The number of women workers in the readymade garment industry of Bangladesh, who were once considered the mainstay, is on a steady decline.
Media reports maintained this adding according to labour leaders and factory owners, after the outbreak of COVID-19 around two years ago, global buyers cancelled orders in large scale resulting in garment makers laying off workers, a significant number of which were said to be women.
Many of these women had not got back job in the industry even as advent of automation is said to be another major reason behind the falling number of women garment workers.
Meanwhile, Managing Director of Plummy Fashions, Md Fazlul Hoque, reportedly, also felt there has been a drop in women workers during the pandemic as many lost jobs and went to their villages, many of whom found other sources of income in the villages and did not come back.
Even in Plummy Fashions, before the COVID-19 pandemic 56 per cent workers were women and 44 per cent men, which is currently 52 and 48 per cent, respectively.