Women garment workers in Bangladesh have been largely affected by the global pandemic as well as the increased automation of the textile industry. Lives as well as millions of jobs are at risk, and there is an urgent need to minimize the negative impacts of COVID-19 on female textile workers as well as creating a skilled female workforce for the future.
Bangladesh was identified by WHO as one of the 25 most vulnerable countries affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, with a high population density, poor infrastructure, weak health systems and low awareness of basic preventive measures. The Ready-Made Garment (RMG) sector is one of the largest contributors to the country’s GDP and the local and global effects of the pandemic had a great impact on textile workers within the garment industry.
H&M Foundation donated a total of 17,9 million SEK (1.6 million USD) to WaterAid, CARE and Save the Children to provide young women, their families and community members in and around Dhaka with emergency relief. Around 100,000 women were reached with emergency relief interventions and 1 million people were reached with messages on COVID-19 and hygiene practices.
The support included:
- cash assistance for food, medication and other necessities
- health care and COVID-19 testing
- hygiene materials and handwashing facilities
- work on awareness raising
- support to families where gender-based violence increases as an effect of the crisis
- child protection and child education focusing on disadvantaged children
From urgent needs to long-term support
Looking ahead, the use of automation and digital technology is making its way into the textile industry, also creating a risk of unemployment for millions of Bangladeshis. Women are particularly at risk, as they represent the majority of the total workforce within the garment industry and are often employed to execute the tasks which are highly susceptible to automation.
Following up on the urgent needs of women garment workers, related to Covid-19, H&M Foundation has taken on a long-term approach to equip women garment workers for this future, through a collaborative skilling pilot, an innovation challenge, by forecasting the future of the industry and by setting up a holistic collective impact initiative to achieve systems change, by involving multiple partners working in a highly structured form of collaboration.
