- by Emmerson Jull a student at the University of Guelph
The problem she states:
Within the fashion industry, there are two poles: that of the high-earning executives, designers, and fashion models in the Global North; and that of the overworked, underpaid, and exploited garment laborers in the Global South.
The Gender Bias:
There is a notable gender bias between the top ranks in the fashion industry (CEOs and other C-level executives) and the bottom-most workers (those who produce ready-made garments in factories). According to a 2019 analysis of industry data by accounting firm PwC, only 12.5% of Fortune 1000 apparel companies have women CEOs. However, in Bangladesh alone, where the garment industry employs over four million people in approximately 5000 factories, 80% of workers are women.
Understanding Neoliberal Feminism and Neoliberalism:
Neoliberal feminism is highly interested in the representation of women in board offices and executive positions, and the fashion industry is no exception
Neoliberalism encourages deregulating trade, and “calls for free movement of goods, services, capital, and money … across national boundaries,”9 according to David M. Kotz, a professor of economics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst
Why is this important for women-industry workers in Bangladesh?
Women garment workers are exploited through extremely low pay, hazardous working conditions, and suppression of unionization. To illustrate the extent of this exploitation it was observed
1. Women working in the Bangladesh garment industry are generally very young (or start working in the industry from a young age), unmarried, and have an overall lower level of education.
2. They also tend to find work in garment factories due to low socioeconomic status, usually due to financial need when a primary breadwinner in the family is no longer able to work.
3. These characteristics are actually sought after by factory owners and employers, as it is assumed that “they contribute to a more docile workforce that is adverse to joining trade unions.
4. Oxfam Australia’s 2019 report Made in Poverty: The true price of fashion gathered information on working conditions and wages from more than 130 workers in Bangladesh. The report, which aims to examine the supply chains of clothing sold in Australia, claims that “100% of garment workers earn below the living wage compared against Asia Floor Wage, and Global Living Wage Coalition.” Further, “56% of workers reported that they experience wage cuts regularly,” highlighting that workers earning already extremely low wages are subject to further exploitation by factory owners through wage theft.
How can we help women worker?
Appealing to the families of the working women by inviting members of the family to women’s groups meetings, as well as encouraging savings plans, bonuses, and daycare centres run by NGOs
Can third world feminism help?
Third world feminism deals with the intersectional analysis of issues of class and race within the ranks of women. Third World feminists find power in the collective, if women in Bangladesh become active participants in decolonization and struggle against oppression, instead of passive victims of geopolitical circumstances, they along with Neoliberal feminist can actually tackle loads of gender biases.
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