Keywords: Export Processing Zones, Women s Labour, Empowerment, Gender Exclusion, Social Exclusion

Transcription

1 Contributions to Sri Lanka s Development Trajectory: Economic Contributions, Empowerment and Social Inclusion among Women Workers in Export Processing Zones Jamie Moore, Peter Hancock and Sharon Middleton Edith Cowan University Abstract This paper presents the findings of the first stage of an AusAID funded project examining 2304 women working in several Export Processing Zones (EPZs) in Sri Lanka. The data in this paper provides insights into the lived experiences of factory women from the largest EPZ operating in Sri Lanka (Katunayake). The research was completed by researchers from the Social Justice Research Centre at Edith Cowan University, Australia (ECU) and in collaboration with the Centre for Women s Research (CENWOR) in Sri Lanka. The purpose of this paper is to present the initial findings of the survey results of 901 women working in Katunayake EPZ. Despite their high levels of education and significant contribution to the economy of Sri Lanka via EPZ employment, factory women continue to experience a significant lack of respect and inclusion in society. These initial findings provide an interim analysis of the labour and salary conditions of the women sampled, as well as an analysis of their education levels and future employment prospects. The paper also provides an analysis of levels of empowerment, community participation, social inclusion/exclusion and decision making roles of women working in Katunayake EPZ. Keywords: Export Processing Zones, Women s Labour, Empowerment, Gender Exclusion, Social Exclusion Introduction Export Processing Zone s (EPZs) are large manufacturing areas that specialise in manufacturing for export. These areas have a host of beneficial labour and taxation laws, 1

2 which promote overseas investment and increased economic opportunities for host governments (Engman, Onodera, & Pinali, 2007). In Sri Lanka there are 11 government controlled EPZ s that employ approximately 60,000 women and 30,000 men. Katunayake EPZ (KEPZ) is the largest in the nation with close to 50,000 workers employed across 84 factories. Despite the heavy involvement of women in these factories, levels of social empowerment in respect to gender policy, class and politics have remained relatively unchanged (Jayawardena, 1998). While Sri Lankan women experience greater education and labour status than women in other developing countries, the economic impact they have on their nation through EPZ employment has gone relatively unnoticed or awarded (Jayawardena, 1998). These women have been unable to leverage their economic empowerment and experience significant levels of subordination, subjugation and harassments within the community (Hewamanne, 2003). The following paper highlights these issues above by examining the education level, job status, earnings, savings and hours worked of women in KEPZ and comparing these findings to similar areas achieved by family members and the national census data. The paper also examines whether women were able to transfer their economic empowerment into social and community involvement in terms of personal empowerment via improved finances, community participation and increased decision making status both inside and outside the home. In essence the paper highlights the significant contribution women make to their family and economy, despite the enormous obstacles they face. The paper does not assume a position that women are homogenous or unable to act independently, it simply lets the data do the talking. Finally the paper highlights the level of social inclusion or social exclusion reported by women as a result of their employment in KEPZ. Methodology Two female Sri Lankan Research Assistants facilitated the data collection in KEPZ.. Both were fluent in English and Singhalese and received intensive training and guidance from the Principal Investigator, CENWOR Research Director and Project Manager. The respondents were randomly selected by the Research Assistants and were sourced from the countless boarding houses that surround KEPZ. To be eligible for selection women had to have worked in an EPZ for at least one year prior to data collection (Middleton, Moore, Hancock, & Edirisinghe, 2009). 2

3 The questionnaire was designed to provide insights into the ways in which young women contribute to the development of Sri Lanka at the national, community and household levels, using a mixed methods approach. The first part of the questionnaire was quantitative and focused on demographic data such as age, marital status, and education level. Other questions focused on work profile including type of factory, job title, hours worked and promotion, as well as information on salaries and savings. The women were also asked whether they had experienced verbal, physical or sexual harassment at work, and whether they had experienced public humiliation for being an EPZ worker. The second part of the questionnaire asked the women five questions relating to empowerment, decision making, involvement in the community and perceived social inclusion. For example, As a result of working do you participate more in community and/or political activities? (if yes, explain). The quantitative data in the questionnaire was analysed using SPSS 14.0 (Statistical Package for Social Sciences). The qualitative open-ended text was coded and analysed using Nvivo 7 qualitative software. However, the focus of this paper is on the quantitative data with insights from the qualitative data, rather than a full thematic analysis. Findings The demographic data are presented in Table 1 1. Results indicated that 658 women (73%) were 25 years or younger, with an average age of years. Further analysis revealed 20% of women were aged 26-30, and only 6% were over the age of 30. This indicates a relatively young female workforce of which 80.6% were unmarried and 18% were married. Of the remaining women, one was widowed and six were divorced. The women from KEPZ were well educated with over half (52.5%) having either completed A-level education (or had reached this level of examination) and a further 38.6% having completed O-level education. A further 19 women (2%) had completed or were completing 1 Note that some of these findings have been published in The Journal of Labour and Management and Development, see Hancock, P; Middleton, S & Moore, J. (Dec, 2009). Export Processing Zones (EPZs), globalisation, feminised labour markets and working conditions: A study of Sri Lankan EPZ workers, Journal of Labour and Management in Development, Issue 10 (1), pp

4 tertiary education. The remainder of women had either incomplete A or O level education (6.4%), or less than 7years education (0.3%). The relatively high education levels of the women sampled did not mesh with national ideologies that espoused increased education leading to empowerment of women, rather it indicates that women working in the EPZ were relatively over-educated for their work as most worked in low status positions. Table 1. Demographics of women who participated in the questionnaire (n = 901) Demographic characteristic % of respondents (n) Age <=25yrs 26-30yrs 31-40yrs >41yrs 73.5 (662) 20.0 (179) 6 (54) 0.4 (4) Marital Status Married Divorced Never married Other 18 (164) 0.6 (5) 80.6 (726) 0.7(6) Respondent s Education Type of Factory Worked In O Levels A Levels Tertiary Incomplete O or < 7yrs 42.5 (383) 52.5 (473) 2.1 (19) 2.8 (25) Garment/ Textiles Shoes Jewellery 76.4% 4.6% 3.6% Years Worked 1-3 Years 4-5 years 5+ years Source: questionnaire 68.2% 19.3% 12.5% Participants were also questioned about the type of factory they worked in and years of service. Table 1 indicates the KEPZ workforce was predominantly located in textiles and garments. The data also indicated that employment is predominantly short term and could be classified as very fleeting employment. This was due to the finding that very few of the women sampled had worked more than 5 years in an EPZ and further strengthened by the average length of service for all women being 3.29 years. Qualitative inquiry revealed that the short term nature of their employment stemmed from the nature of industrial employment 4

5 itself and associated long working hours with few holidays resulting in women experiencing burnout due to their lack of free time to be involved in community and/or family activities. More importantly qualitative inquiry revealed that many of the women chose to work for a few years as a deliberate strategy, usually derived from the dowry system in Sri Lanka or due to other strategies to purchase small businesses or houses for example.. The majority of women were employed in low status or menial positions; in fact almost 75% fitted this category and worked predominantly as packers, cutters or machine operators, for example. On average, women reported working hours per week before overtime with almost all women (95%) reporting working overtime. The average amount of overtime worked was hours per week, therefore on average women worked hours a week, earning an extra 2, Sri Lankan Rupee (LKR) per month. Comparing these working hours to the national average (Labour Force Survey, 2008), significant differences are apparent. Nationally in 2008, 32.2% of the female labour force worked hours a week and 18.9% worked 50+ hours a week. This is in comparison to the KEPZ sample where 86% of women worked 50+ hours per week, when overtime was included. The average monthly salary of women was 8, (LKR) excluding overtime (equivalent to $93.50AUD). The average salary after overtime was approximately 11,000 LKR a month As can be seen by Figure 1 below, average monthly salaries did vary between women with a Pearson correlation revealing a significant positive correlation between total monthly salary and age (r =.16, p <.001) and number of years worked (r =.29, p <.001). This suggests that the longer women worked in a factory the better their chances for increased salary. However, this could be due to wage increases as a result of minimum wage increases made by government. To make comparisons with salaries earned by their parents, the women were asked about their parents salaries as well as their contribution to the family income. Over 88% of women earned at least 30% of their total family income 2, with the average being 49.34% of the total family income and a further 5% of women providing 100% of the total family income. These are important results that highlight the importance of women s wages to the total family income. 2 Total family income included parents and siblings combined incomes if not married and husband s salary if married. 5

6 Percentage of Respondents Salary Scale LKR Figure 1. Average Monthly Salary (Without Overtime) On average, the women working in the KEPZ earned higher monthly salaries than that of their parents. Only 6.3% of mothers earned over 5000LKR a month, with the average salary of mothers being very low (1,336.32LKR). A large proportion (67.2%) of mothers earned no money (including 22.3% of mothers who were farm workers working for their household consumption). In comparison to mothers, 58% of fathers earned over 5000LKR a month and less than 2% earned below 3,000LKR per month. Despite earning significantly more than their parents and contributing a large amount to the total family income, women were still paid less than the national average despite working significantly higher hours. Data from the Sri Lankan 2006/2007 Census indicated the average receiver s income was 14,457LKR per month for those individuals who did receive an income (Household Income & Expenditure Survey, 2007). Therefore, the women sampled are earning relatively high salaries when compared to other family members, but lower than national averages. This could be the result of the Census including many women in professions, however it does illustrate the difference in salaries in comparison to the high amount of hours worked. 6

7 Only 101 women (11.2%) reported being promoted, however given the fact most women sampled only worked for a few years this outcome is not surprising. However, evidence of promotion was discovered with 30 women promoted to a supervisor/management role while the remainder reported only going to other low status jobs with a minimal rise in pay. When comparing the education level of women with those who were promoted, a chi square test, X²(6, N = 893) = 16.73, p <.05, indicated that women with A-level education (60.4%) and O- level education (28.7%) were more likely to be promoted than those with incomplete O levels or less than 7 years of education. This analysis reveals that women were better educated did experience that education translating into higher pay and promotion. However the data must be used with caution as it could also be that very low education levels were not capable of supervisory work involving literacy and numeracy skills. Savings and money sent home to family On average women saved 2,894LKR a month, with 33% saving in a bank and 46.4% saving in an informal savings scheme (Cheetu). A paired samples t-test indicated that the average amount saved in informal savings (1,766LKR) was significantly higher, t (900) = -5.39, p <.001, than the average saved in banks (1,128.02LKR). Each month, 68% of women sent money home to their family. An average of 2582LKR was sent home each month, with 31.7% of women not sending money home to family. From this data we again point to the importance of women s wages to family wellbeing. Personal Empowerment Of the 901 women working in the KEPZ, 93.2% (n = 840) indicated they felt working in the EPZ had allowed them to accumulate capital to empower themselves or their families in a variety of ways. The women reported that their salaries had enabled them to purchase items such as jewellery (important for dowry), furniture and household goods, with 30% using money towards building or renovating a house or accumulating capital. A further 12% contributed money towards family or educational expenses. As well as economic empowerment, many women revealed in open-ended text that working in an EPZ had given them a new sense of independence, particularly in living away from home, as well as pride and happiness in earning an income and being able to contribute to the family. 7

8 Community Participation Of the 901 women in KEPZ, only 171 (19%) reported they participated more in community and/or political activities since commencing work. Of these, 29% were a part of village committees, 10.5% were a part of factory committees, 26.5% contributed to temples (usually monetary) and a further 19.8% contributed to the community in other ways. Of the 80.9% of women (n = 729) who reported they did not participate in the community, the majority (97.6%) indicated this was due to a lack of time and 2.4% stated that they no longer felt they belonged to the community. In-home and Outside-home Decision Making Over half (51.7%) of the KEPZ women indicated that they did participate more in the decision making process in the home. Of these women 17.3% were involved in child and education decisions, 20.8% were involved in general household decisions, 26.8% were involved in collective decisions and 3.7% actually made all the decisions in their household. Despite their increased participation, 16.5% (n = 77) reported they were only consulted sometimes. Of the 435 women who did not participate more (48.3%), 71.8% reported they were never consulted about in-home decision making, with the rest being consulted sometimes or only allowed an opinion. In these cases, it was usually fathers or older siblings who made household decisions. When looking at outside home decision making, 233 (25.9%) of women reported they were more involved since commencing work and 666 (74.1%) reported they were not more involved. Of women who were more involved 60% reported making their own personal decisions, 15.2% were involved in workplace and/or boarding house decisions and 5.7% were involved in factory union or village welfare decision making processes. For the majority of women who did not report increased outside home decision making, the answer given was usually no with no further elaboration. However for those that did elaborate, 16% reported it was not their role to be involved and a further 16% said they sought family permission before making decisions outside the home. Social Inclusion and Exclusion Of the KEPZ sample 629 (69.9%) women reported experiencing increased social inclusion as a result of their employment, which was usually at the family and village level, rather than at the broader societal level. A further 20% reported increased respect in the village, 24.6% 8

9 reported increased respect from family, 32.3% reported a significant increase in their own positive self worth and 11.4% reported an increase in respect both within the village and from family. Of the 901 women in the KEPZ, 271 (30.1%) reported a lack of increased social inclusion since commencing employment, with many feeling social exclusion. Of these women 11.9% experienced gender social exclusion, 26.1% felt they were viewed as unprofessional workers, and 4.1% reported they had no positive self worth. Most significantly almost half (46.3%) of these women reported significant levels of village level subjugation (particularly negative opinions of EPZ workers) since their employment at KEPZ. Conclusion This paper has investigated survey results of n = 901 women working in the Katunayake Export Processing Zone in Sri Lanka (KEPZ). Results indicated that women had high levels of education and significantly contributed to the financial stability of their families. Women earned significantly more money than their parents with the average providing close to 50% of the total family income and 5% providing 100% of this income. Despite this, women s wages were significantly lower than the Sri Lankan national average and they struggled to translate this new financial prosperity into improved social and political outcomes such as community involvement and social inclusion. There was also a significant lack of sustainability in the KEPZ workforce with 70% of women only working 1-3 years in the factories and only 12% having worked 5 or more years. This could be considered a deliberate strategy of workers, with women indicating they planned on only working for a few years in the EPZ until they could afford to purchase the items or capital they needed. However, it could also be a reflection of the lack of opportunities for promotion and the low job-levels that women in KEPZ experience. Only 11% of women reported being promoted with the majority of these only receiving small pay rises but still remaining in low level jobs such as machine operators and cutters. Thirty women (3.3%) reported being promoted into managerial positions but this is an extremely low number considering the hours and commitment women put into their employment. In regards to personal empowerment a high percentage of women (93.2%) reported feeling personally empowered as a result of being able to purchase goods or accumulate capital as a result of their increased salary. Some women reported feelings of increased pride, independence and happiness in being able to contribute to their family. Despite this 9

10 increased personal empowerment women experienced very low levels of community participation due to a lack of time (heavy work hours prevented participation as most spent free time with their family) and a lack of sense of belonging to the community. Also while women reported increased in-home decision making responsibilities (mostly due to the new found contribution to family income), decision making responsibilities outside the home failed to increase (74.1% not more involved). While most women did not elaborate on why they felt this way, some stated that they felt outside decision making was not their role or that they still sought help from family in making decision. Of those who did report an increase in outside-home decision making, this was reported as an increase in personal decision making and decisions regarding boarding house management. Importantly women, despite their dominance of the labour in factories, did not report high levels of decision making power or input at a factory/production level. Finally, high levels of social inclusion were reported by women (n = 631), with these women reporting these inclusion mostly at the family and village level and not at wider societal levels. Despite this 30% of women reported increased social exclusion including gender exclusion, being viewed as an unprofessional worker, village subjugation and low or no positive self worth. This contrasting picture of improved economic status, empowerment and family contribution with low community participation and decision making levels of feelings of social exclusion, highlight the difficulties faced by women in KEPZ. Despite the significant contribution these women make to the families, community and nation overall, this has yet to fully translate into improved social outcomes and acceptance for factory women in Sri Lanka. References Engman, M., Onodera, O., & Pinali, E. (2007). Export processing zones: past and future role in trade and development: OECD Publishing. Hancock, P. (2006). Women, work and empowerment: A portrait of women workers in two of Sri Lanka's Export Processing Zones. Norsk Geografisk Tidsskrift Norwegian Journal of Geography, 60(3),

11 Hancock, P. (2006). Violence, women, work and empowerment: Narratives from factory women in Sri Lanka's Export Processing Zones. Gender, Technology and Development, 10(2), Hewamanne, S. (2003). Performing dis-respectability: New tastes, cultural practices and identity performances by Sri Lanka s Free Trade Zone garment factory workers. Cultural Dynamics, 15 (1), Jayawardena, D. (1998). Free trade zones. Journal of World Trade Law, 17(5), Middleton, S, Moore, J, Hancock, P & Edirisinghe, I. (2009). Gender, status and empowerment: A study among women who work in Sri Lanka s Export Processing Zones (EPZ s), Interim Report to AusAID, July 2009, Social Justice Research Centre, Edith Cowan University, Australia. 11