Gendered management and the marginalised women workforce in theory and practice: Experience from the Bangladesh Ready-Made Garments (RMG) Industry

Women at the bottom-level workforce in precarious employment face extreme inequality in the Global South. Women workers in the clothing industry in Bangladesh experience unequal treatment from managers regarding job characteristics like promotion and recruitment, despite women being in the majority in the workforce. Women's representation in managerial and leadership roles in the ready-made garments (RMG) industry in Bangladesh remained low and unchanged between 2010 and 2018 (approximately 9% of all managers). The declining rate of women’s participation, from 80% to 60%, also shows that women workers are marginalised in this industry. Several factors might be responsible for this fact. The gender diversity management practices in the factories may have an impact in identifying these factors. This study investigated why…