Women in low-skilled jobs
READYMADE garments (RMG) is by far the largest export sector earning an estimated $24 billion in the current fiscal and accounts for 13 per cent of the GDP. Nearly 80 per cent of the 4 million strong work-force is women. Yet when it comes to better paid skilled jobs women trail far behind their male counterparts. This was revealed by a joint study on gender equality and productivity in the garments sector. We find that although it is women who operate 85 per cent of the machines in the factories, they are marginalised from managerial positions. With women occupying no more than 10 per cent of positions like that of supervisors, gender perception with regard to women is used to relegate them to non-managerial positions.
The study found that with proper training, women performed at par if not better than their male counterparts as supervisors. But in a largely male-dominated society, there is always resistance to letting women get their due share. Contrary to popular notions, research has shown that there is hardly any difference between men and women when it comes to quality of work. In fact, those women who made it to supervisory level have been found to be less likely to leave their jobs than their male colleagues. For the current scenario to change, management needs to take cognisance of the fact that with proper training in technical skills, women can become an asset to the decision making process.
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