International Women’s Day (IWD), celebrated globally on 8 March, holds particular significance for Bangladesh’s Ready-Made Garment (RMG) industry, where women constitute the majority of the workforce. In preparation for International Women’s Day 2025, ETI Bangladesh and the Fair Wear Foundation (FWF) organised a webinar on 2 March 2025 to discuss plans for the upcoming celebrations. The event, attended by 243 participants from 80 RMG factories, centred on the theme: “For ALL women and girls: Rights. Equality. Empowerment.”
The webinar served as a platform to reflect on past achievements, share best practices, and outline factory-level plans for celebrating IWD 2025. Abil Bin Amin, Country Manager of ETI Bangladesh, delivered the welcome speech, expressing gratitude to all participants for their involvement. The event was moderated by Sunjida Khatoon Shashee of ETI Bangladesh, who facilitated discussions on the importance of advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment in the workplace.
Masangmi Rakhin from ETI Bangladesh provided an overview of the organisation’s initiatives for IWD 2024, highlighting key successes and lessons learned. Advocate Nahida Anjum Kona from FWF and Khaleda Akhter Laboni from ETI Bangladesh elaborated on the 2025 UN theme, stressing the need to dismantle systemic barriers, enhance workplace safety, and ensure women’s economic empowerment.
Participants actively shared their experiences and strategies for celebrating International Women’s Day. Factories outlined plans to organise rallies, cultural programmes, video screenings, and award ceremonies to honour outstanding women workers. Many also emphasised initiatives aimed at promoting more women into supervisory and managerial roles, fostering a more inclusive organisational culture.
ETI Bangladesh and Fair Wear Foundation expressed their appreciation to all participants for their active engagement and commitment to advancing women's rights. They encouraged factories to continue their efforts in creating equitable and empowering workplaces for women. Ashfike Khalaque, Programme Coordinator for Bangladesh at FWF, delivered the closing remarks, urging factories to sustain their dedication to fostering equality and empowerment.
ETI Bangladesh and Fair Wear Foundation remain steadfast in their mission to promote a culture of empowerment and equality within the RMG industry and beyond.
