Power-women of Sri Lanka’s apparel industry

While social stigma relating to female labour participation still persists within the country, the female labour force makes a significant contribution across many industries, ranging from domestic labour to healthcare.

According to a media release issued by the Sri Lanka Apparel Exporters Association, one of the largest industries that utilise a strong female workforce is the apparel sector, provides direct employment opportunities to a substantial number of women in Sri Lanka (around 300,000 women), resulting in an inflow of over US$5.2 billion in export revenue in 2018.

However, according to a study conducted by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), social attitudes and influences in Sri Lanka are not in favour of women seeking employment in the apparel industry. Often called the ‘juki girls’, female employees who work in this industry do not receive the respect and empowerment that they strongly deserve, despite the immense contribution they make to the country’s economy and its collective standard of living.

The study also found that even if women showed interest in joining the apparel industry, parental attitudes and influencers such as husbands, siblings, teachers and religious leaders discouraged them from doing so, due to the negative social perceptions held regarding apparel sector employees. These influencers perceived women in the apparel sector as being unskilled, and cited erosion of culture and traditions and sexual exploitation of women as reasons for discouraging women from joining the industry.

Speaking on the subject, Association Chairman Rehan Lekhani agreed with the findings of the ADB study, stating that the apparel industry’s own research and observations have shown the existence of strong negative perceptions of women in the apparel sector despite their immense contribution to the nation.

He said that female employees in the apparel industry receive comprehensive training on the job, including financial workshops and several other programmes that give them a profound knowledge of the industry as a whole.

A large number of female apparel workers (many who did not engage in work outside the home prior to joining the appar- el industry) have saved their income and invested it into bettering the lives of their children, families and communities. They have achieved this through providing better education for their children, increasing their families’ standard of living by providing better healthcare, access to technology and purchasing vehicles, to building houses and providing dowries for their siblings. Through the skills they acquire from their daily work in the apparel industry, they are also able to foster their entrepreneurial spirit to embark on small businesses such as tailoring services, restaurants and transport services. These smart financial decisions are just a few examples of what these women have been able to achieve with the support of the apparel industry, the release added.

While the industry itself and its major stakeholders are aware of the contribution that these women make and see them as significant assets to the industry, the social stigma associated with these women and their affiliation to the apparel industry still affects them. As a result of this negative stigma, their vast contribution to the industry and by default, the Sri Lankan economy, is not appreciated by society. The social circle of these women, namely parents, siblings, husbands, significant others and teachers do not seem to be aware of the contribution made by the hands of these hardworking and determined women. Almost all of them are unaware that the apparel industry is the second largest foreign exchange earner for the country owed in large part to the hard work and dedication of their female family members.

The apparel industry is aware of this situation and organisations within the industry are firmly working towards shattering this stigma. In order to address this issue, JAAF launched “Matai Mage Ratatai” – a campaign in partnership with the Sri Lanka Apparel Exporters' Association and the Export Development Board. The national movement aims to change public opinion and eradicate these falsifications that relate to the female workforce within the apparel industry and further encourage these women and their communities to see the value of the employment opportunity offered.