Women need support to fill top chairs in RMG sector

Although women make up 60% of the workforce in the country's readymade garment sector, their presence at the managerial level is meagre. This is not encouraging to our female workers at all. Many would argue that female workers do not want to climb the ladder and take responsibility. But the question still remains valid: Where are the supporting arrangements to help women make strides in the fashion industry?

Managerial posts require extra office time and additional responsibilities. Many female workers may not be ready for that after taking care of their families and children. They simply cannot brush aside the household chores.

Besides, extra office duty means the worker might have to return home alone, while she would leave the factory with her colleagues as a regular worker. Safety and security issues, reproductive role and biological issues are the major challenges for women to top managerial posts.

If we want women filling up the top chairs, female workers then must be provided with additional facilities compared to their male counterparts. They will have to be provided with motivation and training.

If women assume top posts, many labour issues such as welfare of female workers, gender sensitivity and equality will get better attention. To this regard, all stakeholders such as factory owners and families of female workers need to shape a supportive environment.

According to the Survey of Manufacturing Industries 2019 by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), the managerial and administrative posts of the total 7,750 garment factories have 1.31 lakh staff members. Only 15,259 of these positions are held by women, registering an around 11% white collar job share compared to men.

Fahmida Khatun talked to The Business Standard Senior Reporter Reyad Hossain over the phone.