GENDER
CAREER BUILDING
TRAINING
FOR WOMEN
Believe in Your Abilities. Look to the Future
Approximately 60% of the employees working at sewing factories in Bangladesh are women*. However, due to their cultural and social background and working environment, you see fewer and fewer women the higher up the management ladder you go, and that has long been an issue for us. The Fast Retailing Group has formed a partnership with the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) to set up a training program for female employees and male managers. In 2020, we conducted a pilot program which proved far more successful than we had initially anticipated. In 2021, Fast Retailing Group expanded this program to 3 partner factories to provide career advancement support to women. We have continued to help Bangladeshi women achieve their dreams.
* the 2012 Survey of Manufacturing Industries (SMI) by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS)

-
○Basic Program: 15 hours, 300 men and women (Selected from 7,000 workers)
Female workers received soft-skills training and gained confidence to express their needs, claim their rights and negotiate with their managers. -
○Advanced Program: 80 hours, 100 female management candidates
Training to improve leadership and technical skills.
Training to promote an understanding of the enabling environment needed to support for women to progress in their careers.
Sessions to promote awareness of the gender biases that hinder female activities.
Training to promote awareness of gender equality.
Interviews with Three Female Participants.
What’s Your Dream?

Sultana Afrin, 32
Junior operator
“I have decided that I want to work in a more challenging position,” says Sultana Afrin, who works at a garment factory based in the Dhaka capital. Sultana was part of a group of 50 women who participated in training sessions that focused on leadership, negotiation, and communication skills. “Earlier I used to think that work that involved going out was “men’s work.” I don’t feel like that anymore,” says Sultana who feels that, armed with her new communication skills, she is now able to clearly convey her own ideas not only at work, but also at home.
“I don’t want to dream big and then not reach my goal. I believe in small steps, baby steps.” Sultana wants to become a floor manager and is currently happily working towards that goal.

Hashi Begum, 28
Junior operator
“I want my daughter to grow up to be a doctor. That is my dream,” says Hashi Begum, who used to think that a woman’s place was in the home. However, the construction of a sewing factory near her home completely changed her values.
“Earlier I used to feel scared to express myself, to do anything new. Now I feel that men and women can both do anything and everything.”
Hashi says she is proud that both she and her husband work and bring up their kids together and was adamant that, “if all female employees can enjoy the training I have received, then the factory atmosphere and working environment would improve, and women would be able to stand up for their rights and secure a better future.”

Pryanka Rani Saha, 20
Quality control officer
“I learned about stress management and got several tips on how to be able to complete your work properly, whatever the circumstances,” said Pryanka Rani Saha, who joined a garment factory in Mymensingh Division four years ago. There, she met a man, fell in love, and decided to get married. The couple now live busy lives in which they efficiently share the housework and respect each other’s goals. This is an extremely progressive approach in traditional Bangladesh. Pryanka dreams that Bangladesh will one day become a model country for the world. “I want Bangladesh to be a safe and free country where it is OK for women to walk alone at night,” says Pryanka, who is keen to communicate openly with her partner and parents. Women who cherish new values are certainly trying to change the way things have been in this country.
What is UN Women?
UN Women is the UN organization dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women. A global champion for women and girls, UN Women was established to accelerate progress on meeting their needs worldwide.
Diversity and Worker Empowerment Initiatives
-
2019
Signed Global Partnership with UN Women to empower female workers in apparel industry.
Program development to provide specialized training for female workers in partner factoriesAppointed first female Chief Executive Officer(CEO) for UNIQLO Japan
Moved the Diversity and Inclusion Office from Human Resources Department to the direct management of the president.
-
2018
The percentage of women in management positions across the Fast Retailing Group reached 36%, exceeding 30% target for fiscal 2020.
Opened an in-house childcare center for employees at Tokyo and Ariake head offices in Japan.
Introduced a flextime work system and babysitter subsidy program for eligible Fast Retailing Group head office employees in Japan.
-
2017
Introduced a new work-from-home arrangement for eligible Fast Retailing Group head office employees in Japan.
-
2016
Launched the "Factory Worker Empowerment Project" to provide educational support for female garment workers in Bangladesh and Indonesia.
-
2015
Established Diversity and Inclusion Office in the Human Resources Department.
-
2013
Established a scholarship of USD 1 million over five years for students at the Asian University for Women in Bangladesh.
- Fast Retailing
- UNIQLO
- Initiatives to support female workers at partner factories
Most Viewed Contents
-
RESPONSIBLY SOURCED DOWN AND FEATHERS
UNIQLO only uses responsibly sourced down and feathers from farms that seek to minimize their impact on wildfowl. All of our partner garment factories involved ...
Read More
-
CLOTHING MADE FROM PET BOTTLES
We produce thread from used PET bottles to create new clothes. As recycling technologies evolve, so does the realm of recycling possibilities. By recycling our ...
Read More
-
Sustainability Report 2022
The world is still in chaos. But we are seeing clear, fresh signs of improvement. Our ultimate aim is to change the world for the better by making and selling g...
Read More
-
THE PEOPLE BEHIND OUR CLOTHES
UNIQLO clothes are made by people around the world who work in our partner factories. We promote the wellbeing of every worker by supporting efforts to create s...
Read More
Recommended Contents
-
DORAEMON A FAMED CAT-LIKE ROBOT MUCH-LOVED THROUGHOUT JAPAN
Beloved for more than 50 years, the cat-type robot Doraemon is a worldwide popular manga and anime character from the 22nd century. Always kind and ready to hel...
Read More
-
BLUE CYCLE JEANS
At UNIQLO, we are creating jeans that respect the future of our planet. Jeans born from cutting-edge technology,developed in our Los Angeles-based Jeans innovat...
Read More
-
GENDER
All women should be able to pursue their dreams and forge a new tomorrow. We want to see women enjoy infinite possibilities. Believe in a world that enables wom...
Read More
-
RE.UNIQLO
Can your old clothing improve the future? Yes! At UNIQLO, we recycle your used garments through our circular sustainability programs. Take our recycled down ini...
Read More