Bizbd Report: March 27, 2024: The garment factories in Bangladesh have gender pay gaps of up to 30 per cent in favour of men for base wages, according to a study report.

‘The garment factories in Bangladesh have the largest gender pay gaps of 22 per cent to 30 per cent for base wages, while at the garment factories in Turkey, the gaps are smaller but variable, at between 4 per cent and 17 per cent,’ said the report titled ‘Gender pay gaps in global supply chains: findings from workplaces in Bangladesh, Colombia, Morocco, Thailand and Turkey.

Conducted by United States-based research organisation Anker Research Institute, the study found that the gender pay gaps for gross cash wages, including overtime pay and cash allowances and bonuses, ranged from -5.5 cent to 25.9 per cent.

Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association president Faruque Hassan said that they were working to reduce gender pay gaps gradually in the readymade garment sector.

‘I do not know the exact figure of gender pay gaps, but we are promoting female workers to higher posts in the garment factories, which would help to reduce the gaps,’ he said.

The report said that in garment factories in Turkey and Bangladesh and at the farms in Morocco, women frequently earn less than men doing the same type of work.

The study identified that in Bangladesh garment sector men might be able to earn more than women doing the same work by negotiating a higher base wage or by switching factories for higher pay, especially when there were shortages of skilled labour.

According to the report, at many workplaces, men are disproportionately likely to have contracts and/or forms of pay that are associated with higher wages, such as monthly rate pay and piece rate pay in Bangladesh.

The report revealed that in garment factories in Bangladesh and Thailand, women have tend to work slightly more days per month than men, but in Turkey and Colombia, men have  tend to work slightly more days per month than women.

The report presented the findings of studies in five countries to test the Anker Research Institute’s new methodology for measuring the size and determinants of gender pay gaps at workplaces in global supply chains.

These studies involved analysis of payroll data for over 15,000 women and men working at 12 factories, farms, and packhouses in the garment and agro-food sectors, as well as over 350 interviews with workers, managers and  stakeholder organisations.

Results from the 12 study workplaces in five countries and in three economic sectors of garments, bananas and fresh produce indicated considerable diversity in the size and causes of gender pay gaps.

The ARI conducted its study in three garment factories in Bangladesh with between 1,500 and 4,000 workers per factory.

At the same time it also conducted study in three garment factories in Turkey with between 200 and 400 workers each.

It also said that in nine out of 12 workplaces, the proportion of women with a living wage was lower than the proportion of men with a living wage.

The study recommended that the employers should monitor wages for women and men across the entire workforce and make a commitment to reducing and eventually eliminating gender pay gaps, where they exist.

It also suggested addressing gender stereotypes and unconscious gender biases that limit women’s opportunities.

The study also urged industry association, trade unions, governments and brands for undertaking comprehensive and gender-neutral evaluations of all occupations in the garment sector and agrifood sectors to ensure equal pay for work of equal value.