ILO 2022a). At home, women also bear the burden of unpaid care work, which affects both their health and wellbeing and career progression chances.

What are key challenges surrounding gender in the Asia's garment and textiles industry?

Insecure employment: Women in the region, on average, are more likely than men to be in informal and insecure employment^[1]. The garment sector is the same and women are often put on short-term contracts which make it impossible to plan for the future or the unexpected (ILO 2018c; ILO 2022a). They are forced to be in the fragile employment, with fear of contract termination at any time. Unfortunately, many female garment workers lack proper knowledge of their legal rights, making them vulnerable to unlawful termination and denial of basic legal entitlements.

Working conditions: Working conditions remain poor in general, including long and intense working hours, unsafe or unhealthy working conditions, and violations of fundamental rights at work (ILO, 2022a). While labour inspections and (third-party) compliance audits are conducted (with varying levels of frequency) in the sector, daily pressures to meet production targets and deadlines can have negative impacts on female workers, including through inadequate rest times (especially for pregnant and nursing workers) and vulnerability to workplace accidents and injuries.

Low salary: Gender pay gaps persist across the garment sector, and structural issues limit the sector’s potentials for women workers^[2]. Women are overrepresented among the sector’s lowest paid workers, and countries with the lowest shares of female workers also have among the highest gender pay gaps in the garment sector. In particular, (the share of employees earning less than 2/3 of the median earnings) among female employees is double that of male employees (32 per cent compared to 16 per cent) (ILO, 2022a). In Asia’s garment industry, women’s earnings generally lag behind that of men; the raw pay gap is the highest in Pakistan (64.5 per cent), followed by India (34.6 per cent) (ILO, 2017b).

Gender-based violence and harassment (GBVH): Gender-based violence and harassment (GBVH) remains a largely hidden issue. Yet women in the sector report this as a regular and daily risk, and one which is exacerbated by power differences and deep-rooted social norms and practices that de-value women^[3]. Female workers often lack knowledge on GBVH, and this is compounded by barriers to legal and social protections. Such experiences are well documented, and backed up by data^[4]: An ILO study in 2012 found that one in five women had experienced sexual harassment at work in Cambodian garment factories. Similarly, CARE International (2017) found that 28.6 per cent of female factory workers it surveyed had faced sexual harassment in the previous 12 months. Other egregious abuses including sexual coercion have also been reported in Asian garment factories.

Limited voice and representation in trade unions: The garment sector in Asia has relied heavily on female labour to support its growth and development. However, for most female workers, their job remains low-skilled and low-paid. Across Asia, trade unions and worker organizations are often male-dominated, with relatively few women in leadership or decision-making roles^[5]. As a result, specific concerns of women workers are too often overlooked. Although there are many women who work in supervisory roles in the garment factories, their ability to control or influence changes in the workplace culture is limited. They are often found to be reluctant to speak out against the injustices that women experience in their workplace, and their voices may not be heard from union leaders.

How can we make the garment industry a more gender inclusive workplace?

Enhancing dialogues with multi-stakeholders: Hosting open and effective dialogue with diverse stakeholders is key to facilitating understanding about gender inequality in the industry and to take actions for positive change. Open dialogue with multiple stakeholders can include governments, workers’ and employers’ organizations, local and international NGOs, and international organizations. Open dialogues can enable diverse parties to communicate their perspectives and priorities, and such space can create opportunities for stakeholders to reconcile their differing situations and identify more integrated solutions.

Empowering female workers to become leaders: The leadership positions in labour unions in the garment industry are dominated by males across the countries, and more supports are needed to enhance female leadership. For this, training for female workers to get inspired to be leaders is important, as well as highlighting some prominent female leaders to encourage female workers to become leaders is also effective support. Mentoring and coaching, as well as creating network amongst female leaders across borders can support female leaders. Spreading messages about gender equality and promotion of female leaders to all workers is also important to fix their internalized gender bias that women cannot make good leaders.

Set up a clear mechanism for harassment prevention: Harassment and sexual harassment is prevalent in the region and workplace is not safe for all the female workers in garment and textile industry. The prevention mechanism of harassment and sexual harassment is not yet in place in most countries in Asia, especially in south-east Asian nations. The garment and textile industry can collaborate with international partners such as ILO and GIZ to obtain support for some good initiatives that are addressing harassment and sexual harassment. Setting a policy to address harassment and establishing a prevention mechanism is an important step for this process.

What initiatives, projects or publications are addressing Gender inequality and discrimination in the garment and textiles industry?

Many initiatives and projects are initiated to address gender equality and discrimination against women in the garment and textile industry.

Business and Human Rights in Asia: Enabling Sustainable Economic Growth through the Protect, Respect and Remedy Framework(B+HR Asia) (2020-2023)^[1]: B+HR Asia is a joint action of the European Union (EU) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) with aims to promote and facilitate the implementation of the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs).
ILO Action Plan for Gender Equality (2022–25)^[2]: The UN System-wide Action Plan on Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-SWAP) to support implementation of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda.
Upgrade Skills and Competitiveness in Bangladesh (2023-)^[3]: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) supports the Bangladesh’s government to strengthen the skills base and training programs for its workforce and for women workers in the garment sector, upskilling and multi-skilling will be provided.
The Equal Pay International Coalition (EPIC), 2030^[4]: Led by ILO with other organizations to take concrete steps to accelerate the closing of the gender pay.
STOP Sexual Harassment project^[5]: CARE International is developing models to support industry, government, and civil society in preventing and responding to sexual harassment.
The ILO ready-made garment (RMG), 2017 - 2023 (Phase 2): The RMG project focus on making policies and regulations more gender responsive as well as promoting women workers’ voice and representation.
Better Factories Cambodia 2001 – present^[6]: The ILO Better Factories Cambodia aims to improve working conditions in Cambodia’s export garment factories. and inclusive.
Promoting Sustainability in the Textile and Garment Industry in Asia (2019-2025)^[7]: The project (Promoting Sustainability in the Textile and Garment Industry in Asia) supports the Asian textile industry in its transformation towards fair production for people and the environment.
WE (Women Empowerment) House café and worker center in Cambodia^[8]: The WE House is a training and counselling center for women workers established by the support of the FABRIC project with other partners.
UN WOMEN global partnership in Asia (2019-)^[9]: Japan’s Fast Retailing Co., Ltd., parent of the Japanese global apparel retailer UNIQLO, and UN Women implement a global partnership to champion women’s rights and empowerment in the apparel industry.
The #RatifyC190 Campaign (2018-)^[10]: NGOs in Asia have been collaborating to support the passing of ILO Convention 190 and Recommendation 206. The campaign organises events, webinars, fora and other awareness-raising activities.

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Multimedia Resources on Gender

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Gender

Why do female garment workers face so many challenges?

New Manual - How to set up a community platform for women garment workers

Cambodia:

Women Empowerment House (WE House)

International Women’s Day: Business Trends and Opportunities

Interview: Moving the needle on gender equality and decent work in Asia’s garment sector: why and how

Learnings and Tools

Resources on Gender

Where Are The Women? A study on the declining number of women workers in the Bangladesh RMG industry

[Executive Summary] Responsible Wage Digitalization in the GFT Sector

Responsible Wage Digitalization in the GFT Sector

The Social Impacts of Circular Strategies in the Apparel Value Chain; a Comparative Study Between Three Countries

Multimedia Resources on Gender

Find out Who's Who in the industry

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