Social Constructions of the Gender Wage Gap among Female Employees in the RMG Industries of Bangladesh

Abstract

Background: The Ready-Made Garment (RMG) sector serves as a primary driver of economic growth in emerging markets where industrial manufacturing frameworks are continually developing. However, structural disparities and deeply entrenched social hierarchies persist, heavily shaping strategic compensation architectures and profoundly influencing the economic security of vulnerable female workers.

Objective: This study examines how the social construction of gender identity and status shapes wage disparities and strategic labour positioning among female RMG employees in Bangladesh, while evaluating the critical sociocultural barriers inherent in traditional manufacturing structures.

Methodology: The empirical analysis utilises a qualitative research methodology to capture fundamental operational realities. Using purposive and snowball sampling techniques, a sample of 18 female employees aged 21 to 37 was selected across the industrial zones of Dhaka, Bangladesh. The qualitative data were operationalised using thematic analysis to identify recurring structural patterns and track exploratory narratives, with data management systematically executed using NVivo 14 software to ensure analytical rigour.

Results: The findings indicate that female employees are significantly and disproportionately affected by substantial wage disparities within the RMG industry. The qualitative insights validate prior empirical frameworks conducted in cross-cultural settings, demonstrating that female workers are highly vulnerable to lower compensation due to a disadvantaged societal status stemming from gendered social roles. Concurrently, gender-based power dynamics, entrenched organisational sexism, the structural burden of asymmetric childcare responsibilities, and unpaid household chores function as critical, socially constructed potent factors that actively drive wage discrimination.

Conclusion: The study concludes that internal institutional environments and external sociocultural structures function jointly in driving industrial labour outcomes. Structural focus on female workers' narratives yields a deeper understanding of wage discrimination, confirming that the strategic undervaluation of female labour stems from the social construction of gender that systematically privileges male counterparts.

Unique Contribution: This research advances gender economics and rural labour literature by providing an integrated qualitative framework demonstrating that even though female employees outnumber their male counterparts within the RMG production line, the social construction of gender remains heavily prevalent, contributing significantly to wage disparities through the interaction of weak institutional protections and rigid patriarchal norms within an emerging economy context.

Key Recommendation: It is recommended that labour regulators, corporate compliance boards, and state market authorities design strategic policy interventions that enforce the standardisation of gender-neutral pay scales and the systematisation of transparent payroll audits. Additionally, policymakers should implement targeted workplace capacity-building initiatives and strengthen institutional enforcement mechanisms to safeguard financial transparency, eliminate operational wage friction, and enhance compliance with global labour standards.