Female Supervisors are on the rise in Bangladesh RMG Industry

Ever since its inception, the Bangladesh garments industry has played a key role in empowering Bangladeshi women. The majority of sewing line operators – about 80% are women. GEAR, a partnership between IFC and the United Nations’ International Labour Organization, program started operation in 2016 with the goal of upskilling women to provide them with more opportunities to move up the career ladder.

By September 2022, GEAR is projected to train over 289,000 female workers in 80 factories – about 6.7% of the RMG industry's total workforce. Currently, the number of female supervisors have doubled since this program started, going from 6% to 12%. This is a step in the right direction for the Bangladesh RMG industry. Especially, considering 25% of factories starting in this program did not have a single female supervisor.

Today, about 60% of participating trainees are promoted to female supervisors within weeks of completing the program.

This training improves women through upskilling which results in increasing payment due to promotion. Ultimately, the GEAR program gives participating women a sense of freedom and confidence.

Additionally, 70% of participating factories reported improvements in two of the four productivity indicators i.e. - efficiency, absenteeism, turnover, and defect rates. Global apparel brands have also recognized the importance of GEAR as an effective tool to improve gender equality and create promising career opportunities for female garments workers. Brands such as M&S, H&M, Ralph Lauren, Levi’s and VF became partners, enrolling some 50 of their supplier factories in the program.

The program now includes training female workers in managerial roles as well. The program continued during Covid-19. This was possible due to virtual training. Initially, low literacy and lack of experience made the transition difficult. However, participants quickly acclimated to this format. As a result, participants achieved higher scores in post-training assessments compared to pre-pandemic times.