Conference Agenda

The world of work has not recovered yet from the profound impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the ILO, the pandemic was not just a public health threat but also caused economic and social disruptions that affected the long-term livelihood and wellbeing of millions of people. COVID-19 will continue to exacerbate the burdens on those countries, particularly developing countries, that are already vulnerable to social and economic hardships. Global garment workers were among the hardest hit by COVID-19 with factory closures and reduction in new contracts leading to mass layoffs, wage cuts, and increased wage disparities. This has aggravated the already existing social disruptions on the work and life front of workers, especially women workers, through increased gender inequities, and gender-based violence and harassment. The ILO sees the promotion of employment and decent work as an opportunity to combat the rising inequalities, enhance inclusion, and strengthen the social protection systems.

Safe work environment is one of the ten substantive elements corresponding to the strategic pillars of decent work agenda. Sexual harassment and gender-based violence (GBV) are pressing issues in the global garment industry, perhaps more so during the pandemic when people are facing increased economic and social hardship. According to the World Health Organisation estimates, 1 in 3 women globally experience GBV and women, especially young women, are most affected by this violence and harassment when they work at the bottom of the global supply chain. According to ILO Convention 190, violence and harassment at work can constitute a human rights violation or abuse and such harassment and violence is a threat to equal opportunities, is unacceptable and incompatible with decent work. As noted in the ILO Working Paper No. 47, sexual harassment and verbal absue is leading to decent work deficit.

Better Work – a collaboration between the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) – brings together garment industry stakeholders to improve working conditions without negatively impacting supplier competitiveness. Through targeted and systemic approaches to sexual harassment awareness, prevention and remediation, Better Work (BW)-facilitated trainings on sexual harassment prevention have been introduced and are an important intervention in workplace GBV across BW’s country programs. BW’s industry-wide and multi-stakeholder approach to sexual harassment mitigation through workplace trainings has the potential to elevate standards across the entire garment sector, without negatively impacting competitiveness both longitudinally across the international supply chain, and within individual supplier countries.

This special session presents findings from three separate but related international research studies examining Better Work’s current and potential impact on addressing sexual harassment and other gendered challenges in garment factories. Broadly speaking, they include an evaluation of both traditional and virtual reality training on sexual harassment prevention, as well as an exploration of the gendered challenges for women’s work. In addition to the three presentations, there will be a discussant from Better Work participating in the session.

The first study examines Better Work’s Prevention of Sexual Harassment (POSH) trainings in Nicaragua, Indonesia, Jordan and Vietnam. The broad objective of the study is to gather country-specific information about sexual harassment trainings and their factory-level impacts in order to compare dynamics and program effectiveness across the different countries. The evaluation focuses on four broad areas: understanding of sexual harassment and gender equality, awareness of existing sexual harassment policies, incidents and reporting of sexual harassment, and grievance and resolution procedures.

The second study focuses on a virtual reality training pilot in Indonesia. The study explores how training interventions using VR technology can facilitate attitude and behavior changes positively among workers that can predict expected future outcomes including better reporting and interventions leading to prevention of sexual harassment on factory floors. With the typical dynamic and complex nature of work at the bottom level of the global supply chain in the garment sector, it is important to use advanced and effective training methodolgies that can facilitate behavioural changes among the workers.

The third study explores the gendered challenges for women’s work in the Egyptian Garment Industry. The study analyses how social norms can shape gendered workplace outcomes, mapping out the specific challenges reported by workers, with recommendations for Better Work Egypt.

This study analyzes Better Work’s training program on sexual harassment prevention in Nicaragua, Jordan, Indonesia and Vietnam. The analysis assesses the training’s impact on raising awareness and increasing the likelihood of intervention at the factory level. Through interviews with managers and focus groups with workers, the study examines the gender dynamics at play, worker and managers’ ability to identify sexually harassing behaviours, barriers to reporting/intervention, and how far the trainings have been able to improve their likelihood of intervening. Findings indicate improvements have been made in levels of recognition of sexual harassment and attempts to curb it, and that the cultural lens through which trainings are delivered and received significantly impacts their efficacy. There remains significant work to be done in facilitating trust in the systems of reporting and accountability and in order for these training interventions to take hold, country-level stakeholders need to be on the same general page.

This study evaluates the Virtual Reality Pilot training program on sexual harassment prevention in Indonesia, facilitated by the ITC-ILO, analyzing:1) the immediate reaction to training from the participants, 2) changes in knowledge and skills, and 3) the extent to which participants apply their learning/change their behaviour back on the job. Data includes pre/post-training surveys with VR training participants, and interviews with 6 participants from 3 factories across 3 regions. Evidence shows VR goes beyond traditional methods of training, building empathy and developing skills, due to the immersive experience and opportunity to practice difficult behaviours in a safe space. Findings from the pilot indicate that logistical issues and language barrier hamper participants’ ability to experience what is intended but that there are important ways in which VR training is mitigating potentially sexually harassing behaviours. Participants offer suggestions to improve the training to capitalize on its intended benefits, including local language, opportunity for dialogue and context for their relationship with the characters.

Researchers have started unpacking the influence of social norms on value chains that are deeply embedded within societal norms and institutions and in particular from a gender lens, where the gender implications of those social norms are becoming more apparent. To understand the extent to which women’s waged work is promoting economic empowerment, it is important to first consider how social norms shape gendered workplace outcomes. This study focuses on the case of Egypt and asks “What are the gendered challenges for women workers in the Egyptian garment industry?” Data was collected in Egypt between Nov-Dec 2022, including 21 focus groups with workers and 10 interviews with managers. Preliminary analysis indicates that religion, family values and age play an important role in shaping work-home dynamics. The study aims to map out the challenges with recommendations for Better Work Egypt, launched in March 2020.