About the policy dialogue
This APD is hosted by the Forum for Social Studies will run for 24 months. The overall objective is to generate and use evidence to advocate for policies that would lead to decent work opportunities for youth, women and marginalised groups in the textile and garment sub sector. The sub sector was selected because it contributes to the country’s GDP, it is among those identified by the government as a driver for industrial transformation and it provides formal employment especially for women who account for over 60% of workers in the textile industry. Despite these contributions and prospects, Ethiopia does not have a minimum wage policy, employees are exposed to arbitrary wages, staff turnover in manufacturing is high especially in the industrial parks and the labour rights and decent work conditions enacted in the country have not been fully enforced. As a result, prospects for decent work opportunities in the sub sector are yet to be fully realised more so for women and youth. The key outputs of this APD are to:
- Identify levels and trends of employment opportunities created in the textile and garment sub sector for youth and women and other marginalized groups;
- Analyse gaps and challenges which limit the creation of productive and decent employment opportunities in the sub sector especially for youths and women;
- Foster public interest and awareness about the evidence and policy alternatives for productive employment and decent work in the sub sector;
- Enhance interest and uptake of the productive and decent work agenda among relevant actors.
- Build partnerships among relevant policy actors to address the decent work problems facing women and youth in the textile and garment sub sector; and
- Establish a platform for government and other relevant actors to catalyse evidence informed policies on decent employment of youths and women in the sub sector.