The Double Day: Exploring Unpaid Work and Care for Female Garment Workers in Bangladesh

From The Work and Opportunities for Women (WOW) Programme in partnership with Primark. Women have been central to the Bangladesh garment workforce over recent decades, using the opportunity to financially support their families. However, many women are still expected to undertake most household chores and childcare. They often struggle to shoulder both long hours at work and unpaid work and care responsibilities. Unpaid work and care refers to unpaid time spent on activities within a household for its members including care of persons, housework and voluntary community work.

The WOW programme, in partnership with Primark, visited garment workers in communities and factories in Bangladesh in 2019. WOW’s research found that the women they interviewed are working a “double day”, spending an average of 7 hours on unpaid work, including child care and domestic work, in addition to their shift in the garment factory. The men interviewed spent considerably less time, with up to 2.5 hours spent on unpaid work and care activities. WOW also found that where men do help their wives, they often face backlash from their community.