Training has enhanced supervisory skills and productivity of women and reduced absenteeism in the readymade garment (RMG) industry, according to a study by the University of Oxford.
The skills of trained workers have increased by 5.0 per cent while the number of female supervisors went up to nearly 12 per cent from 5.0 per cent, it showed.
The study report titled 'Cutting through the Cloth Ceiling' was released at a ceremony at a city hotel on Wednesday.
The report evaluated the impacts of IFC's (International Finance Corporation) work-progression and productivity toolkit (WPT) training for female garment workers.
The training helped redress the gender imbalance on sewing lines where about 19 of every 20 line supervisors are men, even though women make up 80 per cent of production-line employees, it showed.
Wendy Werner, country manager of IFC Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal, Anaise Williams, programme manager, RMG project of University of Oxford, and Faruque Hassan, vice-presidents of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), were present at the launching ceremony.
Jasmine Subasat, coordinator for economic cooperation of Embassy of Japan, presented the keynote paper.
Supported by Japan's Ministry of Finance, IFC imparted the toolkit training to144 female sewing operators and their mid-level managers in 28 factories in collaboration with the Better Work Bangladesh.
A total of 92 trainees, out of 144, were offered promotion to a higher grade with increased salary within weeks of completion of the training programme, the study found.
"About 60 per cent of them accepted the offer. After the training, the number of female supervisors in participating factories increased to 11.86 per cent from five per cent," the report said.
The evaluation also found reduced absenteeism in lines where trained female supervisors work.
The training programme also boosted the confidence of the workers.
"Research shows that training increases line efficiency and benefits both the female supervisors and the factories that promote them," Ms Werner said.
This initiative, if scaled up in more factories, has the potential to overturn the industry's blind spot when it comes to career progression opportunities for women, she added.
"The training taught me how to speak to people at different levels, how to behave as a professional, and how to keep track of my work and calculate production and efficiency in an organised way," said Popy Aktar, a sewing line supervisor at Sparrow Apparels Ltd.
The training featured five-day classroom training on technical skills and four-day on soft skills on leadership and communications skills required to be an effective supervisor.
The trainees then applied what they have learned from on-the-job training and an experienced supervisor also prepared them for supervisory roles.
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