Vietnam garment factories set for more female supervisors

A new training scheme is being rolled out in Vietnam as part of a wider move to get more women into supervisory roles in the country’s garment sector.

The GEAR (Gender Equality & Returns) project was successfully piloted at five factories in the south of Vietnam last year – and there are now plans to expand it to some northern provinces between June and October 2020. 

It is being launched as part of the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) Better Work Vietnam programme in coordination with the International Financial Corporation (IFC).

The project focuses on helping factories improve line-level productivity by equipping female operators with the skills needed to effectively perform once promoted as a line leader. Through GEAR’s training, female operators are expected to acquire the soft and technical skills necessary to take on supervisory roles; and factory managers are coached on how to identify, train and retain female talent.

The project originally started with a pilot programme in 28 factories in Bangladesh, before being adapted to Vietnamese context. It was scaled up in Bangladesh last year to train 700 female operators and their managers in 70 factories.

Better Work Vietnam was created in 2009 as a partnership between the ILO and the IFC. The programme engages with workers, employers and governments to improve working conditions and boost competitiveness of the garment industry. Since its inception it has increased its footprint in the country’s garment industry to reach 392 active factories employing almost 600,000 workers.