GFA Investigates Pay Equity Gap in Turkey's Garment Sector

• Global Fashion Agenda (GFA) is researching pay equity in the Turkish fashion industry
• GFA released a report called “Unpacking Pay Equity in Fashion: Türkiye”
• The report examines structural issues that influence pay equity for women

Global Fashion Agenda (GFA) is researching pay equity gaps in the Turkish fashion manufacturing industry.

This week, GFA published a report called “Unpacking Pay Equity in Fashion: Türkiye” that explores how “structural factors, such as occupational segregation, care responsibilities, and limited data visibility, continue to shape pay equity outcomes” for women in the Turkish textile and fashion industries.

The report is based on 43 facility-level surveys of Turkish textile and fashion manufacturers, as well as interviews with trade unions and worker organizations, and input from social sustainability experts such as the Social & Labor Convergence Program (SLCP), the Fair Labor Association, and the Anker Research Institute.

GFA estimates that the pay gap between men and women in Turkey is between 15.6 percent and 17.4 percent, which is higher than the average of 12 percent in the EU as a whole.

Despite existing wage inequities, women represent an essential portion of Turkey’s labor force as of January 2024 with approximately 44–45 percent of the textile, apparel and leather industries employing female individuals. The proportion women who are employed by apparel manufacturing surpass that of textile production.

According to the GFA, these gaps in pay are caused by structural issues but not by packages compensated at unfair amounts.

Existing disparities in compensation have nothing to do with the fact that men and women do the same job and receive different amounts.

The GFA says that to move forward, both policymakers need to work collectively to enhance the legal framework, and brands and suppliers need to commit to responsible purchasing practices, as well as to improve women's economic mobility through improved parental leave, childcare, enforcement of laws, and by conducting mandatory audits of Gender Pay Gap Statistics.

“Pay equity is essential for creating a fair, sustainable fashion industry. The research conducted demonstrates that there are gender pay gaps within Turkey’s fashion manufacturing sector, and that this can be rectified,” said Federica Marchionni, CEO of the GFA.