Gendered Precarity and Collective Bargaining Among Women in the Global Garment Supply Chain

African Journal of Gender and Women Studies | Vol. 11, No. 9, September 2026 | pp. 57–69

DOI: 10.46882/2026/AJGWS/001299

Article Type: Research Article

Title: Gendered Precarity and Collective Bargaining Among Women in the Global Garment Supply Chain

Names of Author: Dr. Mei-Ling Chen¹

Author's Affiliation: ¹Department of Sociology and Social Policy, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.

Abstract:
Fast-fashion supply chains rely heavily on the flexibilized labor of young women working in export-processing zones across Asia and East Africa. While corporate social responsibility audits claim to safeguard worker welfare, intense production quotas, short-term contracts, and gender-based verbal harassment remain endemic on factory floors. Furthermore, male-dominated trade union leadership structures frequently sideline women’s specific demands regarding maternity protection, childcare support, and safe transit. This paper investigates how female garment workers build independent shop-floor solidarity and negotiate improved working conditions in Cambodia and Ethiopia. Anchored in feminist labor geography, the research draws upon comparative factory case studies and 50 semi-structured interviews with female workers and union organizers. The analysis demonstrates that women-led worker committees effectively leverage transnational consumer campaigns alongside localized wildcat strikes to challenge exploitative labor regimes and democratize union governance.

Keywords: Garment industry, gendered labor, collective bargaining, feminist labor geography, supply chains, worker solidarity, Asia, East Africa

Manuscript Timeline: Received: June 24, 2026; Revised: July 30, 2026; Accepted: August 03, 2026; Published: September 15, 2026.

Citation: Chen, M.-L. (2026). Gendered Precarity and Collective Bargaining Among Women in the Global Garment Supply Chain. African Journal of Gender and Women Studies, 11(9), 57–69. DOI: 10.46882/2026/AJGWS/001299

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