Gender Inequality and Garment Sector in Bangladesh
Gender Inequality and Garment Sector in Bangladesh
By Suman Chakma, University of Colombo (UG)
Gender inequality is the outcome of continuous
gender discrimination against one set of individuals, and it displays variably
depending on ethnicity, culture, politics, country, and economic circumstances.
It's also thought to be a contributing element in female violence.
Discrimination against women is an entrenched, global pandemic that affects
both men and women in individual situations. According to Human rights careers,
there are 10 causes of gender inequality.
2. Lack of employment equality
3. Job segregation
4. Lack of legal protections
5. Lack of bodily autonomy
6. Poor medical care
7. Lack of religious freedom
8. Lack of political representation
9. Racism
10 Societal mindsets (Emmaline Soken-Huberty,2019)
In Bangladesh, gender inequality is
seen as high. According to the United Nations Development Program's Human
Development Report 2020, Bangladesh placed 133rd, Bhutan 99th, India 123rd,
Myanmar 118th, Nepal 110th, Sri Lanka 90th, and Thailand 80th among the 189
nations in terms of Gender Inequality Index (GII) in 2019. Most of the Asian
countries are similar in the persistence of gender inequality due to social norms
are implemented highly in most Asian countries. One of the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs) targeted by the government of Bangladesh is to
integrate women into mainstream economic activity and ensure equitable
opportunity. Women in Bangladesh, on the other hand, are dominated by a
patrilineal and patriarchal kinship system that reinforces women's social and
economic dependence on males and dictates women's lower positions. Although
there has been continuous progress in lowering gender inequality in various
sectors (education, health, employment, etc.), there is still significant
inequality in these sectors in Bangladesh, and women's involvement is far lower
than men's. Gender disparity has emerged as a major stumbling block to meeting
development goals.
Since few decades, Apparel industry
has been a major export sector and a major source of foreign cash in
Bangladesh. According to Fibre2Fashion, In 2005 Exporting garments produced
roughly $5 billion in revenue for the government each year. About 3 million
people are employed in the business, with 90% of them being women. It seemed the Apparel sector was one of the main income sources.
Gender inequality in employment
Male and female both contribute to
grow economy of any countries. Some countries have a high percentage of females
but they don’t have any opportunities to contribute nation’s economy formally. But
there is no big difference between male percentage and female percentage in
Bangladesh recording 50.6% of males and 49.4% of females in 2021. (
Bangladesh is a country that has
various races and ethnicities. Gender inequality can be differed due to various
races and religions. Women's participation is high in the informal sector whereas low
participation is in the formal sector. According to the report, published by the Asian
Development Bank (ADB) in partnership with the BRAC Institute of Governance and
Development, Bangladeshi women have made gains in numerous aspects of health,
education, and job, but still, confront significant gender inequalities. The Bangladesh
Gender Equality Diagnostic of Selected Sectors is a report that intends to
influence the design of gender characteristics in ADB-supported projects in
four major sectors: skills, vocational, and tertiary education; energy;
transportation; and urban development. The research claims that a lack of
reliable, safe, and affordable public transportation is impeding women's
educational and employment chances. According to this report, women and girls
need skills, vocational, and tertiary education to be able to compete in the
workforce on an equal basis with men. Gender inequalities in education, as well
as stereotyping in the selection of academic courses and disciplines, persist.
(ADB report, 2018)
Gender inequality in the Garment sector
According to World Bank study,
women make up over 80% of garment workers in Bangladesh. They are,
nevertheless, paid less and have lower-level occupations than men. Andreas
Menzel and Chris Woodruff (2017) analyzed workers in 44 Bangladeshi textile
manufacturers to better understand salary disparities between men and women.
They discovered that men are promoted slightly more frequently than women and
that the majority of promotions occur when individuals leave one factory for a
higher-paying job elsewhere. Labor exploitation is seen highly in Bangladesh
having a high population rate and struggling with poverty. Most women work in
the garment sector from the rural areas and struggling with poverty. They have
to work in the garment sector even getting low wages. Gender stereotype is seen
highly in that sector. Most of the managers of the garment sector recruit women
due to social norms and gender stereotypes. Most of the activities in the
garment, including sewing, are believed as women-oriented works in Bangladeshi
society. So men tend less to that sector than women. Because of this, women are
efficient than men in that sector in terms of works. It may be happened due to
specialization.
Certain groups of people are disproportionately affected by the pandemic. Women are among the most vulnerable groups and have been among the pandemic's biggest victims. The pandemic's negative impact on women has manifested itself in a variety of ways, including job loss and income loss. They must work hard even in a pandemic condition. To strengthen the economy, the government authorized workers to work in the clothing industry. The pandemic has disproportionately affected women in the region, who are largely employed in low-wage informal activities. As a result, they were among the first to lose their jobs when the epidemic broke out. Those who remain employed must accept shorter work hours and lower pay. The pandemic has also made domestic chores more difficult. In most economies, they have seen a greater fall in employment and working hours than men in the second quarter of 2020 compared to the same period last year.
Causes of Gender inequality in the apparel sector
1. Institutions,
structural and social
Women were traditionally
discouraged from engaging in public life and were primarily recognized for
their reproductive function. Gender disparities are being created by social
pressures that are founded on age-old patriarchal practices and attitudes that
still exist in most parts of Bangladesh. Traditional views of women's roles as
housewives are still prevalent.
2. Lack
of appropriate policy initiative
There are no efficient policies in
place to safeguard the safety of women at home, in educational institutions, on
the road, and in companies. Women's violence is on the rise, and it's a serious
problem. Parents are more likely to keep their daughters at home under these
circumstances. As a result, individuals are unable to engage in educational,
health, employment, or other activities. Inequality, as a result, continues to
exist.
3. Gender
stereotype
There are stereotypes that men are
better off than women in terms of work abilities, and that only men can care
for their parents. As a result, girls face discrimination from the moment they
are born. In addition, gender prejudice exists in traditional Bangladeshi
society due to son preferences. When it comes to employment, firms in
Bangladesh still prefer to hire men over women.
4. Getting
Married Early
In Bangladesh, the early marriage
of females is a highly typical occurrence. One of the most significant
obstacles to women's and girls' education, health, and employment is early
marriage. Early marriage has historically hampered young women's access to
education and, as a result, employment possibilities, as well as putting their
health at risk.
Conclusion
Women have the highest
participation rates in the garment industry, retail, beauty, and food services.
In these low-growth sectors, there is an overstock of female
micro-entrepreneurs, resulting in fewer job prospects for women and increasing
supply scarcity. The most common impediment identified by women is a lack of
consumers. The profit difference, which continues even within the same
industry, has thus been proven to be driven by the quantity of orders. Gender
disparity and inequality can be decreased through appropriate policies. Mainly
education facilities should be provided equally to both men and women. In
addition, the behavior and attitudes of people should be changed.
References
- Bangladesh Women Making Progress But Still Face Gender Gap. (2021). Retrieved 12 September 2021, from https://www.adb.org/news/bangladesh-women-making-progress-still-face-gender-gap
- Bangladesh Population. (2021 , Sep 21). Retrieved from countrymeters: https://countrymeters.info/en/Bangladesh
- 10 Causes of Gender Inequality. (2021). Retrieved 12 September 2021, from https://www.humanrightscareers.com/issues/causes-gender-inequality/
- Furdaush, J. & Mustafizur Rahman, K. M. (2011, Octomber). Gender Inquality in Bangladesh. Retrieved from https://archive.nyu.edu/jspui/bitstream/2451/33900/2/gender_inequality_in_bangladesh.pdf
- Gender equality. (2021). Retrieved 12 September 2021, from https://www.unicef.org/gender-equality
- Khatun, F. (2021).
Women’s work during pandemic in the BIMSTEC region | ORF. Retrieved 12
September 2021, from https://
- Overview of Bangladesh Garment Industry. (2005, Aug). Retrieved from Fibre2Fashion: https://www.fibre2fashion.com/industry-article/37/overview-of-bangladesh-garment-industry
- The economic gender gap
in the garment sector in Bangladesh and Ghana - IGC. (2021). Retrieved 12
September 2021, from
https://www.theigc.org/blog/economic-gender-gap-garment-sector-bangladesh-ghana/
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