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Improving working conditions in the ready-made Garment Sector in Bangladesh - Midterm Evaluation

eval_number:

2158

eval_url:

https://webapps.ilo.org/ievaldiscovery/eval/2158

lessons_learned:

themes:

theme:

Gender equality

category:

Conditions of work & equality

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comments:

RMGP project (all five components) and implementing partners (government agencies, employers and trade unions); other projects implemented by ILO CO and its staff; donor agencies and government policy regime, which promote gender equality. Particular example in this case is FSCD, which lacks female inspectors and firefighters. There are a handful of them occupying positions but in non-operational role.

challenges:

Transforming RMGP’s gender related focus to impact, which empowers women, enhances critical understanding and capacity of men and women as well as meets their basic and strategic needs at workplace. Training materials need to be critically reviewed to ensure gender sensitivity and cultural appropriateness. Monitoring system should have appropriate indicators to ensure gender impact at the end of the project.

success:

RMGP and ILO CO have conscious efforts to promote gender equality and women worker’ rights and address men too in this regard. This fundamental element can produce better gender impact for RMGP when it gets collective and critical support from all components with appropriate gender understanding.

context:

RMG sector employs the largest number of female workers in Bangladesh. Millions of women’s employment in such a formal industry bears tremendous socio-economic-cultural potentials to bring in many social changes and breaking the status quo of gender inequality. To harness their potential, they need empowering environment and many strategic supports which projects like RMGP can provide to ‘promoting gender equality and women workers’ rights’. To materialize this focus, participation of women (be it RMG workers, union leaders or staff of DIFE & FSCD) should aim at achieving empowerment and equality, not only numbers. For this, RMGP and other projects needs to be relentlessly result oriented through critical understanding of gender issues and strong monitoring system with gender lens. RMGP still has time and potential to set a trend for the women and men engaged in formal and informal sectors in Bangladesh and thus be a champion of ILO’s concern for gender equality.

description:

Gender sensitivity do matter in workplace in a sector that employs 4-5 million workers comprising about 80% women. More conscious efforts and continuous understanding building of both project staff (all five components) and social partners are required to translate women participation and numbers to achieve ‘promoting gender equality and women workers’ rights’ (one of the focuses). It is important to note that mere participation of women and achieving numerical targets has the potential of giving false notion of accomplishing gender equity and equality. Gender participations designs should be results oriented so that changes in gender relations, gender sensitivity among men and women (both at workplace and private domain), and analytical ability to counter challenges and take decisions is ensured. Furthermore, adequate resources and well-beings of both men and women including gender specific needs require attention. These crucial parameters are missing from result framework, individual plan and project reports.

administrative_issues:

Staff awareness and understanding about gender issues require periodic assessment so that they can be the first line of reviewer for training materials, modules, knowledge products to ensure gender sensitivity and act as the promoters of gender equality within ILO CO and among social partners.

url:

https://webapps.ilo.org/ievaldiscovery/lessons/204317

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location:

country:

Bangladesh

region:

Asia and the Pacific

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eval_title:

Improving working conditions in the ready-made Garment Sector in Bangladesh - Midterm Evaluation