Break Glass Ceilings

BOX 5.2 North Carolina and Bangladesh: Programs That Spotlight Apparel Careers (continued)

offers exposure to female leadership. It provides full scholarships for female workers from disadvantaged backgrounds to earn bachelor’s degrees and provides a year of coursework for women without adequate secondary education to prepare for entry into university studies (Karim 2020). The program started in 2016 and graduated its first class in December 2020, of whom four were Bangladeshi garment workers. The women also received a monthly stipend equivalent to their monthly wages during their studies to offset the loss of wages from not working in a garment job. Without this stipend, they could not have left the workforce for five years, because their families relied on the income (Karim 2020). The AUW also fills a big educational gap by providing a learning environment that is tailored to females and free of charge. Females from 18 countries across Asia and the Middle East attend the university to pursue degrees in a range of subjects, and 85 percent of the students are on scholarship.

Although individual preferences play an important role in the job-versus-career decision, gender stereotypes and social norms also have significant effects. Gender stereotypes often portray an image of occupations that are suitable for women (Schomer and Hammond 2020). But these social norms may limit expectations—and planning and investment in education—along with possibly conveying inaccurate information about the availability, earnings, and skills needed for different occupations, especially in “male-dominated” fields. It is also vital to ensure that vocational guidance counselors do not perpetuate gender-based stereotypes, as has occurred in Vietnam, where training instructors advised women against pursuing traditionally male careers (Buchhave et al. 2020).

Further, women tend to have smaller professional formal or informal networks than men, resulting in less information about the needs and opportunities of employers and career pathways as well as fewer referrals to apparel firms that are hiring. Portals that allow firms to share job postings outside their networks and create organizations or groups that help women to network are potential solutions to increase females’ awareness of job and educational opportunities.

Lack of skills and awareness of opportunities can hinder female labor participation. Expanding education, upskilling occupations, and upgrading or expanding apparel and manufacturing industries can certainly pave the way for women to enter and stay in the labor market.

However, individuals are highly influenced by the laws and social norms surrounding them, and it is possible that women lack the right incentives to join the labor market