The ratio of female workers in the garments sector is falling rapidly due to automation, lower wages and opportunities than in other sectors and a reluctance among the younger generation to take up the profession.

Of the total number of people employed by the sector, the percentage of females has declined to 57 percent, according to a senior official of Mapped in Bangladesh (MiB), a research organisation.

Once, more than 80 percent of the garment sector's total employed workers were females, particularly those who migrated from rural areas and endeavoured to change their fates.

In the 80s, mainly unskilled female workers took up the laborious work of the garment sector as the scope for jobs in the other sectors was very limited in the war-ravaged nation after the Liberation War in 1971.

At that time, female workers were willing to take on low-paying jobs as the per capita income in Bangladesh was very low.

Of the total number of people employed by the sector, the percentage of females has declined to 57 percent

For many years afterwards, at least two female workers were hired on an average against every male worker employed in the garment sector.

However, that ratio has declined rapidly in recent times as the new generation of women are more interested in going to school or pursuing higher education with hopes of securing corporate jobs rather than labouring in garment factories.

Over the years, the laudable contribution of female workers saw Bangladesh eventually become the second-largest global apparel supplier, occupying 7.9 percent of the global market share.

"But their impact has fallen," said Fazlee Shamim Ehsan, vice-president of Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA).

This is due to automation and the emergence of a strong backward linkage industry with the spinning, weaving, dyeing and finishing sectors, which are mainly run by male workers, he said.

Additionally, over the past five decades, a lot of job opportunities have been created for workers in rural areas. As such, they can now find work at the district level or in their own towns, he said.

So, they have lost interest in migrating to cities to work in garment factories, Ehsan told The Daily Star after a discussion on open data on the garment sector organised by the MiB at Sheraton Dhaka.

Additionally, many garment factories have been suffering from a dearth of workers, not just females, as people prefer not to work in the factories, he said.

Nazma Akter, president of Sammilito Garment Sramik Federation, said the percentage of female workers in the garments sector has been declining due to lower wages, longer working hours, difficult production targets, and the requirement to operate heavy machinery.

Faruque Hassan, former president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, said the younger generation prefers pursuing education.  

So, there is little possibility of female participation increasing in the sector, he said.

In some cases, female workers become self-sufficient after working in factories for many years and either become small entrepreneurs or engage in family businesses such as farming with their husbands, he said.