Question of Gender Based Discrimination in the Fashion Industry

Friday 15th of May 2009 12:06:00 AM

Question of Gender Based Discrimination in the Fashion Industry

Is there gender discrimination in the British fashion industry? Some people believe there is which means your sweats or other clothing may have been made by women who were paid less than their male counterparts. The British fashion industry, like the global industry, has often been accused of gender based discrimination. It must exist up to a point because some of the biggest fashion retailers have publicly said they are working to eliminate the disparities.

The company's that have said they are offering training to women who need the additional education in order to better compete in the workplace include Courtaulds and Marks & Spencer's. The critics of the fashion industry point out some companies in the past have purposely divided men and women workers in the workplace in a way that prevents women from getting the training needed for higher paying jobs. A well known footwear company, Church & Co., is working to insure its women workers have access to training grants offered by Skillfast UK to prevent these kinds of issues.

Some of the numbers seem to support the complaints that women are not given equal employment opportunities in the fashion industry. In the UK, women hold 37 percent of the management and executive positions but make up 52 percent of the workforce. In addition, the women are paid 15 percent less than men in the fashion and textile sectors.

Not everyone agrees there is a significant inequality issue, especially when discussing their own companies. Caroline Rush is a joint chair of the British Fashion Council. She said, "The fashion industry is one of the largest employers for women, has many strong role models and provides a broad variety of career opportunities."