Introduction

A large and growing body of research shows that globalization—and the exportoriented apparel industry in particular—generally creates formal employment opportunities. This industry is one of the main manufacturing employers of women. It provides an important step into formal manufacturing work for those with primary to lower-secondary education, even if it is not the only way for low-skilled females to enter the formal workforce. And because the apparel industry is both female intensive and labor intensive, studies show that higher apparel exports go hand in hand with higher female labor force participation (FLFP).

But most, if not all, of this research focuses either explicitly or implicitly on “jobs” and only rarely hints at the importance of “careers.” In contrast, our report seeks to shift the paradigm of how we think of women’s participation in the labor force by demonstrating the importance of the distinction between jobs and careers. Notably, we associate the jobs-to-careers transition with a change of mindset within the household about how work is viewed. In other words, people who shift from jobs to careers adopt a longrun view of their labor market experience—one that is associated with more education, tenure, promotions, and identity.

APPAREL EXPORTS: LAUNCHING PAD OR BOUNDARY?

In the global value chain (GVC) literature, the concept of functional upgrading is closely related to the transition from jobs to careers—but the pathway is not automatic. Unlike in the United States a century ago, today’s highest-value activities are carried out by global lead firms in higher-income countries. And even if some of those positions were hosted in the producing countries, the shift from production workers to high-skill occupations (HSOs) would require higher education and different skills than workers in our studied countries possess.

Moreover, certain high-skill service industries that are an important source of female employment in high-income countries do not exist in low- and middleincome countries (LMICs). Foreign demand for manufacturing or service industries can help drive this change. And an export-oriented path can contribute to rising education and income levels to create an economy that demands domestic (national) services. But our evidence suggests some countries have leveraged this opportunity better than others. The latter are those who have kept wages low to remain globally competitive by continuing to hire younger, less-educated workers—a strategy that will continue to create jobs but does little to further develop workers’ skills or boost national income.

From a policy perspective, our central questions are these: How can females move from jobs to careers, and can apparel be a launching pad for greater female inclusion? This report finds answers by checking the progress of the jobs-to-careers transition in seven middle-income, apparel exporting countries: Bangladesh, Cambodia, the Arab Republic of Egypt, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Turkey, and Vietnam (as discussed in chapter 2).

We find that although some are making significant progress, others continue to struggle, raising the possibility of barriers in the path.

We identify three main barriers (further discussed in chapter 3):

• Low demand for career-related occupations in the service sector due to insufficient national income (low gross domestic product [GDP] per capita)

• Low education levels

• Societal and cultural norms that inhibit or dissuade women from working.

Besides, apparel manufacturing has its own drawbacks. One is limited opportunities for career advancement, because it needs few HSOs. Another is that nearly all apparel workers are on the production line, executing tasks that require little training or education (see chapter 4).

Even so, a historical analysis of apparel exporting countries validates the temporary importance of apparel manufacturing to countries’ export portfolios. An intuitive yet important takeaway from this report is that economic diversification beyond apparel will eventually be necessary to increase female and male engagement in careers. Women who start in the apparel industry are increasingly staying in it as long as they remain in the workforce; that is, their “jobs” become “careers” in terms of length of work but not necessarily in the sense of better wages, benefits, or long-term planning. Growth driven by export-oriented manufacturing industries and foreign demand is still necessary to increase per capita income and demand for higher-paid, high-skill careers across all countries. As such, apparel exporting countries should maximize the opportunities they have available through the apparel industry from jobs to careers and transfer the lessons learned as they continue to develop.

In the United States—where what Goldin (2006) calls the “quiet revolution” took over 100 years to complete—nineteenth-century manufacturing offered the opportunity for young, unmarried females with lower-secondary education to move to mill houses to work in apparel factories (Goldin 1984). Their experience, and the income provided by employment in the apparel factory, enabled their children to complete upper-secondary education and perhaps their grandchildren to attend college and plan a longer-horizon, better-paid work life. Thus, many of the benefits of apparel employment are intergenerational (box 5.1).

WHICH WAY FORWARD?

How can apparel exporting countries maximize women’s opportunities to transition from jobs to careers, albeit indirectly? This chapter looks at what countries, development institutions, and other stakeholders can do to reenergize and speed up the “quiet revolution” in LMICs, depending on how far along they are in the transition. It makes four policy recommendations—all of which apply to our seven sample countries to varying degrees—with a focus on designing policies that target specific types of apparel workers (table 5.1).