Women workers declining in BD RMG industry

Industry Desk: Almost 20% of Bangladesh’s GDP comes from the textile industry. The Bangladesh economy is largely supported by the textile sector, which is essential for changing the gender dynamic in the nation and empowering women at all levels. The sector was the first to employ women in large numbers and provide a regular income, affording those employed with a new degree of economic empowerment and autonomy.
The Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) has published a report on the declining number of women in the Bangladesh ready-made-garment (RMG) industry.
Almost 20% of Bangladesh’s GDP comes from the textile industry. The Bangladesh economy is largely supported by the textile sector, which is essential for changing the gender dynamic in the nation and empowering women at all levels. The sector was the first to employ women in large numbers and provide a regular income, affording those employed with a new degree of economic empowerment and autonomy.
The Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) has published a report on the declining number of women in the Bangladesh ready-made-garment (RMG) industry.
The research procedure was conducted by BRAC University in Bangladesh, with a sufficient funding from GIZ and Ethical Trading Initiative Bangladesh, through the Sustainable Textile Initiative: Together for Change (STITCH), supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands. Quantitative data for this investigation was gathered by surveying 337 factories, 370 current female garment workers, 285 former female garment workers, and 183 potential female garment workers.
The qualitative data included nine focus group discussions (FGD) with 89 participants, five of whom were former employees, two current employees, and two potential employees.
The proportion of female workers in the sector has steadily declined in recent years. Women no longer make up 80% of the workforce in the RMG sector; according to the most recent estimates, this figure is now less than 66%. According to the study, the proportion of women garment workers has continued to fall from 54.22% in 2015 to 53.89% in 2018 and 53.65% in 2021.
Among workers who left the RMG sector in 2021, 51% were women compared to 49% in 2015. This shows a slight increase in exit numbers.
There are several reasons for the decrease of women worker rate from the RMG factories. One of the key reason is to care for their children. The issue of nurturing the children is a major issue in the rural areas of Bangladesh.
Pregnancy, age appropriateness, home and work imbalance are also impacting this situation. Some other issues are also present however like harassment and violence, long working hours, low salary etc.
The survey found out that 8% of all current women workers wanted to leave the RMG sector after one year and 27% after five years. They also identified their family situation (41%) as the primary reason for any thoughts related to leaving the job, followed by moving back to their village (20%), working conditions (18%), moving to a different job (13%) and age appropriateness (8%).
Upward mobility is extremely limited for women garment workers. About 86% of workers joined the factory as helpers, 66% left as operators and only 1% as supervisors. According to the survey of potential women workers, 54% preferred to work in the RMG sector whilst 46% would rather to be employed in non-garment sectors.
The implication of this situation can be a serious problem to the societal and economical perspectives. This study found that the decision by skilled women workers to leave the RMG sector is likely to impact labor productivity, an issue of which factory management seems fully aware. A high turnover of workers may also result in order delays and increased risks of factories subcontracting to meet production deadlines.
This challenging issue will likely reverse the economic gains made by the country and for women in particular, as well as impact the country’s efforts to meet its development objectives around Sustainable Development Goal 5 on gender equality and women’s empowerment, and commitments under the national development plan Vision 2041.
The study recommended some approaches to solve this issue immediately. Educating managers and workers, as well as implementing appropriate grievance mechanisms to allow workers to report such behavior, can help to create a healthy work environment free of physical and verbal abuse. According to government regulations, providing maternity-related services includes maternity leave to the workers can help to solve this situation. Providing transportation, for example, to ensure the safety and security of female workers is also necessary approach.
When these issues arise, the government should convene stakeholders such as international buyers, business associations, civil society, and worker representatives to address them collectively. Brands should examine their purchasing practices, particularly production planning – to ensure that commitments can be met by factories without putting pressure on workers to work overtime – and sustainable costing – so that factories can pay living wages to their workers and invest in factory improvements.
The improvements in the nature of industry must be developed so that women can feel safety and assurance while working and providing value to society. Women should have equal right in the industry like men to make a gender equal – equality order-based system for the welfare of our country.