The growing demand for skilled labour and revised wage structure has lured male workers into joining the readymade garment (RMG) industry, which has decreased female participation ratio, according to a study.
The ratio of male and female garment workers in export-oriented RMG factories now stands at 41.7:58.3, the Mapped in Bangladesh (MiB) found.
Through digital platforms, a total of 3,223 export-oriented garment factories, located in Dhaka, Gazipur, Narayanganj and Chattogram, were mapped until Sunday.
A total of 2,562,383 workers are employed in 3,223 factories, of which 1.49 million are female workers and 1.068 million are male.
"We have collected the information from the onsite factory to factory visit. And the statistics show that 41.7 per cent are male and 58.3 per cent are female workers," said Syed Hasibuddin Hussain, MiB project manager said.
Out of the 3,223 factories, some 1886 are members of BGMEA, 512 members of BKMEA while 251 units have both BGMEA and BKMEA affiliation, according to MiB.
The remaining 574 are not members of any of the two trade bodies.
The sweater and knit composite segment has more male (60.5 per cent) and (50.3 per cent) than female.
Female participation is higher in woven and knit garment (65.3 and 61.8 per cent respectively), according to MIB.
Industry people said male workers' participation is higher in sweater factories due to the nature of work and automation.
BGMEA president Dr Rubana Huq said a comparative review of the recent studies on the RMG industry, particularly on the gender distribution of the workforce, reveals the similar picture of male-female ratio as drawn by MiB.
While the findings of the MiB suggests the male-female ratio 41.7 per cent and 58.3 per cent, the recent survey report by Asian Centre for Development (ACD) found it to be 40.8 per cent and 59.2 per cent, she said.
"Therefore, on an average the male-female ratio of 40: 60 can be generalised across the industry as per our understanding," she said.
The previous perception of higher ratio of female in this industry was not backed by any survey or database of workers, she said.
So the narrative of declining female workforce derived from the relatively less ratio of female in this sector is not the fact.
"Though the ratio may be less than prevailing perception, there has been no evidence of the declining number of female workers in this industry," Ms Huq said.
Talking to FE, CPD research director Dr Khondaker Golam Moazzem said the decrease in women share does not really mean that women workers are decreasing. It means that the growth of male workers is increasing compared to female, which resulted in a change in male-female ratio.
Terming it a major instrument of women empowerment, he said, the government should look into the ratio change critically to ensure adequate female participation.
There has been a surge in skill orientation in RMG items manufacturing, prompting skill upgrade of workers, he said, adding female workers are getting on-the-job training while male workers join the workplace with some training outside.
This skill orientation creates demands for skilled workers and it also increases the workers' length of stay in the garment sector, he said adding fresh workers' opportunity to join the sector has become relatively squeezed.
This has created competition and males are getting more opportunities than female, he said, adding the garment sector becomes relatively attractive to male workers due to wage hikes in 2013 and 2018.
