Bangladesh's garment industry now employs around 4 million workers and accounts for 84% of the country’s exports. But events like the Tazreen factory fire in 2012 and the collapse of Rana Plaza one year later made garment workers’ inhuman working conditions glaringly obvious. The country's over-reliance on garments has led to neglect of other industries. Job opportunities outside the garment sector are limited – women are particularly stuck. The prospect for upgrading into higher-value added activities within global value chains is poor. Bangladesh urgently needs to diversify its economy, moving away from garments and into higher value-added manufacturing. But how?
As the only NGO involved in drafting Bangladesh's new Five Year Plan, ActionAid has built strong relationships with Bangladeshi businesses in emerging sectors. In a recent report, the NGO draws from interviews with these businesses and its longstanding work with garment workers to explore challenges and opportunities for the economic diversification of Bangladesh. This seminar will set the report’s findings in the context of Bangladesh’s history, social protection, industrial policy in the 21st Century and initiatives like the European Union’s Sustainability Compact.
Confirmed speakers include:
Mushtaq Khan, Professor of Economics, SOAS Jeff Kenner, Professor of European Law, Faculty of Social Sciences, Nottingham University Deepta Chopra, Research Fellow, Institute of Development Studies Kazi Nurmohammad Hossainul Haque, Advisor, ActionAid Lila Caballero, Policy Advisor, ActionAid Antonio Andreoni, Lecturer in Economics, SOAS will chair the event.
Registration: The event is free but spaces are limited. Please follow the link below to RSVP.
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