Stitched Up: women workers in the Bangladeshi garment sector

In Bangladesh, women workers account for 85% of the total workforce in the garment industry. While some have viewed this as a positive step towards female emancipation, the reality is that women are employed in a highly exploitative context. Women workers remain at the bottom of the supply chain, working long hours for poverty wages and denied basic maternity rights. This report seeks to expose the continuing violation of women workers’ rights in the Bangladeshi garment industry. The report presents the findings of a major series of interviews conducted over six months with almost 1,000 women workers from 41 garment factories. As such, it stands as an important survey of the reality facing women workers across the Bangladeshi garment industry today.