Contents

Chapter 1................................................................................................................................................... 1
INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................ 1
1.1. What is Work place/Work force Diversity? ........................................................... 1
CHAPTER 2............................................................................................................................................ 5
LITERATURE REVIEW .................................................................................................................. 5
2.1. Workforce diversity ............................................................................................................... 5
2.1.1. Managing Workforce Diversity ................................................................................ 5
. ........................................................................................................................................................... 5
2.1.2. The concepts in diversity management ................................................................. 8
2.1.3. Advantages ...................................................................................................................... 10
2.1.4. Disadvantages ................................................................................................................ 12
2.2. Role of Diversity Management in Organizational Performance ........................ 14
Chapter 3................................................................................................................................................. 15
3.1. Policy Overview .................................................................................................................... 15
3.1.1. Policy Implications ...................................................................................................... 16
3.2. Contributions of Manufacturing to the Ethiopian Economy ............................... 18
3.3. Gender and Industry ............................................................................................................. 19
3.3.1. Current and Potential Contributions of Women to Manufacturing
Industries in Ethiopia............................................................................................................... 20
3.3.2. Participation of Women in Manufacturing Employment: Where Are
Female Workers Concentrated and Why? ...................................................................... 21
CHAPTER 4.......................................................................................................................................... 24
BENEFITS OF PARTICIPATION IN THE MANUFACTURING SECTOR ......... 24
4.1. Current Benefits for Women in Manufacturing ........................................................ 24
4.1.2. Workers, Especially Women, Receive Low Wages Compared to their
Living Expenses: ....................................................................................................................... 24
4.1.3. Free/Subsidized Food and Transportation Services ....................................... 26
4.1.4. Training, Personal Development and Career Advancement ....................... 28
CHAPTER 5.......................................................................................................................................... 30
CHALLENGES OF FEMALE MANUFACTURING WORKERS .............................. 30

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 5.1. Key Challenges of Female Manufacturing Workers .............................................. 30
5.1.1. Access to Information and Entry Barriers to Manufacturing Jobs ........... 30
5.1.2. Weak University-Industry Linkages and Poor School-Work Transitions
.......................................................................................................................................................... 30
5.2. Lack of System for Continued Education, Training and Personal
Development .................................................................................................................................... 31
5.3. Low Wages, Lack of Safe and Affordable Housing. .............................................. 31
5.5. Gender Roles and Cultural Barriers............................................................................... 31
CHAPTER 7.......................................................................................................................................... 32
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ........................................................... 33
7.1. Strategic Interventions and Recommendations ......................................................... 33
7.1.1. Education, Training, and Career/Business Development Opportunities 33
7.1.2. Information and Communication ........................................................................... 34
7.1.3. Gender Responsive Structures, Rules, Incentives, and Effective
Enforcement ................................................................................................................................ 34
7.1.4. Gender-Friendly Working Environments ........................................................... 34
7.1.5. Access to Sexual and Reproductive Health Education and Services ...... 35
7.1.6. Culture, Mindset and Self-Confidence ................................................................ 35
REFERENCES..................................................................................................................................... 37
ANNEX …………………………………………………………………………………………………..38

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 Acknowledgments.

For him along deserve to be praised for how far He has brought us, our deepest gratitude goes to our
father God Almighty without whose grace and mercy I could not have come this far.

I owe a special debt of gratitude to our advisor Alula Tesema (PHD) for his precious leraning
methods and suggestions during the course of this study. In addition to his contribution to this course,
we also like to thank his thoughtful contributions to our stock of knowledge.

We want to express our warm acknowledgement to the staffs and managers of Textile Institute and
Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs. Especially our gratitude goes to Miss Zebiba Seid, Woman’s
affairs expert and Mr Yehualeshet Bayu Policy formulation team leader at the ministry. We express
our appreciation for being at a good help during the data collection process.

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 Acronyms.

GTP: Growth and Transformation Plan.

KII: Key informant Interviewer
TVET : Technical and Vocational Education and Training
STDs: Sexually Transmitted Diseases
TIDI : Textile Industry Development Institute
UNDP: united Nations Development Program.
WEE : Women’s Economic Empowerment
NPC: National Planning Commission

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 List Of Figures

 Figure 2 Lower-Skilled Positions (Source: UNDP A study on Woman In

manufacturing Ethiopia) ................................................................................23
 Figure 3 Distribution of monthly wages of male workers (Source: UNDP A
study on Woman In manufacturing Ethiopia) ...............................................25

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 List of Tables.

Table 1. Personality traits of a diverse workforce (yourdictionary.com)………………9

Table 2: Proportions of Males and Females Ages Ten and Older, by Occupation……22
Table 3 Proportion of Workers that Report Receiving Other Benefits ……………………….28

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vii
 Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION
1.1. What is Work place/Work force Diversity?

Diversity can generally be defined as recognising, understanding and accepting individual

differences irrespective of their race, gender, age, class, ethnicity, physical ability, and race.
Sexual orientation, spiritual practice and so on. Grobler (2002:46) also supports this view by
adding that each individual is unique but also share any number of environmental or biological
characteristics.

Diversity can be classified into two dimensions. The primary dimension such as age, gender,
sexual orientation and so on, exhibits the main differences between various individuals. These
primary differences also have the most impact on initial encounters and can be easily noticed and
serve as filters through which people view the world. The secondary dimensions such as religion,
education, geographical location, income etc, are those qualities that are not noticeable in the
first encounter and can even change throughout different encounters. These qualities are only
noticed after some interactions occur between individuals.

Globalization in this recent time has triggered more interaction amongst people from different
cultures and backgrounds than before. People are now more open-minded in the marketplace
worldwide with competition coming from almost everywhere in the continent. Diversity can be a
problem to an organization but could also be a solution, It also comes with its disadvantages but
also benefits and dangerous but also constructive. The challenge then is to extract the very
essence of diversity and tactically manage it for the improvement of the people and the
organization. Most organizations in their own perspective, adopt diversity at their workplace or
organization to become more creative and open to change. Increasing and improving workplace
diversity has become an important issue for management in the recent years due to the
recognition of how the workplace is changing. Since managing diversity still remains a challenge
in organizations, managers tend to learn managerial skills needed in a multicultural working
environment and prepares themselves to teach others within their organizations to value cultural

1
differences and treat all employees with dignity. For some business leaders and managers point
of view, diversity is a big challenge to them although it knows no organizational boundary and
has no limitations. (Priscilla Dike, 2013)

Very few researches on this phenomenon have been conducted in African continent; some of
them fall short of a comprehensive examination of workforce diversity. The previous studies are
conceptualized workforce diversity as multi-ethnic concept. Ethiopia like many nations of the
world is ethnically heterogeneous, and is characterized by other demographic diversities, which
are reflective in workplaces. Business organizations in the developed and developing countries
are all caught up in the globalization web, which has heralded increased demographic diversity
in the workforce. This phenomenon is one of the most challenging human resource and
organizational issue. Academicians and practitioners have sought to understand the impact of
diversity and its management on organizational effectiveness. Empirically, work place
(workforce) diversity is found to have a contrasting dual implication on organizational
effectiveness.

Milliken and Martins (1996), opines that ‘diversity appears to be a double-edged sword,
increasing the opportunity for creativity as well as the likelihood that group members will be
dissatisfied and fail to identify with the group’.

Some studies have found that various forms of diversity area associated with greater innovation,
improved strategic decision making, and organizational performance. Other research shows that
various types of organizational diversity sometimes increase conflict, reduce social cohesion, and
increase employee turnover (Jackson, Joshi, & Erhardt, 2003; Webber & Donahue, 2001).

The demographic composition of today‘s workplace, occasioned by the international trend

toward increased immigration and the globalization of firms is increasingly becoming diverse
(Johnson, 2002; Yaprak, 2002).

The demographic trends in developed and developing countries—aging workforce, growing

representation of women and minorities in the workplace, and the rising number of young people
in developing countries has altered homogeneous work settings of the recent past (Mor-Barak,
2005; Gorski, 2002). Thus, given these demographic and organizational trends, business

2
organizations are contending with the challenges of effectively managing a diverse workforce.
(Dr. R. Durga Prasad, 2017)

With the earlier years, organizations take workforce diversity seriously otherwise there was no
acceptance to add a new hire which is of some other race etc. organizations are hiring a
diversified workforce not to avoid immense fine against Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO)
but to attract, retain, motivate and satisfy stockholders. There are so many definitions of
workforce diversity; one cannot define it in a single sentence. Workforce diversity simply means
difference or variety in the workforce. It can be a difference with aspect to age, gender,
education, culture, geographic location, ethnicity, race, religion and many more. According to
Thomas (1995), diversity does not necessarily mean just about differences but also about
similarities as well. Google truly support and encourage diversity. They also have increased the
ratio of diversity and take several initiatives to enhance the diversity ratio. (Nida Azam, 2018)

Problem Statement

With the rapid increase of changes occur in the modern world the organizational culture is also
getting changed with a fast pace. Like in the same way, changes occur in the workforce which is
varied from previous years which we called diversification in the workforce or a diversified
workforce. Now, it is very important to analyze the consequences of a diversified workforce.
There is a common saying that diversification in workforce affects the employee performance.
This group assignment is going to assess the impact of work place diversity on the
Implementation of policy and procedures on the organizational performance according to the
affirmative action and its implications on garment exporting industries on the public sector.

Research Objective.

The basic objective of this study is to determine the impact of workforce diversity on overall
Organizational Performance. Further, it also assesses the affirmative action and its implications
on garment exporting industries on the public sector.

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Scope of the Study

The study is about Workforce Diversity and exploring the impact on overall Organizational
Performance and the affirmative action and its implications on garment exporting industries on
the public sector. The chosen variable is Gender Diversity its Independent Variables and
Organizational Performance is the Dependent Variable. This study covers only one type of
industry (The Garment Industry) which benefits all of them. It benefits Industrialists, Managers,
Employees, Institutes and Students as well.

Significance of the Study

This study has its own scope which is useful for many purposes. The reason behind this is that it
only covers one type of Industry which have high diversification in its workforce. It identifies
why a diversified workforce has an impact over all organizational performance.

Methodology Used:

As business management administration aims to attain solutions for practical managerial

problems. In order to attain the objective of this research the writers follows an exploratory
research methods. An exploratory study is a valuable means of finding out ‘what is happening; to
seek new insights; to ask questions and to assess phenomena in a new light’ (Robson 2002:59 in
(Mark, S., Philip, L., & Adrian, T. 2009). It is a suitable method to follow to understand and
clarify specific problems. For this assignment the writer also adopts a desk research, observation,
KII as a primary data collection method.

4
 CHAPTER 2

LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1. Workforce diversity

According to (Carrell, 2006), Workforce diversity refers to the ways that people differ that can
affect a task or relationship within an organization such as age, gender, race, education, religion,
and Culture. It is the exploration of these differences in a safe, positive, and nurturing
environment. It is about understanding each other and moving beyond simple tolerance to
embracing and celebrating the rich dimensions of diversity contained within each individual
within the organization. Diversity management practices enhance productivity, effectiveness and
sustained competitiveness. Organizations that promote and achieve a diverse workplace will
attract and retain quality employees and increase customer loyalty Greenberg (2004) also defines
workplace diversity refers to the variety of differences between people in an organization
including race, gender, ethnic group, age, personality, cognitive style, tenure, organizational
function, education, background and more.

2.1.1. Managing Workforce Diversity

According to (Ellis.C,1994) argues that the challenge of meeting the needs of a culturally
diverse workforce and sensitizing workers and managers to differences associated with gender,
race, age and nationality in an attempt to maximize the potential productivity of all employees,
has made effective management of diversity to become a prerequisite in Human Resource
Management. Workforce diversity can be managed through various approaches such as
affirmative action to the minority groups, diverse recruitment policies, diversity management,
and strategic diversity management.

Performance According to Dr Durga Prsad (2015) performance refers to the act of performing;
the carrying into execution or recognizable action, achievement or accomplishment, in the
undertaking of a duty, employee performance refers to the effective discharge of one‘s duty for
good results. It is how well an employee is fulfilling the requirements of the job defines

5
performance as working effectiveness, that is, the way in which somebody does a job, judged by
its effectiveness. Relationship between performance and workforce diversity many scholars
argues that good workforce diversity practices in the area of human resources are believed to
enhance employee and organizational performance.

This is because managing diversity involves leveraging and using the cultural differences in
people‘s skills, ideas and creativity to contribute to a common goal, and doing it in a way that
gives the organization a competitive edge.

Recent studies have shown a strong correlation between good diversity practices and profits.
Workplace diversity is a complex, controversial, and political phenomena. It has been
conceptualized by researchers from several viewpoints. Several have looked at it from a narrow
perspective, while some others from a broad view. Scholars favorably disposed to a narrow
definition argue that the concept of diversity should be restricted to specific cultural categories
such as race and gender .

Some opine that diversity based on race, ethnicity and gender cannot be understood in the same
way as diversity based on organizational functions, abilities or cognitive orientations (Nkomo,
1995). Moreover, the key issues of diversity are those that arise because of discrimination and
exclusion of cultural groups from traditional organizations (Cross etal., 1994).Therefore, if
diversity is a concept that is inclusive to all individuals, it will become very difficult to identify
discrimination practices. The main concern of this standpoint is that a broad definition may
imply that all differences among people are the same. Thus, diversity studies would then be
reduced to the conclusion that ‗everyone is different‘and, if this conclusion is accepted, the
concept of diversity may become ―nothing more than a benign, meaningless concept‖ (Nkomo,
1995).

The danger in narrowly defining diversity, however, is that only one dimension of cultural
diversity (race, age, ethnicity, or gender) is by and large the subject of research at a time. Since a
cultural diversity dimension interacts with other dimensions of diversity, a narrow concept of
diversity would be deficient by failing to recognize these interactions (Michaéla, Deanne, Paul,
&Janique, 2003).

6
According to (Jackson, May & Whitney, 1995) argues that diversity encompasses all the possible
ways people can differ. Individuals, according to this school of thought, do not only differ
because of their race, gender, age and other demographic categories, but also because of their
values, abilities, organizational function, tenure and personality. They contend that an individual
has multiple identities and that the manifold dimensions cannot be isolated in an organizational
setting. Apart from bringing their race, age, ethnicity, and gender, individuals also come with
their particular knowledge, personality, and cognitive style to the work place. Therefore, in order
to understand the dynamics of a heterogeneous workforce, the interactive effects of multi-
dimensional diversity have to be addressed. In addition, it is argued that a broadening of the
concept of diversity has a potential positive effect on diversity management programs, as it will
be more acceptable if it is all inclusive i.e. not only oriented towards specific demographic
groups of employees conceptualized workplace diversity by developing a five cluster
classification.

This often cited categorization is as follows: demographic characteristics such as age, ethnicity,
gender, sexual orientation, physical status, religion and education; task- related knowledge, skills
and capacities; values, views and attitudes; personal, cognitive and attitudinal styles; Status in
the organization such as one‘s hierarchical position, professional domain, departmental
affiliation and seniority. (Michaéla, Deanne, Paul, &Janique2003), Social categorization and
similarity-attraction theory predict negative effects, such as reduction in within-group
communication, decreased satisfaction and commitment, and increased labor turnover.

However, from the information and decision-making perspective, positive effects of diversity are
hypothesized, mainly because more diverse work-teams are expected to process information
differently, as team members may bring together differing viewpoints (Dr Durga Prsad ,2015).
This, in turn, is expected to lead to more creativity and increased performance. Scholars
proposed that identifying individual group members with distinct groups may disrupt group
dynamics. Consistent with this, research on self- categorization theory has shown that out-group
members evoke more disliking, distrust, and competition than in-group members (Dr Durga
Prsad ,2015).

Moreover, biases against out-group members seem to unfold automatically: the perception of a
salient quality (e.g., race, sex) more or less inevitably triggers a corresponding categorization (Dr
7
Durga Prsad ,2015). Jackson et al., 2003, Social categorization theory, emphasize that
similarities and dissimilarities can lead to categorizations which, in turn, lead to favoring one‘s
in-group to the detriment of one or more out-groups social (Dr Durga Prsad ,2015). On an intra-
group level, this approach is typically referred to as relational demography. Thus, categorizations
within a work group (based on an attribute such as gender, race, or age) can lead to the
problematic formation of sub-groups (―us‖ versus ―them‖).

2.1.2. The concepts in diversity management

“Diversity Management can be defined as the process of planning, directing, organizing and
applying all the comprehensive managerial attributes for developing an organizational
environment, in which all diverse employees irrespective of their similarities and differences, can
actively and effectively contribute to the competitive advantage of a company or an organization.
According to Kreitner, (2001) diversity “Stands for the various differences in individuals as well
as similarities that exist among them. ” Kreitner’s definition emphasizes on three crucial issues
about diversity management: Diversity applies to all employees and do not only encompass
certain range of differences but the entire spectrum of individual differences that makes people
unique.

Therefore diversity cannot be viewed as only racial or religious differentiation, but it is the
combination of all differences. The concept of diversity defines differences among people and
also their similarities. The act of managing diversity requires that these two aspects be dealt with
and managed at the same time. Managers are therefore expected to integrate the collective
mixture of similarities and differences between workers into the organization. As such, diversity
can be described as having four layers (Kreitner, 2001):

Personality: This describes the stable set of characteristics that establishes a person’s identity.
There are many different types of personality traits that an individual can portray. These types of
traits could be a person’s action, the behavior they process and their attitude. Moreover, the
personality traits could be classified into two types, namely positive personality trait and
Negative trait. Some of these traits could be classified in the below table as follows:

8
 Personality Traits

Positive Traits Negative Traits

Patience Laziness
Honestly Unfriendly
Reliable Self-Centered
Intelligent Rude
Trusting Obnoxious
Table 1. Some Personality traits of a diverse workforce (yourdictionary.com)

Internal dimensions: These dimensions are characteristics that have a strong influence on
people’s perceptions, expectations and attitudes towards other people. These include factors such
as gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, age, and physical ability and race External dimensions:
These dimensions are personal traits that we have a certain amount of control or influence over.
They are factors such as income, personal and recreational habits, religion, education, work
experience, appearance, marital status, and geographic location. Organizational dimensions:
These dimensions are relevant or significant to the organization itself.

They include factors such as management status, Unit or division, work field, seniority, union
affiliation and management status. Currently affirmative action is used as a method of attaining a
diversified and integrated workforce. Kreitner (2001) is of the view that “affirmative action is an
artificial intervention aimed at giving management a chance to correct an imbalance, an injustice,
a mistake or outright discrimination” and that it does not foster a need to change leadership’s
thinking about diversity management. Jeffery (1996:11-13) argues that although affirmative
action and black economic empowerment is necessary, the private sector should be allowed to
focus on wealth and economic opportunity creation rather than just giving jobs to the previously
disadvantaged. A higher level of “diversity awareness” from affirmative action is known as
valuing diversity. Valuing diversity emphasizes the awareness, recognition, understanding and
appreciation of human differences. By valuing diversity, employees feel valued and accepted,
and are recognized as a valuable resource that contributes directly an organization’s overall
success (Kreitner, 2001).

9
According to Grobler 2003, states that for an organization to value diversity it must first
understand the differences between valuing diversity and employment equity. The fundamental
difference is that employment equity is enforced by legislation.

The management values diversity due to its desires to gain competitive advantage by using the
talents of a diverse workforce. The highest level of “diversity awareness” is the discipline of
diversity management. It is the deliberate and focused creation of organizational changes that
enable all employees to perform up to their maximum potential (Kreitner, 2001).

Israel is a typical example of how the valuing of diversity can turn this issue into an asset to be
used for the benefit of the organization (Priscilla Dike, 2013). South Africa is a country with a
very diverse population that contains many cultural, social religious groups, much like Israel.
The South African population consists of many immigrants bringing with them the diverse ethno
cultural practices of their countries of origin. This challenged the state to convert these
differences into a national asset (Priscilla Dike, 2013).

Achieving competitive advantage through the management of diversity has become an important
managerial, and hence leadership, consideration. It is therefore obvious that management
discipline needs effective leadership in order for it to be successfully implemented.

According to Kreitner (2001) leadership is defined as “a social influence process in which the
leader seeks the voluntary participation of subordinates in an effort to reach organizational
goals.” Changing existing attitudes toward diversity in the workplace clearly involves more than
just decisive leadership but also the cooperation of all employees as it affects their inter-personal
relationships with each other. Therefore managers must exhibit leadership traits and move
beyond the normal tasks of planning, organizing and control.

2.1.3. Advantages

High level of Productivity: Increasing productivity at the workplace has been one of the major
challenges for managers and leaders and to the company in general. Due to the fact that every
organization has its own unique company structure and objectives, different strategies may be
used to challenge or address the company in order to increase productivity. One of those

10
strategies involves adopting workplace diversity and managing it effectively. When management
takes the welfare of its workers at heart by means of offering them proper compensation, health
care and employee appraisal, It enables workers to feels they belong to the company irrespective
of their cultural background by remaining loyal and hardworking which helps to increase the
company’s productivity and profit.

Exchange of varieties of ideas and Team work: In recent times teamwork is increasingly
advocated by businesses and organizations as a means of assuring better outcomes on tasks and
also for the delivery of goods and services. A single person taking on multiple tasks cannot
perform at the same pace as a team could; therefore each team member brings to the table
different ideas and offers a unique perspective during problem solving to effectively arrive at the
best solution at the shortest possible time.

Learning and growth: Diversity at the workplace creates an opportunity for employee’s
personal growth. When workers are being exposed to new cultures, ideas and perspectives, it can
help each person to intellectually reach out and have a clearer insight of their place in the global
environment and hence their own surroundings. The more time spent with culturally diverse co-
workers can slowly break down the subconscious barriers of xeno-phobia and ethnocentrism,
thereby encouraging workers to be more experienced members of the society.

Effective Communication: Workplace diversity can immensely strengthen a company’s

relationship with some specific group of customers by making communication more effective.
Customer service department is one of the areas where effective communication is crucial. A
customer service personnel or representatives can be paired up with customers from their
specific area or location, making the customer feel at home with the representative and thus with
the company. For example some companies in the south-western part of the United States often
prefer to hire customer service personnel’s who are bi-lingual to deal with customers who speaks
Spanish in their native language.

Diverse Experience: Employee and their co-workers that come from a diverse background bring
to the table some amount of unique perceptions and experience during teamwork or group tasks.
Pooling the diverse skills and knowledge of culturally distinct employees together can
immensely benefit the company by strengthening the responsiveness and productivity of the

11
team to adapt to the changing conditions. Every diverse culture has its own strengths and
weaknesses, therefore in addition to their individuality, every diverse employee possesses a
unique strengths and weaknesses that is derived from their culture. When each workers´ unique
trait is managed properly and effectively in the organization, it can leverage the strengths and
complement its weaknesses to highly impact the workforce.

2.1.4. Disadvantages

High Cost of Diversity Management: To increase job satisfaction, workplace diversity

management could sometimes be very costly, when an organization strives to effectively manage
the diverse workforce, it undergoes a mandatory diversity training during which supervisors,
employees, and managers receive lessons on the best way to interact with employees and clients.
In recent times, there are lots of Diversity management program available where companies
could choose from, taking into account the size of the company and its employees. Some training
programs require a high travelling and participation cost.

Discrimination: One significant disadvantages of working with a diverse workforce is

discrimination in the part of both managers and employees. It can exist but hidden aspect of a
poorly managed workplace. When a worker is being discriminated, it affects his ability to
perform well and it also affect the perception of equity and raises issues of litigation.

Communication issues: Workplace diversity can negatively impact communication in the

company. It can place an obstacle in the way of effective communication, which can cause a
decrease in productivity and dampen the cohesiveness among workers. Even though spending
time with employees by getting to know them helps reduce and in some instances eradicate
communication barriers during a long-term, co-workers orientation periods and an individual´s
first impressions can be difficult to control when culture clash.

Myriad Accommodation: Although the premise of workplace diversity is mutual respect,

making way to accommodate each diverse worker´s request can be burdensome of employers,
which makes it difficult to manage diversity. Some employee work constraints such as race,

12
religion, country of origin and gender can sometimes be overwhelming if the diversity in the
organization tends to be so much to the extent that the company has to employ a fulltime staff to
keep track of accommodating the employee’s needs. For example, some Muslim employees may
decide not to work on Fridays, as it is a special day for prayers. In such instances employers has
to make provision for someone to take their shift when the need arises.

Incorporation issues: Social incorporation at the workplace cannot be influenced to the

maximum degree. Forming exclusive social groups is often a natural process that cannot be
controlled sometimes. Therefore, companies tend to experience some degree of informal
divisions amongst their workers thereby creating conditions where diverse employees avoid
having contact with each other during leisure times and when work is over. Although this
scenario doesn´t seem fundamentally wrong, it can reduce the effectiveness of knowledge
sharing amongst teams and hence decreasing productivity. (Ruth Mayhew 2013).

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2.2. Role of Diversity Management in Organizational Performance

Managing Workforce Diversity effectively has a positive effect on Competitive Advantage.

Competitive advantage is an element of strategy that gives an organization a distinctive
competence. This competence and advantage stem from the process in which the management of
diversity positively affects organizational behavior and effectiveness (Kreitner and Kinichi,
2004).

Effectiveness which entails doing things right is an organizational performance factor (Dr Durga
Prese, 2015). Therefore, to effectively manage workforce diversity will help to lowers costs and
improve employees‘attitudes. Costs are lowered in three ways. Firstly, it reduces health care
expenses. Secondly, it reduces absenteeism. Thirdly, employee recruiting and training expenses
can be reduced by effectively managing workforce diversity (Kreitner and Kinichi, 2004).

Effectively managed workforce diversity has a positive effect on corporate share and profits.
This is because work force diversity is the minor image of consumer diversity. (Kreitner and
Kinichi, 2004). Researchers such as Hofstede (cited in Schultz et al., 2003) have revealed that
work force diversity promotes creativity, innovative problem solving and productivity. Similarly,
effective education whether full or part time enhances exposure, training and development. This
is what Bransford et al (2000), assert would promote understanding and congenial acceptance
towards the realization of overall goals of the organization through performance.

14
 Chapter 3
3.1. Policy Overview

“The issue of gender equality has become an area of concern in development planning during the
last few decades. The marginalization, from development programs, of women for a long period
of time is challenged with changing policy perspectives from Women in Development (WID),
which aims to include women in development projects in order to make the latter more effective,
to Gender and Development (GAD), which aims to address inequalities in women’s and men’s
social roles in relation to development. Gender mainstreaming, the integration of gender issues
into every aspect of development programs, is aimed at empowering women to enable them
participate in and benefit from the programs equally as men, being supported by international
and national policies. Global effort had been underway to alleviate the low status of women since
the 1990s.

In the framework of the general conferences held in Cairo (1994) and in Beijing (1995), direction
was set and recommendations were made targeting mainly the removal of all the obstacles to
gender equalities. The outcomes of these conferences recognized that the integration of gender
issues into the general development plan and program of a country is crucial and unavoidable
step for overall sustainable development and that needs to get proper attention by governments.
At international level, the Convention on Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against
Women (CEDAW), the Beijing Platform for Action (BPA), and the Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs) are the main strategies and conventions introduced for the achievement of gender
equality. CEDAW incorporates the following measures that governments have to take to
guarantee gender equality: elimination of discrimination against women in employment
opportunities and benefits of service; ensuring gender equality in all areas of socio-economic life
such as legal rights to contracts and property, and access to financial credit; equality of women in
national constitutions; and abolishing existing laws, regulations, customs and practices that
discriminate against women.” (ESPS, 2005)

15
3.1.1. Policy Implications

 “The Ethiopian authorities have shown a firm political commitment to the

advancement of gender equality, women’s rights and women’s economic
empowerment. The National Policy on Women was issued in 1993 guaranteeing
equal rights of women, a commitment that was renewed in the constitution in 1995.
The Ethiopian Women, Development and Change Strategy, developed in 2017/18,
aims to increase women’s economic empowerment by addressing high rates of
unemployment and informality and ensuring urban job creation and food security for
women. Ethiopia has also revised gender discriminatory legal provisions in the
Family Law (revised in 2000) and Penal Codes (revised in 2005), aimed at tackling
gender-based violence, including child marriage and harmful traditional practices. In
2016, the Financial Administration proclamation was revised to mainstream gender
issues in the budget preparation process. This political commitment is reflected in the
recent appointment of a gender-balanced cabinet and the first women president in
Ethiopian history.

 Ethiopia has ratified a host of international and regional commitments on

gender equality and women’s empowerment. Ethiopia ratified the Convention on
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) in 1981,
submitting the 8th CEDAW report to the UN General Assembly in 2016, and adopted
the Beijing Platform for Action, which was declared in Fourth World Conference on
Women gathered in Beijing in September 1995. The government has signed up to the
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which includes ending violence against
women and girls by 2030 (SDG goal 5), and the Africa Renaissance Agenda 2063,
committing to a specific goal on full gender equality in all spheres of life.

 Successive national development plans have aimed to improve economic

participation of women, however significant challenges remain. Ethiopia’s first
Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP I, 2010/11-2014/16) committed to achieving
equity in the distribution of economic and social gains to women and youth across all

16
 sectors and succeeded in extending financial services to millions of women. The
second national development plan (GTP II) reaffirmed this commitment. It noted that
whilst progress has been made, significant challenges remain, calling for a redoubling
of efforts. These include improvements in access to agricultural extension services
and farming technologies for women, tackling land right issues and increasing the
availability of credit. According to the 2017 Gender Statistics Report, Ethiopian
women have not been equal beneficiaries of economic, social and political
opportunities, due to the historical legacy of gender inequality and discrimination,
strengthened by persistent social norms and traditions.

 Policies aimed at increasing the productivity of female farmers in Ethiopia holds

enormous potential for the overall economy. Policy interventions aimed at
narrowing the productivity gap between male and female farmers could focus on:
promoting the use of pesticides and other inputs on female managed farms (including
male labor and machinery), better tailoring advice to female farmers on input use, and
providing services that reduce the time women spend on household duties.

 Increasing female education opportunities, particularly in rural areas, would

help mobilizing a larger and more productive workforce. While literacy rates
among women have more than doubled since the mid-1990s, due largely to a
successful expansion of primary and adult education, women are still much more
likely to be illiterate than men, particularly in rural areas. According to a joint 2014
report by the National Planning Commission (NPC) and the United Nations (UN), an
urban woman is still more than twice as likely to be literate than a rural woman in
Ethiopia. In addition, the majority of women are unable to transition to secondary and
tertiary education due to school distance, personal security risks, and economic
challenges. As girls grow older, academic participation becomes increasingly
difficult. Policies should focus on reducing the barriers to continuing education
beyond the primary level face by girls and women, particularly in rural areas. These
could be supplemented by more general policies aimed at increasing the rate of
female LFP, particularly in formal sectors. Experience in other countries suggests that
changing cultural attitudes, improving childcare policies, and adopting technologies

17
 that favor sectors with gender balanced employment, have all contributed to
increasing female Labor force participation.

 The authorities are aware that improving the status and treatment of women
requires changing beliefs and attitudes. Social attitudes and traditional beliefs in
Ethiopia continue to constrain women’s ability to participate equally in society and
the economy. Many household and community decisions regarding women, such as
women’s access to farming resources or the use of birth control, and made by men,
either the father or husband. Rural women in particular, still face individual,
community and institutional barriers to fully exercise their rights, which are further
compounded by women’s limited decision-making power within households, and low
levels of formal education. According to a JP RWEE report, customary laws and
cultural practices result in a division of labor in farming activities that typically
makes women the secondary earners of the household.34 their decision-making
power related to household income is limited, aggravating their dependence on their
husbands. A Joint Program in the Amhara and Tigray regions of Ethiopia that takes a
holistic approach to women’s empowerment recognizes that interventions that change
attitudes and behavior of community members, including men, boys and traditional
and religious leaders, are also needed.” (IMF 2018)

3.2. Contributions of Manufacturing to the Ethiopian Economy

Ethiopia, the second most populous country in Africa, has been one of the continent’s fastest
growing regions for more than a decade. It has been growing at a rate of 8 percent to 11 percent
annually. More than 70 percent of Ethiopia’s population is still employed in the agricultural
sector, but other services have surpassed agriculture as the principal source of GDP.

Industry’s share of GDP stands at 17 percent. Ethiopian women constitute half of the general
population, now over 100 million, and have key roles in households, and well as the country’s
social, economic, environmental and political development. Recognizing and harnessing this
enormous potential is of critical importance for ongoing poverty eradication, economic growth
and job creation, as policy makers asserts. There is growing recognition of the value of gender

18
equality and the empowerment of women on behalf of international development organizations,
governments and companies, where gender has been reflected as part of global, regional and
local commitments and policy frameworks such as the 2030 sustainable development goals,
millennium development goals at the global level, the GTP and the women’s development and
change package at local levels, just to mention a few.

Globally, there is a range of evidence on the value of empowering women in general, and women
in manufacturing in particular. Detailed accounts of issues faced by women in manufacturing is
provided in the issues statement section. In this section, more rationale for empowering women
and studying women in manufacturing are highlighted. Women’s empowerment is a
development goal in and of itself, as well as being key to achieving other goals (global, national
and sectorial development goals). Gender has become a key strategic objective of the 2030
Sustainable Development Goal and a critical element of the Ethiopian Growth and
Transformation Plan (GTP) II. The empowerment of women and youth is one of the strategic
pillars of GTP II, which aims to create jobs for women in manufacturing (60 percent semi-skilled
and 30 percent high-skilled jobs out of a total of 750,000 jobs that will be created).

3.3. Gender and Industry

Women in the rural areas play vital roles in food production, preservation and storage. They are
totally responsible for processing foods for consumption and marketing the surplus locally to
generate income. They are involved in making invariably all food stores and containers with the
exception of granaries. Although women’s participation in the traditional food processing is
high, their participation at food processing industries is insignificant. The food products and
beverages industrial group ranks first in terms of the number of establishments in the large and
medium scale category.

According to the statistical survey of May 1999, compared to other industrial groups, the
manufacture of the food products also ranks first in terms and number of persons engaged. Of the
total number of employees engaged in the manufacture of food products and beverages (medium
and large scale industries) in the public and private, only 19% are female. Women’s low status in
education, income and time constraint for self-advancement, have hindered them from
19
participating in employment in industries. They are either unaware about them, or are not given
the required training, priority being given to men because in most instances men would have the
necessary basic education to participate in the training. The number of Ethiopian women
participating in industry and commerce is insignificant, due to lack of access to productive
resources, such as land and credit, advisory services, training and information, and thus unable to
benefit from industrial and commercial activities. The limited financial capacity of women
would also hinder them from using available technology.” (Haregewoin Cherinet and Emebet
Mulugeta, 2003)

3.3.1. Current and Potential Contributions of Women to Manufacturing Industries in

Ethiopia

Ethiopia has high female labor force participation (77.8 percent as of 2013). Among the women
in the labor market, 36 percent are still operating in the informal sector. In terms of sectoral
distribution, the share of women in the agricultural sector decreased by 10.8 percent between
2005 and 2013/14. This shift is entirely towards the service sector. As of 2014, female workers
comprise 33.3 percent of the workforce in the manufacturing sector (large and medium scale).

The fast growth of the Ethiopian economy over the last decade has been accompanied by a
structural shift from the agricultural sector to the service sector, while the manufacturing sector
has not experienced any meaningful increase in its share of the economy’s added value. This
trend is also clearly reflected in labor force data. Data from the National Labor Force Survey
shows that the share of the agricultural sector declined by 7.5 percent between 2005 and 2013.
This is accounted for by an increase of 5.8 percent in the service sector and 1.1 percent in other
sectors. On the other hand, the manufacturing sector’s labor share declined by 0.4 percent In
terms of gender, the move away from the agricultural sector is stronger among female workers.
Specifically, there was a 10.8 percent decline in the ratio of female employees in the agricultural
sector in relation to total female employment.

The shift is towards the services sector. In total, the share of female workers in the
manufacturing sector declined by 1.5 percent. In other words, the decline in the manufacturing
sector’s labor share is due to a shift away from this sector by female workers. Another

20
characteristic of women’s participation in the labor force is that participation is high in the
informal sector. The 2013 National Labor Force Survey showed, for example, that in urban
areas, 80.2 percent of males ages 10 and older participated in formal jobs compared to only 62.4
percent of women. Conversely, a higher percentage of females in that demographic held informal
jobs (36.5 percent) compared to only 18.1 percent of males. One should consider the above
observations in the context that almost everywhere in the world, women’s participation in the
labor force has increased by a significant margin. In other words, the decline in the share of
female workers in the manufacturing sector relative to total overall female employment means
that the participation of female workers in the manufacturing sector did not increase at the same
speed as the rest of the economy.

A detailed look at manufacturing sector data shows that over the last decade the participation of
women has increased in relation to their male counterparts. women account for 33 percent of the
workforce in the manufacturing sector (large and medium scale firms). Further disaggregation of
the data by gender to reflect the characteristics of each sector in terms of workforce diversity
reveals two basic trends. First, almost all sectors have experienced an increase in the share of
women in the sector’s workforce. Second, the textile sector continues to be the sector with the
highest participation of women. In fact, if we combine apparel manufacturing and textiles,
women constitute the majority of the workforce. At the other end of the spectrum we have the
manufacture of basic Metal, machinery and equipment.

3.3.2. Participation of Women in Manufacturing Employment: Where Are Female

Workers Concentrated and Why?
Before moving on to discussing the manufacturing sector, we will first provide some context on
general patterns regarding women’s participation. A clear gender pattern is observed in all
sectors, wherein women tend to participate in occupations with fewer skill requirements and
entry barriers. Table 3, from the 2013 Ethiopian Time-Use Survey, shows that compared to men,
the proportion of women tends to be very low in occupations such as managers, plant or machine
operators, or skilled agricultural, forestry, and fishery workers. In part reflecting the skill gap in
all sectors, women on average earn less than their male counterparts. For instance, the 2013
National Labor Force Survey found that the average wage for male workers is 1,471 ETB
whereas the average for women is 1008 ETB24.

21
Major Occupational Groups Male Female
Managers 0.8 0.3
Professionals 2.3 1.1
Technicians and Associate Professionals 1.9 1.2
Clerical Support Workers 0.4 0.7
Service and Sales Workers 7 12.5
Skilled Agricultural, Forestry and Fishery Workers 52.8 28.1
Crafts and Related Trades Workers 5.5 7.4
Plant, Machine Operators and Assemblers 1.7 0.2
Elementary Occupations 27.4 48.4
Other Occupations 0.1 0
Not Stated 0.1 0.1

Table 2 (Proportions of Males and Females Ages Ten and Older, by Occupation)
Reflecting the general employment trends shown above, the gender-disaggregated distribution of
workers in the manufacturing sector in the survey shows that women tend to be less educated,
younger, and earn less than their male counterparts. These general patterns are substantiated by a
more detailed discussion below. Note that age, school year, and salary are the averages per
industry (sub-industry). Sometimes monthly income may not necessarily reflect base salary.
Income sometimes appears high due to production target incentives and attendance bonuses.
These additional benefits are not uniformly applied to all and are not available unless workers
are eligible for such provisions. Some organizations supplement low wages with other benefits
such as company products (e.g., ‘injera’ on a daily basis or beer on a monthly basis). There are
organizations that facilitate and support bulk purchases of basic food supplies on a credit basis.
Such provisions are identified as key support services and benefits for men and women alike.

Lower-Skilled Positions: First, a clear picture emerges from the analysis of both the worker and
enterprise survey data collected: the majority of women are engaged in lower-skilled positions.
Whereas 48.08 percent of female workers are unskilled production workers, only 27.62 percent
are. While 4.18 percent of men are production line managers, only 1.2 percent of women are. A
similar gap exists between men and women technicians, department heads, etc.” (UNDP, 2018)

22
 Male Female

Skilled Production Workers Unskilled Production Worker

Technician Production Manager
Department Head Finance and Administrative Clerk
Sales Staff Others Specify

Figure 1 Lower-Skilled Positions (Source: UNDP A study on Woman In manufacturing

Ethiopia)

23
 CHAPTER 4

BENEFITS OF PARTICIPATION IN THE MANUFACTURING SECTOR

4.1. Current Benefits for Women in Manufacturing

The benefits of participating in the manufacturing sector can be classified as monetary

compensation or other benefits. Data from the 2013 National Labor Force Survey shows that
women constitute a higher proportion of unemployed, unpaid family workers, and participate in
informal jobs at a higher rate. Hence, manufacturing provides formal job opportunities for
many women, often for the first time. This is of critical importance for women joining the
manufacturing sector. However, results from both the quantitative and qualitative analyses
provide a complex picture regarding the benefits for women in the manufacturing sector.

4.1.2. Workers, Especially Women, Receive Low Wages Compared to their Living
Expenses:

In all sectors and at a national level, women, on average, earn less than their male counterparts.
For instance, the 2013 National Labor Force Survey found that the average wage for male
workers is 1471 ETB whereas the average for women is 1008 ETB.

This is also true in the manufacturing sector. As figure 3 below show, the income of most
workers, especially women, is very low and barely covers their basic expenses. For instance,
more than 30 percent of female workers earn less than 1300 ETB per month, whereas the figure
for men is 1800 ETB. The low level of compensation is more glaring when compared to their
living expenses. For instance, on average, a worker’s housing costs fall between 35 percent to 40
percent of their income. The KIIs also showed that in some cases the housing cost to wage ratio
reaches 50 percent to 60 percent in areas where textile manufacturing erected.

24
Figure 2 Distribution of monthly wages of male workers (Source: UNDP A study on Woman
In manufacturing Ethiopia)

Figure 4 Distribution of monthly wages of Female workers (Source: UNDP A study on

Woman In manufacturing Ethiopia)

25
4.1.3. Free/Subsidized Food and Transportation Services

During our observation and a undertaken between officials from Textile Institute and Ministry of
labor and Social affairs, food benefit/incentive matrices, free/subsidized food and transportation
services available for employees who work on textile industries. Food provision varies from
organization to organization; from nothing, to tea and coffee, breakfast, lunch, and even dinner
(for shift workers). The subsidized/free provision of food is more valued by women, especially
single women due the following reasons: i) it saves time (buying, cooking, packing and carrying
are time consuming); ii) it saves money that would have been beyond their means. Inside a study
on Woman in manufacturing conducted by UNDP, One woman said: “Given the low wages,
having food on your plate without thinking how much it costs is the number one advantage.
Without this provision, we would have gone hungry and not eaten every day, which could have
affected our performance, because at some companies where there are no such services, you
work all day with no food or rest in between and it is too much stress and affects workers’
health’’. In some cases, workers fainted while on duty. The modality as well as the quality of
food varies from company to company. Three distinct models are observed: i) free food service
not in any way linked to their basic wages; ii) food at a subsidized price set by the company
(they pay the bare minimum). Some companies reimburse workers that did not eat; iii)
companies that inform workers of their food costs and this is discounted from their wages.
((UNDP, 2018)

Regarding transportation, the basic fact is that most textile factories are far from the center of
towns/cities. Workers often work more than 8 hours (often 10-12 hours), some work in shifts (2-
3 shifts), and they are required to be punctual. Such conditions pose special challenges for
factories and workers alike in fulfilling their obligations. Most factories, therefore, respond by
providing transportation services to and from the manufacturing plants to central destinations. At
companies where such services are provided, they have been most valued by women and men
workers alike. However, women give these services the highest value due to the risk of traveling
late at night. Even with access to transportation services, traveling to and from collection centers
pose risks and challenges for women, especially shift workers. Despite being so important and

26
how easy it is for companies to provide this type of service, transportation services are not
adequately provided.

According to the UNDP Report Only 68 percent of workers claimed to have access to
transportation services (Table 4). As mentioned above, housing costs (rent) take up a significant
share of workers’ income. However, only 5 percent of workers report receiving a housing
allowance or provision. In other words, despite the significance of other seemingly inexpensive
benefits such as food, housing, and transportation, companies are not providing them to the
extent that would be adequate.

Health expenses Medical Transportation Residential Paid

for work-related checkups allowance/ housing/ medical
accidents service allowance leave
Agro-processing 90% 80% 6%% 5% 97%
Textile 83% 63% 60% 4% 85%
Leather 72% 44% 88% 3% 81%
Chemicals 98% 81% 75% 0% 92%
Pharmaceuticals 98% 98% 88% 10% 98%
Metal engineering 98% 68% 93% 10% 92%
ICT 96% 64% 96% 13% 100%
Average of all 80% 62% 68% 5% 85%
sectors
Table 1 Proportion of Workers that Report Receiving Other Benefits (Source: UNDP A study on Woman in
manufacturing Ethiopia)

With regard to medical coverage, costs related to reproductive health, pregnancy and delivery are
often not covered. Despite the fact that the overwhelming majority (81-100 percent) reported that
paid medical leave is stipulated as a benefit, some companies fail to apply it in practice. This is
especially true for non-accident medical leave and leave for accidents that occur outside the work
premises. According to Our KII interviewers they repeatedly observed that enforcing the legal
provision of paid medical leave emerged as key challenge for workers in terms of receiving
equal benefits. (UNDP, 2018)

27
4.1.4. Training, Personal Development and Career Advancement
Although workers are paid low wages and their living expenses are high, short-term suffering
may be tolerable in the hopes of a better tomorrow. That, however, requires progress in terms of
career possibilities, earnings, etc. Education and training is a key empowerment tool for such
career advancements, especially for entry level workers with limited education and skills. For
instance, skills gained through training are identified as one of the single most important
benefits/sources of motivation to join and stay in manufacturing as mentioned by almost all KII
addressed, including SME employees across manufacturing sectors. This was consistent across
educational backgrounds. At the same time, companies reported that the trainings provided
resulted in significant and positive effects. (UNDP, 2018)

In the absence of wide spread on-the-job training, one option to increase benefits and career
advancement opportunities for women is mentorship by senior level women or men. According
to UNDP a study on Woman’s in manufacturing industries in Ethiopia, only 38.37 percent of
women reported receiving mentoring. KII who took part in our discussion also gave their views
on different benefits and support services. According to information obtained from Ministry of
labor and social affairs shows, Benefit Matrix 1 below indicates that women rated the benefits
they receive from the company by providing a relative score out of 10, 10 being in their opinion
the best and most relevant benefit to them. Financial benefits such as bonuses and production
target incentives got the highest scores. Other benefits including practical skills, meals,
transportation services and breast feeding breaks are also among the highest valued. (UNDP,
2018)

Benefits, incentives and support services (proportional pilling out of 10 (10 being the top-rated
benefits, 0 being the lowest-rated benefits).
Benefits/Support Services Respondent Respondent Respondent
A B C
Free lunch 0 8 8
Knowledge/practical skills gained 10 10 10
Transportation services 10 10 10
Bonuses and incentives 8 10 8
Attendance bonus 8 10 10
Breastfeeding time 10 8 7
Food services for pregnant women 10 10 8
Source: FGDs with women in textile apparel, March 2017 provided by Ministry of labor and social affairs.
Table 2: (Benefits/Support Services)

28
4.1.5. Increased Income and Improved Family Living Conditions
Given the low wages compared to living expenses such as rent and the limited provision of other
compensating benefits, one would expect the satisfaction of workers in general, and female
workers in particular, to be low, and the sector to be characterized by high turnover. Despite the
low level of income and lack of benefit packages, large portions of workers reported increased
income and improved living conditions for their families compared to their situation prior to
obtaining their current job. Specifically, when asked to compare their situation before and after
they obtained the job, 78 percent of women and 76 percent of men responded by saying that their
income had improved. Similarly, 63 percent of women and 61 percent of men reported improved
living conditions for their families after obtaining the job. (UNDP, 2018)

4.2. Attractiveness of the Working Environment for Female Workers and Owners
4.2.1. Rating of Current Job in Terms of Quality of the Working Environment Key Message

Characteristics of Attractive Jobs: Higher pay, opportunities for career advancement and
flexible work schedules are considered key to attracting and retaining women workers. However,
a high proportion of women rate their jobs as poor (46 percent). The poor rating is even worse
when it comes to workers being promoting to managerial positions. (UNDP, 2018)

Sectors Preferred by Women: Most women in the sample rated the agro-processing sector as
the most preferable. On the other hand, metal engineering, chemicals and pharmaceuticals are
rated poorly. The fact that these skill-intensive sectors are rated as less attractive tells us the
extent to which women’s participation in skill-intensive sectors will continue to be important.
(UNDP, 2018)

Issues with Workplace Quality: A sizable number of women report that there are no separate
changing rooms for men and women, no separate bathroom facilities, insufficient bathroom
facilities even if they are separate, and limited ventilation of the workplace. Health and safety
was a key issue that came up in KIIs and FGDs.” (UNDP, 2018)

29
 CHAPTER 5

CHALLENGES OF FEMALE MANUFACTURING WORKERS

5.1. Key Challenges of Female Manufacturing Workers

“As most of the challenges described in this section were already discussed in the participation
and benefits section, the tables and graphs will not be presented again in order to avoid
unnecessary repetitions. Thus, all relevant tables and graphs referenced in this section can be
referred to in the preceding sections, as the case may be. (UNDP, 2018)

5.1.1. Access to Information and Entry Barriers to Manufacturing Jobs

During the process of entering the labor market, whether they are unemployed, unpaid family
workers, students finishing their studies, or high school dropouts, information regarding jobs and
business opportunities remains critical.

Considering that over 70 percent of workers come from rural areas, it is essential to find ways to
ensure that job-related information reaches the areas where they live. In recognition of these
challenges in searching for a job, and in a bid to provide a continuous supply of labor to firms.
(UNDP, 2018)

5.1.2. Weak University-Industry Linkages and Poor School-Work Transitions

There are many advantages to these linkages in terms of solving job search challenges (cost,
time, and distance), reducing skill incongruities, and increasing overall productivity, but there are
also a number of operational challenges at different levels, such as the existence of few and in
some cases no women, especially among interns, in male-dominated technical areas. For
instance, in one company, women constituted about 5-6 percent of total interns (metal
engineering). Despite recent improvements, there is poor gender parity at universities and
colleges, especially in the science and technology fields. (UNDP, 2018)

30
5.2. Lack of System for Continued Education, Training and Personal Development

It is obvious that training and skills are key ingredients for increasing productivity and making
the company competitive. Company representatives reported that labor productivity in Ethiopia
is very low compared to other countries that have comparable labor-intensive manufacturing
sectors. They give examples in relation to the value/product units they produce during given time
period. The maximum labor productivity they shared was 55-60 percent in labor-intensive
manufacturing and leather goods.

5.3. Low Wages, Lack of Safe and Affordable Housing.

Low wages that barely cover the basic costs of housing, food and clothing is one of the key
constraints that women and men workers face. Given gender pay gaps, the lower educational
level of women, and limited career growth options, the impact of low wages and lack of safe and
affordable housing is more critical for women. This challenge poses another gender-based
constraint for women: women tend to co-habit with male partners, enter into non-formal
relationships, which expose them to unwanted pregnancies, various STDs and HIV/AIDS, which
become further barriers to their economic advancement.

5.5. Gender Roles and Cultural Barriers

An analysis of the opinions of workers (both men and women) and responses from firm
representatives regarding attitudes towards women’s empowerment in terms of decision-making,
appropriate gender roles and sexual harassment, reveals two broad trends. First, a significant
portion of workers and firm leaders demonstrate a positive attitude towards the participation of
women in the manufacturing sector and decision-making in the home. For instance, almost 90
percent of firm representatives and workers agree on the importance of women being able to
work outside the home. A similar proportion of firm representatives and workers disagree with
the proposition that significant family decisions should be made by men. Similarly, the response
of married women regarding actual family decision-making shows that they participate in
decision-making to a significant extent. Over 90 percent of married women reported that
decisions regarding how to spend the money they earn, whether to borrow money, whether to
have a child, etc. are either made by the women (20 percent on average) or jointly with the

31
husband (80 percent on average). Note that a table similar to the one on single (unmarried)
women shows that on almost all questions, more than 80 percent of women report that they are
the ones who make decisions. The most glaring negative attitudes among workers and managers
relate to women’s earnings, their fitness for higher-skill level jobs, and their leadership potential.
In terms of opinions regarding earnings,30 percent of firm representatives, 19 percent of men
workers, and 12 percent of women workers report that they disagree with the proposition that it
is acceptable for women to earn more money than men. This finding aligns with the observation
in section one of this document that men earn more money than women even after accounting for
years of schooling and experience. Similarly, the opinions of firm representatives and workers
(both men and women) tend to discount women’s ability to handle higher-skilled jobs
(technical). 31 percent of firm representatives report that firms prefer to hire men for
departments (positions) that involve higher-skill levels, such as engineering, since men are
presumably better at these kinds of jobs. 18 percent of men and women workers express similar
attitudes. It is not clear, however, whether these attitudes are a cause of or response to the fact
that the majority of female workers in the manufacturing sector work in lower-skill positions, of
this document.” (UNDP, 2018)

32
 CHAPTER 6

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

There should be taken some serious steps to manage Workforce Diversity as it is enhancing
rapidly. Diversity Management Officers who are responsible for managing diversified workforce
should pay them equally without any discrimination. The Salary and Compensation Plans should
be same for all the employees of an organization. The environment and top management should
be equally supportive for both male and female employees. Otherwise, the Organizational
Performance can be declined if this type of discrimination occurs. Training and Development is a
very important function of Human Resource Management. Performance Management System
should be applied effectively with the proper strategic planning. It should be aligned with the
Organizational Goals and the appraisal process should be equal for the working force. Generally,
top management and other personnel supports employees who are financially strong and have a
good background. But, as we have seen that higher the income diversity higher will be
Organizational Performance. So, companies should induct both kinds of candidates. They should
not consider their financial background and things alike.

6.1. Strategic Interventions and Recommendations

6.1.1. Education, Training, and Career/Business Development Opportunities

As most women employees in the manufacturing sector are younger, less educated, and engaged
in the less skilled/technical levels of value chains. This partly explains their low earnings and
high turnover. In the absence of sufficient training in their background, the only avenue for
career development opportunities would be to receive on-the-job training either in-house or
outside the firm. Despite the importance of such trainings, the availability of these opportunities
in the firms studied is very limited. Investing in relevant trainings that boost productivity and
promote gender equality are critical. For high-skilled jobs, gender support and promotion should
start at universities /TVET programs. Skills gaps are directly linked to productivity. Systems to
respond to prevailing skills gaps and reduce gender gaps at the organizational level are of critical
importance.
33
6.1.2. Information and Communication

Current practices indicate that job advertisements are much localized and this limits access to
information for many potential workers who live far away in rural areas. This is an important
issue since most workers come from various rural areas (over 60 percent) located far from urban
areas. Many workers reported the high cost of searching for employment. Also, women often
arrive to a job site without being very familiar with the manufacturing industry, and this in turn
leads to a plethora of challenges that they must face. In terms of high-skilled jobs, productivity
women also need connections and promotions to facilitate job entry.

6.1.3. Gender Responsive Structures, Rules, Incentives, and Effective Enforcement

The Ethiopian government has instituted several policy and legal frameworks that have positive
implications in terms of the participation and benefits for women in the manufacturing sector.
However, the study team has observed that several of these policies and laws lack enforcement.
In addition, there are incentive schemes targeting investments in the manufacturing sector that
tend to be gender neutral. Gender support/equality structures such as Women and Children
Affairs, women’s networks/female focal persons and women’s sectorial networks are also critical
for increasing women’s voice and agency. Similarly, the assessment of the HR system and
organogram through a gender lens shows that most have no organogram, and even the ones that
do have not disaggregated it by gender and do not use it as a management or planning tool.
(UNDP, 2018)

6.1.4. Gender-Friendly Working Environments

According UNDP (2018,) report, the highest-rated working environment factor is decent pay.
However, for the large majority of workers, pay, whether in the form of wages or benefits, is
very low. It barely covers their basic living costs. For instance rent, on average, takes up about40
percent of wages or may even take up to 60 percent of wages in the case of low-income workers.
In terms of other factors related to the working environment, there seems to be a lack of
flexibility in terms of accommodating mothers’ need for work-life balance.

In most circumstances, limited time for breastfeeding and the practical non-existence of
childcare facilities at firms stand out among the factors that severely affect the working

34
environment. A sizable number of respondents reported that there are no separate changing
rooms for men and women, no separate bathroom facilities, insufficient bathrooms even when
they are separate, and limited ventilation of the workplace.

6.1.5. Access to Sexual and Reproductive Health Education and Services

The majority (over 70 percent) of workers are young and come from rural regions around the
country. They have limited knowledge of reproductive health and limited life skills. The problem
is exacerbated by informal co-habitation that is necessitated by the high rental costs workers
face. For this reason, providing quality and sustainable reproductive health services will
significantly and positively impact their lives by preventing unwanted pregnancies, births,
HIV/AIDS, and other associated health problems. This service is even more beneficial to women
workers who have limited time and resources to access such services. Female workers who have
received such trainings and services have reported that it has improved their lives significantly.
Despite the reported benefits, these services are provided to a very limited extent and in very few
firms. For instance, in our quantitative surveys, only 6.4 percent of women workers reported
receiving such training and services. Access to this service empowers women and benefits the
industry alike. Global experience shows that addressing women’s health issues has a direct
impact on a company’s productivity by reducing health-related absenteeism and increasing
active engagement at work. (UNDP, 2018)

6.1.6. Culture, Mindset and Self-Confidence

Current gender segregation, which has in part resulted from societal gender biases, creates
intergenerational gender inequality. Cultural norms upheld by society in general, and firm
leaders in particular, regarding women’s capabilities in technical fields such as engineering, have
discouraged the participation of women in such fields and diminished the chances of obtaining
employment among those who have received such training. In addition, the perception that
women are not effective leaders has significantly contributed to their limited participation in
leadership. Furthermore, cultural norms have limited the participation of women in informal
business networks, which limits their ability to tap into existing opportunities. The overall impact

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of these negative norms has also contributed to reported low self-confidence both at the worker
and entrepreneur level. This has been key to current and intergenerational gender inequality.
Informal cultural norms shape the organizational culture and govern business practices. The
general public is a key target of the media. Men, women and organizational leaders (including
public organizations) are being targeted to bring about change in this regard. (UNDP, 2018)

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Annex

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