IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/gender/v29y2022i1p188-204.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

And roses too: How “Better Work” facilitates gender empowerment in global supply chains

Author

Listed:
  • Kelly Pike
  • Beth English

Abstract

Women's increasing entry into paid work has not been accompanied by a corresponding change in the gender division of unpaid labor in the household and community. Though women participate in the labor market, the expectation is that they will also take responsibility for the household. To what degree does women's waged work in the garment industry transform gender norms and dynamics in their home lives? To what extent do the choices they make translate to their household‐level empowerment? This practice‐focused article examines these questions by looking at data collected on gender dynamics at work and at home in the clothing industries of Bangladesh, Cambodia, Kenya, Lesotho, and Vietnam. While women's empowerment through garment sector employment remains circumscribed by low wages, financial insecurity, and gendered expectations, we find that international interventions, namely the International Labor Organization's Better Work program, has expanded women's abilities to exert agency over their earnings within the context of household resource allocation and has decreased the negative effects of ongoing and systemic financial precarity.

Suggested Citation

  • Kelly Pike & Beth English, 2022. "And roses too: How “Better Work” facilitates gender empowerment in global supply chains," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(1), pages 188-204, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:gender:v:29:y:2022:i:1:p:188-204
    DOI: 10.1111/gwao.12740
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/gwao.12740
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/gwao.12740?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Alsop, Ruth & Heinsohn, Nina, 2005. "Measuring empowerment in practice: structuring analysis and framing indicators," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3510, The World Bank.
    2. Alberto Alesina & Dani Rodrik, 1994. "Distributive Politics and Economic Growth," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 109(2), pages 465-490.
    3. Laszlo, Sonia & Grantham, Kate & Oskay, Ecem & Zhang, Tingting, 2020. "Grappling with the challenges of measuring women's economic empowerment in intrahousehold settings," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 132(C).
    4. Lu Gram & Joanna Morrison & Jolene Skordis-Worrall, 2019. "Organising Concepts of ‘Women’s Empowerment’ for Measurement: A Typology," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 143(3), pages 1349-1376, June.
    5. Ghada Barsoum, 2019. "‘Women, work and family’: Educated women's employment decisions and social policies in Egypt," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(7), pages 895-914, July.
    6. Solava Ibrahim & Sabina Alkire, 2007. "Agency and Empowerment: A Proposal for Internationally Comparable Indicators," Oxford Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 35(4), pages 379-403.
    7. Nancy Birdsall & Juan Luis Londoño, 1997. "Asset Inequality Does Matter: Lessons from Latin America," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 6426, Inter-American Development Bank.
    8. Mike Morris & Cornelia Staritz & Justin Barnes, 2011. "Value chain dynamics, local embeddedness, and upgrading in the clothing sectors of Lesotho and Swaziland," International Journal of Technological Learning, Innovation and Development, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 4(1/2/3), pages 96-119.
    9. Torsten Persson & Guido Tabellini (ed.), 1994. "Monetary and Fiscal Policy, Vol. 2: Politics," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262660881, December.
    10. Miedema, Stephanie Spaid & Haardörfer, Regine & Girard, Amy Webb & Yount, Kathryn M., 2018. "Women’s empowerment in East Africa: Development of a cross-country comparable measure," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 453-464.
    11. Annan, Jeannie & Donald, Aletheia & Goldstein, Markus & Gonzalez Martinez, Paula & Koolwal, Gayatri, 2021. "Taking power: Women’s empowerment and household Well-being in Sub-Saharan Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 140(C).
    12. Aletheia Donald & Gayatri Koolwal & Jeannie Annan & Kathryn Falb & Markus Goldstein, 2020. "Measuring Women’s Agency," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 26(3), pages 200-226, July.
    13. Lutfun Nahar Lata & Peter Walters & Sonia Roitman, 2021. "The politics of gendered space: Social norms and purdah affecting female informal work in Dhaka, Bangladesh," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(1), pages 318-336, January.
    14. Deininger, Klaus & Squire, Lyn, 1998. "New ways of looking at old issues: inequality and growth," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 57(2), pages 259-287.
    15. Yount, Kathryn M. & Cheong, Yuk Fai & Maxwell, Lauren & Heckert, Jessica & Martinez, Elena M. & Seymour, Gregory, 2019. "Measurement properties of the project-level Women's Empowerment in Agriculture Index," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 1-1.
    16. Kathryn M. Yount & Kristin E. VanderEnde & Sylvie Dodell & Yuk Fai Cheong, 2016. "Measurement of Women’s Agency in Egypt: A National Validation Study," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 128(3), pages 1171-1192, September.
    17. Moser, Caroline O. N., 1989. "Gender planning in the third world: Meeting practical and strategic gender needs," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 17(11), pages 1799-1825, November.
    18. Nancy Birdsall & Juan Luis Londoño, 1997. "Asset Inequality Does Matter: Lessons from Latin America," Research Department Publications 4066, Inter-American Development Bank, Research Department.
    19. Deininger, Klaus & Olinto, Pedro, 2000. "Asset distribution, inequality, and growth," Policy Research Working Paper Series 2375, The World Bank.
    20. Elson, Diane, 1995. "Gender Awareness in Modeling Structural Adjustment," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 23(11), pages 1851-1868, November.
    21. Birdsall, Nancy & Londono, Juan Luis, 1997. "Asset Inequality Matters: An Assessment of the World Bank's Approach to Poverty Reduction," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 87(2), pages 32-37, May.
    22. Lucia Hanmer & Jeni Klugman, 2016. "Exploring Women's Agency and Empowerment in Developing Countries: Where do we stand?," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 22(1), pages 237-263, January.
    23. repec:idb:wpaper:344 is not listed on IDEAS
    24. Gay Seidman, 2009. "Labouring under an Illusion? Lesotho's ‘sweat-free’ label," Third World Quarterly, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 30(3), pages 581-598.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Maria Cipollina & Nadia Cuffaro & Giovanna D’Agostino, 2018. "Land Inequality and Economic Growth: A Meta-Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-20, December.
    2. Ricardo Fort, 2007. "Land inequality and economic growth: a dynamic panel data approach," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 37(2‐3), pages 159-165, September.
    3. François Bourguignon & Francisco de Hollanda Guimarães Ferreira, 2000. "Understanding inequality in Brazil: a conceptual overview," Textos para discussão 434, Department of Economics PUC-Rio (Brazil).
    4. Ademola Obafemi Young, 2019. "Growth Impacts of Income Inequality: Empirical Evidence From Nigeria," Research in World Economy, Research in World Economy, Sciedu Press, vol. 10(3), pages 226-262, December.
    5. Stefano Pettinato, 2002. "A Conceptual Primer on the Currents and Trends in Inequality," Journal of Human Development and Capabilities, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 3(1), pages 23-56.
    6. Ravallion, Martin, 2001. "Growth, Inequality and Poverty: Looking Beyond Averages," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 29(11), pages 1803-1815, November.
    7. Brida, Juan Gabriel & Carrera, Edgar J. Sanchez & Segarra, Verónica, 2020. "Clustering and regime dynamics for economic growth and income inequality," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 99-108.
    8. Ravallion, Martin, 2003. "Targeted transfers in poor countries : revisiting the tradeoffs and policy options," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3048, The World Bank.
    9. Mikhail Lvovitch Dorofeev, 2022. "Interrelations between Income Inequality and Sustainable Economic Growth: Contradictions of Empirical Research and New Results," Economies, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-23, February.
    10. Malapit, Hazel & Quisumbing, Agnes & Meinzen-Dick, Ruth & Seymour, Greg & Martinez, Elena M. & Heckert, Jessica & Rubin, Deborah & Vaz, Ana & Yount, Kathryn M., 2019. "Development of the project-level Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (pro-WEAI)," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 675-692.
    11. Guilherme Mendes Resende, 2008. "O crescimento econômico dos municípios mineiros tem sido pró-pobre? Uma análise para o período 1991-2000 [Has economic growth in the municipalities of Minas Gerais been pro-poor? An analysis for the p," Nova Economia, Economics Department, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (Brazil), vol. 18(1), pages 119-154, January-A.
    12. Christophe Ehrhart, 2009. "The effects of inequality on growth: a survey of the theoretical and empirical literature," Working Papers 107, ECINEQ, Society for the Study of Economic Inequality.
    13. E.H.P. Frankema, 2005. "The Colonial Origins of Inequality: Exploring the Causes and Consequences of Land Distribution," Ibero America Institute for Econ. Research (IAI) Discussion Papers 119, Ibero-America Institute for Economic Research.
    14. Iyke, Bernard Njindan & Ho, Sin-Yu, 2017. "Income Inequality and Growth: New Insights from Italy," Economia Internazionale / International Economics, Camera di Commercio Industria Artigianato Agricoltura di Genova, vol. 70(4), pages 419-442.
    15. Ferreira , Francisco H. G., 2010. "Distributions in motion: economic growth, inequality, and poverty dynamics," Policy Research Working Paper Series 5424, The World Bank.
    16. Hermann Sautter, 2002. "Equity and growth – an uneasy relationship," Ibero America Institute for Econ. Research (IAI) Discussion Papers 089, Ibero-America Institute for Economic Research.
    17. Harry Anthony Patrinos & Emmanuel Skoufias, 2007. "Economic Opportunities for Indigenous Peoples in Latin America : Conference Edition," World Bank Publications - Reports 8019, The World Bank Group.
    18. Grabiella Berloffa & Maria Luigia Segnana, 2004. "Trade, inequality and pro-poor growth: Two perspectives, one message?," Department of Economics Working Papers 0408, Department of Economics, University of Trento, Italia.
    19. Patrinos, Harry Anthony & Skoufias, Emmanuel & Lunde, Trine, 2007. "Indigenous peoples in Latin America : economic opportunities and social networks," Policy Research Working Paper Series 4227, The World Bank.
    20. Martin Ravallion, 2013. "The Idea of Antipoverty Policy," NBER Working Papers 19210, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:gender:v:29:y:2022:i:1:p:188-204. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=0968-6673 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.