SDG 5: Gender Equality and the Fashion Industry
Written by: Sarah O’Rourke, Communications Manager @ Threading Change
24 March 2022
[4-minute read]
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were established seven years ago (2015) by the United Nations (UN) and were adopted by all UN Member States at the time to act as “a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future.”
These SDGs were supposed to be the “urgent call” governments, industries, and citizens needed to commence the long and hard process of creating lasting change and global solidarity in the pursuit of a better tomorrow. Seven years down the line though, and many industries have barely begun implementing sustainable development…
Here at Threading Change, our speciality is fashion and the textile industry; that is what we can speak to, and so we encourage you to follow us along on this ride and learn about the UN SDGs and specifically how they relate to the fashion industry.
SDG 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
This SDG looks at gender equality: a “state in which access to rights or opportunities is unaffected by gender,” (Oxford, n.d.). This UN SDG very broadly aims to deal with violence against women and girls, child marriage, and other such topics like representation in leadership positions in governments and companies.
Gender equality is one of the most disused goals but there are still so many targets to reach in regards to eliminating the root causes of discrimination against women, transgender, non- binary and 2-spirit people that persists within the private and public spheres.
There is an unequal distribution of economic resources, young women especially continue to be deprived of education, decent work, agency over their sexual relations, contraceptives and health care. While we are seeing more women in leadership positions and the political sphere there is still less than a third of women globally who are in middle to senior management positions.
There are a number of issues that women-identifying individuals face world over that include but are not limited to inequal marriage and divorce rights compared to their male counterparts, discrimination in employment, and rape laws not based on the principle of consent. What does this have to do with fashion though?
Fashion is a woman dominated industry. Women make up the primary consumers of fashion, as well as the majority of employees all throughout the supply chain. It is estimated that fashion employs 1 out of every 6 workers across the globe (McCosker, 2021), and 80% of garment workers are women (Oakes, 2020).
Why then are senior management positions dominated by men in the fashion industry? Of the 10 highest paid fashion executives, as of 2020, only two were women, and only one of them was a woman of colour (WOC); all of the others were white men (vmsd, 2021).
Further down the supply chain, majority of factory owners, managers, and supervisors are all men as well (Remake, 2020). This disproportional representation of women, and especially of WOC, should be shocking to us, but is rather seen as the norm. Women are excluded from the decision-making process on all levels, even though the industry by in large exists for women and because of the labour of WOC.
Furthermore, women garment workers more often than not experience lower wages than their male peers, are barred from unionization and collective gathering, and are discriminated against for pregnancy and maternity leave (Remake, 2020). Garment makers are often exposed to dangerous and inhumane labour conditions and are manipulated and coerced into these roles by agents promising life-changing paydays (FAAR, 2020). This is all on top of the sexual harassment, assaults, and physical violence that many endure at their workplaces everyday (Remake, 2020), but are underreported as many do not wish to risk losing their paycheck, even in the name of their own safety.
Sexual harassment and assaults happen on a completely different level of the fashion industry as well, in which many models are coerced and taken advantage of in the name of favors that will result in better jobs and eventual fame (Fashion takes Action, n.d.).
Fashion is a Woman’s Issue
Gender discrimination runs rampant in the fashion industry, despite what all of the “Grl Pwr,” “This is what a feminist looks like,” and “The Future is Female,” graphic tees say. Women are majority of the consumers, spending 226% more on clothing per year than men, and majority of the makers, with 80% of garment workers being WOC (Oakes, 2020). This industry is a woman’s industry, yet the power is in the hands of men. Why?
As one female garment worker in Mexico stated, they “see us as objects that produce, not like women, not like mothers, not like sisters, not like daughters. They see [woman garment workers] as cheap labour.” As long as women are seen as the second sex, the fashion industry will prey on them.
How can you help?
If you want to see change in the industry, support good behaviour like transparency and traceability in supply chains by purchasing from genuinely sustainable fashion brands. Check out our GISM for some awesome brands making waves in sustainable fashion from around the world!
You can also support woman-owned SMEs which could even be your local thrift store or vintage shop. Do some google sleuthing and see what you can find in your city. Make sure to share on social media too to get the word out and build up the growing global-local community of conscious fashion consumers.
Furthermore, you can get involved with organizations working to change the fashion industry, like ours! Remake, Fashion Revolution, Fashion Takes Action, Labour behind the Label, Clean Clothes Campaign, The Lowest Wage Challenge, and Good on You are all amazing organizations with different resources that will benefit you and your network! If you know of other organizations we should connect with, tell us about them below!
If you missed our previous educational works on SDGs 1-4, check out our Instagram! Try searching the hashtag #ThreadingChangexSDGs to see all of our informative posts in one spot.
About the author:
Sarah is an MEB (Masters of Environment and Business) candidate at the University of Waterloo, where she is focusing her research on Sustainability and the Fashion Industry. She has a BGInS (Bachelors of Global and International Studies) from Carleton University and has over 5 years experience working for Ottawa-based, local companies that have sustainability at the forefront of their operations. Fashion is her main passion and she enjoys spending her free-time creating content for her Instagram, where she utilizes clothing and how we dress as a lens for exploring topics like sustainability, self-love, and body acceptance. Sarah considers herself an amateur mixologist too, and loves to entertain with a pitcher of sangria or a few martinis!
References
FAAR. (14 August 2020). Sustainable Development Goals in Fashion & Space SDG 5: Gender Equalty. FAAR. http://faar.space/faar-outlook/sustainable-development-goals-in-fashion-space-sdg-5-gender-equality
Fashion Takes Action. (n.d.). Sustainable Development Goals. Fashion Takes Action. https://fashiontakesaction.com/sdgs/
McCosker, J. (19 April 2021). The impact of fast fashion on Garment Workers. Good on You. https://goodonyou.eco/impact-fast-fashion-garment-workers/
Oakes, C. (17 July 2020). Fashion is a Woman’s Issue. Fairtrade Certified. https://www.fairtradecertified.org/news/fashion-is-a-womens-issue
Oxford. (n.d.). Gender Equality. Google. https://www.google.com/search?q=gender+equality+definition&rlz=1C1GCEA_enCA812CA812&oq=gender+equality+def&aqs=chrome.0.0i512j69i57j0i512l8.4836j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
Stanton, A. (19 February 2020). How the United Nations’ SDGs relate to the Fashion Industry. Remake. https://remake.world/stories/news/how-the-united-nations-sdgs-relate-to-the-fashion-industry/
United Nations. (n.d.). Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls. United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal5
VMSD. (6 July 2021). Here are the 10 highest-paid fashion executives from 2020. VMSD. https://vmsd.com/here-are-the-10-highest-paid-fashion-executives-from-2020/
