5.2 North Carolina and Bangladesh: Programs That Spotlight Apparel Careers

Although most occupations in apparel manufacturing are production workers, about 15 percent of the workforce are high-skilled. Unlike supervisors, these workers are rarely promoted from the factory floor. For example, in Sri Lanka, female line managers stated that a lack of a higher education required for top-level positions was a barrier to career advancement (Kuruppuarachchi and Surangi 2020). Management positions typically require degrees in textile engineering, quality, or production management; a master’s in business administration; or a diploma or a certificate along with experience in technical design. But these courses tend to be less popular among females than stitching and fashion design courses (JICA 2017), making a case for actively promoting them.

In all our case countries, there are opportunities to increase female participation in HSOs. Nearly all careers in Bangladesh, Egypt, Pakistan, and Turkey are held by men; the shares of men and women are equal in Sri Lanka; and women in careers outnumber men in Cambodia and Vietnam (see chapter 3). The number of HSOs available in apparel varies by firm and country and depends on the firm’s business model. Egypt, Sri Lanka, and Turkey have the most potential, given current gender ratios and the availability of women with at least upper-secondary education. What is needed now is to raise female awareness of these programs and career paths and to incentivize and enable females to choose apparel careers and educational programs—as is being done in two innovative programs in the United States and Bangladesh (box 5.2).

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

North Carolina Textile Foundation Industry leaders created the North Carolina Textile Foundation in 1942 as a nonprofit charitable and educational corporation to aid and promote all types of textile education and research at North Carolina State University (Wilson College of Textiles, n.d.). It administers more than 100 scholarships each year at the Wilson College of Textiles, including 10 full scholarships to incoming students (full tuition, stipend to study abroad, leadership development, and networking opportunities). A similar foundation and scholarship program could be created in apparel exporting countries to recruit talented young females to enter textile degree programs. The College of Textiles also offers the Summer Textile Exploration Program (STEP) to rising high school seniors—a model that apparel exporters could use to raise awareness and interest in textile careers among upper-secondary students. Both programs also offer an opportunity to highlight female leadership in the industry by including female instructors.

Pathways for Promise The Pathways for Promise initiative of the Asian University for Women (AUW) in Chittagong, Bangladesh, aims to boost the number of women in leadership positions and

(Box continues next page)