Occupational segregation, with women dominating

The gap

Evidence profile

Sourced from the recommendations and stated challenges and future-work section and stated research gap of the source papers, classified as general, drawn from work published between 1978 and 2026, spanning 3 journals. Those papers have been cited 23 times in total.

Supporting evidence — 4 representative gaps

• Gender Based Wage Inequality in the Garment Industry (2026) · International Journal of Science Strategic Management and Technology · doi

  CHAPTER 2 – LITERATURE REVIEW Wage disparity based on gender in the garment industry has been one of the most studied topics, with a number of studies pointing consistently to wage gaps, job segregation, and women's disadvantageous positions. Roychowdhury (2020) conducted one of the biggest statistical studies on the subject of gender wage disparities in India, using nationally representative labor survey data. He showed that, even with similar levels of education and relevant work experience, women receive continuously lower wages than men. More importantly, he puts great emphasis on the structural barriers within workplaces, including restricted promotional opportunities and biased job assignment. While strong for national patterns, the absence of industry-specific insights into the garment sector is one of the core limitations that the research has. Bhattacharya (2021) furthered the discussion by directly researching women garment workers based on field surveys and interviews. The experiences she reported ranged from job role discrimination, restriction of maternity benefits, and a preference by supervisors for male workers in technical tasks. Most women mentioned performing monotonous, lowwage tasks regardless of their skill level. While this study amply documented socio-economic issues faced by women in garment factories, it fell short of providing structured solutions to reduce wage inequality. Building on this, Jain and Mehta (2021) adopted a mixed-method approach that combined large-scale wage data with qualitative narratives of workers. They studied how gender, caste, and class intersect to influence wage outcomes. Their findings show that wage inequality in garment and textile industries is not only gender-driven but also perpetuated by social hierarchies, which have made access to training programs and upward mobility limited for women. Although strong on providing an intersectional lens, the study lacks actionable recommendations for labor reforms, specifically in factorylevel wage systems. Parallel to that, policy-related work by Fair Wear Foundation 2022 demonstrated the collapse in the system of labor enforcement in India. Based on the policy analysis and testimony from the workers, the foundation noted that weak monitoring and irregular audits easily allow factories to bypass wage-related laws. This leads to wage discrimination, excessive overtime, and lack of benefits, conditions mostly affecting women. While this report identifies the systemic causes, there is no exploration of how technological or organizational interventions might reduce wage inequality. Ara and Rahman (2023) present a broader South Asian comparison by analyzing gender disparities in the garment industries of India and Bangladesh.

  generalrecommendationsevidence 5/5
  Keywords: wage women garment gender labor workers based india discrimination inequality industry studied disparities similar strong
• Gender Based Wage Inequality in the Garment Industry (2026) · International Journal of Science Strategic Management and Technology · doi

  Occupational segregation, with women dominating low-income positions and men dominating high-paying technical positions. Technical skill bias, with women having limited access to training programs for technical roles. Weak implementation of wage-related laws, contributing to the persistence of gendered wage inequalities.

  generalstated challengesevidence 5/5
  Keywords: occupational segregation women dominating low-income positions men high-paying
• Women in the Work Force (1978) · Journal of Urban History · cited 7× · doi

  Future research should examine the impact of occupational segregation on women's employment in other cities. Studies should investigate the effects of ethnicity on women's employment in different industries. Research should explore the relationship between occupational segregation and female labor force participation in other historical contexts.

  generalfuture-work sectionevidence 5/5
  Keywords: future research examine impact occupational segregation women employment
• The Role of Women in the Australian Labour Market: A Survey of the Literature (1982) · Journal of Industrial Relations · cited 16× · doi

  There are gaps in understanding the role of women in the labour market, particularly with regard to workforce behaviour and discrimination. The factors influencing the maintenance of occupational segregation are not well understood. The significance of discrimination in depressing the relative earnings of women is not well understood.

  generalstated research gapevidence 4/5
  Keywords: there gaps understanding role women labour market particularly

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