Gender Discrimination Issues in the Fast Fashion Industry

Gender discrimination against women in the fast fashion industry is continuously happening.“Ethical fashion is the recognition that there are human beings behind the clothes we wear” (Joy, 2018, p.1). The purpose of this research paper is to inform the reader about the gender discrimination of female garment workers in the fast fashion industry, dominantly in low-wage countries. Gender discrimination of garment workers in the fast fashion industry is a significant issue because women are continuously abused verbally and physically by their male supervisors, are punished for pregnancy, and are underpaid. Women face abuse such as; being shouted at to work harder, name-calling, catcalling, sexual abuse, and being hit or physically harmed (Akhter et al., 2019). Women are also underpaid; some are so underpaid that their salary is not considered a living wage (Mckosker, 2021). As well as being discriminated against for being pregnant; by not receiving maternity leave, being fired, or just not receiving the proper care for their pregnancy (Alam, 2011). This essay will discuss the reason gender related crimes in fast fashion are wrong and inhumane. 

 Furthermore, women in this industry are uneducated, making them unqualified for most jobs. This fuels the fear of speaking up on discrimination because they fear losing their job (Hasnain, 2020). As a result of the lack of education, these women are seen as incompetent (Mckosker, 2021). Overall, fear of the men involved retaliating keeps women silent. Women in the garment manufacturing industry face many issues. With fast fashion rising to be one of the most extensive sections of the fashion industry (Menzel & Woodruff, 2020), more problems are coming to the surface on gender discrimination. Especially with women being the majority of those who work in garment manufacturing (Hasnain, 2020). Current events and tragedies have arisen to spotlight the many issues within garment manufacturing companies that have triggered more media on the discrimination and women's voices to be heard.

Verbal and physical abuse

. Women in the fast fashion industry are subjected to verbal and physical abuse by their male supervisors; this is for many reasons. These women face abuse such as; being shouted at to work harder, name-calling, catcalling, sexual abuse, and being hit or physically harmed (Global People Strategist [GPS], 2018). Victims have explained that they are punched and kicked for not achieving high production numbers (GPS, 2018). This was demonstrated by a worker from top-rated American companies such as H&M, Gap, and Walmart that manufacture in other countries with different regulations on working conditions. Also, workers of these countries were sexually harassed in exchange for a promotion (GPS, 2018). Another form of physical abuse that is overlooked is working extreme hours. It is shown that these women sometimes work over 90 hours of overtime a month without being paid (GPS, 2018). This can cause many physical losses from working many extra hours. Working extreme hours can lead to physical pain and medical issues later in life. Therefore, it is unethical to work overtime without proper pay and conditions.

Garment workers being dominantly women 

Most garment workers in low-wage countries are women with male supervisors, and less than 20% of workers are men (Menzel & Woodruff, 2020). As well as, at least 80% of the workers outside America and Europe are women (Hasnain, 2020). The ratio of women to men creates significant issues. Women are likely to be subjected to abuse due to women being the majority of who are manufacturing. Verbal and physical abuse women are subjected to in the garment manufacturing industry is increasingly relevant.

Women’s fear of speaking up on abuse

 Women are silenced in terms of speaking up on the abuse (Hasnain, 2020). This is because they fear losing their jobs or even facing harsher abuse. According to the Solidarity Center, a study on Indonesian garment factories found that gender-based violence in the workplace silences those directly affected by the violence and those who fear retaliation (Solidarity Center, 2019). Fear is one of the most effective tools of daunting the workers into not reporting their behavior (Solidarity Center, 2019). With this being said, the male supervisors are highly aware that the women fear retaliation if they speak up on behalf of the violence. Hence, the men use the women's fear to feed the continuation of the abuse. Also, most garment workers who participated in research studies on the abuse asked if they could remain anonymous out of safety concerns and fear of losing their jobs (Donovan & Makhaba Nkune, 2021).

Typically, the women in the garment industry have little to no education, leading them to low-wage jobs such as garment workers. This causes women to fear to speak on behalf of the abuse because of their lack of qualifications for another position (Albert, 2021). The male manager may fire them if they speak up on the abuse, which implements fear in the women with the thought of not finding another job. The women are underqualified for jobs with better conditions due to their extreme lack of education. Albert (2021) stated, “In garment factories specifically, women are unlikely to gain higher-paying jobs because they lack the education needed“ (p. 1). Many women also seek employment in garment factories precisely because they cannot afford to stay in school (Albert, 2021). Women are also pressured to marry young in these countries and start a family, which forces them not to have the time or money to be educated (Albert, 2021). Women need to help their families, so they work at the garment factories starting at a young age to contribute to their family's income. 

Punishment for Pregnancy

Women in the garment manufacturing industry are punished for being pregnant. This also implements fear of losing their job, leading to women hiding their pregnancy, which leads to even more issues. First of all, hiding pregnancy can lead to improper care of the baby and the women carrying the baby. 50% of women stated that while pregnant, they still had to work overtime, putting both the mother and their baby at risk (Alam, 2011). As well as women who are pregnant in the garment manufacturing industry typically do not receive proper maternity leave. Women in the workforce are legally entitled to have 100 days of maternity leave. Typically, women in the garment industry do not receive this or are unaware of the rule (Alam, 2011). Women also suffer from a lack of time with their child. Most women have to go immediately back to work after having a child, which causes stress and trauma for both mother and child (Alam, 2011).

Women who are pregnant in the garment manufacturing industry also lack proper medical care due to not being able to afford care due to their low wages. Similarly, not being allowed time to visit medical facilities during pregnancy. Alam (2011) found from a woman pregnant in the garment manufacturing industry that “in the absence of proper medical facilities during her first pregnancy, she gave birth to a stillborn baby” (p. 1). Suppose she had been provided with proper time off from work, fair wages, and facilities. In that case, there is a chance that she could have delivered a healthy baby. Overall, women hide their pregnancy in fear of being fired or do not receive proper treatment for pregnancy. Women face many problems when it comes to being pregnant in this industry.

All 

Low Wages

The most significant issue seen in the garment manufacturing industry is the wages paid to women. As discussed previously, most women do not make enough money even to reach a living wage (Mckosker, 2021). Furthermore, as fast fashion arises, clothes become cheaper, and products become less sustainable, women are paid lower  (Mckosker, 2021). Hasnain (2020) stated, “many women and their families are on the verge of starvation and homelessness as they have suddenly been left with low income, debt, and no social support” (p. 1). Also, if companies doubled women's wages, most products would only cost 1.35$ more  (Hasnain, 2020). Similarly, the Deloitte Acess economic report also found that increasing garment workers' wages to a living wage would only increase clothing prices by 1% (Hymann, 2021). So there are easy fixes to the issue of wages, and garment companies choose not to solve it.

Women are also constantly working overtime while not receiving pay and are forced to do unauthorized subcontracting. Unauthorized subtracting, in this situation is described as when a woman creates and makes the product in their own home (Van Der Weerd, 2020). This causes companies to be unaware of how long and how much product the women make, which typically ends in underpaying them. As a result, on average, a woman is paid 2-5 times less than they should be to be above the poverty line (Magna, 2017). This difference is exceptionally drastic, given that women work 90 hour weeks, with unpaid overtime, and overall just have terrible conditions. 

Current Action and Solutions

Recently, events have triggered changes. For example, in 2013, a large garment factory Rana Plaza collapsed, leaving thousands dead. The majority of the people working that day were female garment workers. The day before this tragic event happened, people noticed cracks in the building and were told they were okay to work. However, the next day, the building collapsed. Following this event, implications of rules were made for rules for garment workers. As a result, practices such as building regulations have been required for these companies in the years to come. This tragedy symbolized the fashion industry's impact and needed sustainable reform (Goodwin, 2021). Although this event was a significant tragedy because 1,132 lives were lost (Goodwin, 2021), it is a blessing for the change it has triggered. Another example that is helping change gender discrimination is the many researchers shining a light on these women for the world to be aware of the problem. As a result, reform of the treatment of women working for garment manufacturing companies is slowly happening. However, more changes need to be made still. There is rules and laws regarding workers environment in the United States, the more outsourced product the more likely for these issues to arise. One way to limit the violence against women would be to implement more laws that created less international sourcing and more domestic. Although this is a difficult issue to fight, more and more people are realizing the harm of gender violence in garment factories and starting to advocate for those affected.

Conclusion

 In conclusion, gender discrimination in the fast fashion industry is a growing problem because women are abused and assaulted by their male managers, are punished for being pregnant, and are underpaid. Women also fear speaking up on the issues due to retaliation against them. Overall, women in the garment industry are highly mistreated. They are abused physically and mentally, punished for pregnancy, and highly underpaid. Gender discrimination is one of the many issues in fast fashion. With the uprise of fast fashion and how large it is becoming, women working in garment manufacturing companies continue to be even more and more mistreated. For all that women face, they do not make a livable wage. As stated previously, women face many problems but, change is slowly happening. Even though the fashion industry has seen  little reformation regarding women's conditions, change is continuously needed to better the women affected by the previously stated problems. The women face more than just physical and mental abuse, punishment for pregnancy, low wages, and not speaking up due to fear. They face a lifetime of trauma from the environment and their discrimination. “Ethical fashion is the recognition that there are human beings behind the clothes we wear” (Joy, 2018, p.1). This is a sociological problem because it is gender based violence and it is due to lack of regulations

 References

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