Capacity development in Bangladesh's ready-made garments (RMG) sector has long meant training workers on skills at the sewing line. Supervisors and operators attend courses, production targets are discussed, and efficiency is tracked. Yet one layer of the factory has often been left out of that picture: mid-level management, particularly staff in administration and human resources.The same pattern is often seen in the agro-processing (AP) sector, where line workers may receive basic technical training, but administrative and HR personnel remain disconnected from deeper conversations around rights, gender inclusion, and decent work.
When that tier is not exposed to the same conversations on rights, equality and workplace relationships, gaps open up between what factories say on paper and what happens on the production floor. Policies may reference gender, grievance procedures or non-discrimination, but they are not always understood, enforced or updated by the people who manage day-to-day decisions. Over time, those gaps show up in very practical ways: how complaints are handled, who gets promoted, who is listened to, and whose problems are quietly ignored.
Swisscontact's has tried to step directly into that space. Instead of designing yet another worker-focused course, the programme has brought mid-level management into the frame, convening 48 staff from 27 RMG factories and 16 staff from 8 AP factories for targeted training on gender equality, labour rights and decent work (LRDW) and environment responsibility (ER). Each factory nominated two participants, typically drawn from HR, administration or similar roles, for a three-day course delivered in three separate batches.
At the heart of the intervention is a relatively simple diagnosis. The core problem is not only a lack of rules; it is a lack of knowledge and awareness among factory management – especially mid-level managers – about how equality and environmental responsibility shape the workplace. That gap affects how leave is granted, how harassment is addressed, how performance is judged and how disputes are resolved. Over time, it affects livelihoods just as surely as a change in piece rates or overtime hours.
In both the RMG and AP sectors, women workers often face compounded disadvantages. Many have entered these workforces as a first route to income and a measure of independence, yet still find themselves sidelined when decisions are taken. If HR and admin teams are not equipped to recognise and address gender-based inequality, female workers may face subtle but persistent barriers: being passed over for training, discouraged from promotion, or left without remedy when they raise concerns. Others, including workers from minority or marginalised backgrounds, may experience similar patterns of exclusion.
Swisscontact's intention is to help factories build a more equal working environment from the middle out. That means encouraging managers to see themselves not only as enforcers of rules but as stewards of workplace culture. When mid-level staff understand how policy choices land on the production floor, they are better placed to create a more supportive atmosphere – one where female workers and others who are often excluded can participate, progress and be heard.
The approach also complements earlier work under swisscontact's intervention to strengthen supervisory skills and widen women's access to line leadership roles. While those initiatives focus on who leads production teams, this new intervention looks at who shapes the rules and practices that frame working life. Taken together, they begin to align the leadership on the floor with the policies in the office, so that efforts to promote equality are reinforced rather than undercut.
One of the recurring questions from factory leadership is what all of this means for productivity. For many owners and senior managers, output remains the primary concern, especially in a market marked by tight margins and demanding buyers. Swisscontact has chosen to address that concern head-on, arguing that gender-sensitive, equality-focused policies are not a distraction from performance but a precondition for it.
The case is practical. Clear, fair policies on promotion and discipline can reduce disputes and absenteeism. Grievance mechanisms that workers trust can surface problems early, before they escalate into unrest or costly turnover. Managers who understand gender dynamics are less likely to overlook talent, meaning that skilled women are more likely to move into roles where they can contribute fully. In short, treating workers fairly and protecting their rights is presented not only as the right thing to do, but as a driver of smoother operations and stronger output.
For mid-level managers, that framing matters. When equality and ER are linked to the metrics they are already expected to deliver – efficiency, quality, stability – the conversation shifts from "extra work" to "better work". The training encourages participants to see policy review and implementation as part of their core responsibilities, not an add-on left to compliance teams or external audits.
If the model takes root, several outcomes are within reach. Factories would have a cadre of mid-level managers who understand and can act on equality and employee relations issues. Policies would be more closely aligned with workers' realities and more consistently applied across departments and shifts. And, over time, the link between fair treatment and productivity would become visible enough to sustain change without constant external support.
The BYETS project is funded by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and implemented by Swisscontact.
