Creating Better Jobs for Women and Boosting Productivity in Bangladesh’s Garment Factories : An assessment of the Gender Equality and Returns Program

Bangladesh is one of the leading garment exporters globally and a significant employer of women. However, women’s representation in management roles remains very low. To close this gap, as of 2016, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) developed the Gender Equality and Returns (GEAR) Program under Better Work, which is a collaboration between IFC and the International Labor Organization (ILO). Conducted in partnership with factories, management, global apparel brands, and garment workers, GEAR aimed to increase gender equality, improve working conditions, and enhance productivity in the Bangladesh’s garment sector. In 2022, IFC commissioned the University of Oxford and BRAC University to undertake an assessment of the GEAR Program covering the period from 2016 to 2022. The assessment found that more than two-thirds of women who completed GEAR training were promoted to supervisors, and their salaries increased by roughly 40 percent. The average share of female supervisors at participating factories increased from 10 percent to 18 percent. In addition, production lines managed by GEAR-trained supervisors were 2.5 to 4.3 percentage points more efficient than those managed by supervisors who did not receive the training. This translates into annual cost savings of up to US $9,100 per year, per line, or up to US $182,000 annually for a typical factory with 20 production lines.