Page 21 - November-December-2020

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Women hit

hard by

COVID-19

impact on

garment

sector

The impact of COVID-19 on women in the garment household spending and decision-making, and has
industry has worsened due to underlying challenges increased men’s participation in unpaid care work.
including discrimination and harassment, underrep- However, given the potential, and perhaps AD
resentation of women’s voice, wage gaps as well as sustained, loss of employment due to the coronavi-
unevenly shared unpaid care and family obligations rus, opportunities for women’s continued empower-
according to a new brief from the International ment may decrease as workers lose their financial
Labour Organization (ILO). independence and, in some cases, become
dependent on their families.
“Women account for approximately 80 per cent of
the garment sector workforce, so they are heavily Recommendations include greater focus on
affected to start with by many of the impacts of the retrenchment and closure practices as well as
COVID-19 pandemic. However, women also experi- addressing women’s disproportionate unpaid care
ence additional impacts due to the existing obligations so they can return to work as factories
challenges they face in the workplace as well as resume operations. Efforts to address the COVID-19
expectations regarding women’s obligations in the pandemic should account for the unique ways that
home,” says Joni Simpson, Senior Gender Specialist women and men may encounter the effects of the
for the ILO’s Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific. coronavirus at work, at home and in their communi-
ties. The importance of strengthening efforts to
Recent ILO research highlighted how major buying combat violence and harassment in the workplace is
countries’ imports from garment-exporting countries highlighted, in view of emerging data showing that
in Asia had dropped by up to 70 per cent in the first COVID-19 has increased the risks of gender-based
half of 2020, due to COVID-19. This has led to a violence. In addition, the need to ensure women’s
sharp increase in worker layoffs and dismissals voice, representation and leadership in dialogue and
while factories that have reopened are often operat- decision-making is also seen as key to ensuring a
ing at reduced workforce capacity. The Asia-Pacific full and fair recovery from the pandemic.
region employed an estimated 65 million garment
sector workers in 2019, accounting for 75 per cent of “It is crucial that governments, businesses and other
all garment workers worldwide. stakeholders understand the multi-dimensional
impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on both women
In a study conducted on garment workers in Bangla- and men workers, and design policies that enable a
desh, Cambodia, Kenya, Lesotho and Viet Nam, smart, sustainable and gender-responsive recovery.
ILO’s Better Work project found that waged employ- Otherwise, the COVID-19 crisis threatens to exacer-
ment helped advance women’s empowerment in bate pre-existing inequalities and will hamper the
societies considered to be highly gender. Women’s social and economic sustainability of the garment
employment in Better Work factories has enabled sector,” said Jessica Wan, Better Work Gender
them to improve their leverage and influence in Specialist.

November/December 2020