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Maternity leave is expanding in Bangladesh, but garment workers still struggle for childcare

September 4, 2026

In April 2026, Bangladesh extended maternity leave for garment workers from 112 to 120 days, but working mothers face severe childcare challenges when returning to 10-14 hour factory shifts. While Bangladeshi labor law requires factories with 40 or more women workers to provide childcare facilities, interviews with garment workers reveal these daycare centers are often inadequately staffed, have limited capacity, and are difficult to access during production hours when workers must meet strict quotas. Women workers, who comprise over 57 percent of Bangladesh's 4.

Who is affected

  • Working mothers in Bangladesh's garment factories, specifically women like Morsheda (33) and Mina (38)
  • Approximately 4.5 million garment workers in Bangladesh, with over 57% being women
  • Infants and young children of garment workers who require care
  • Family members providing informal childcare, including paternal and maternal grandmothers, paid caregivers, and older siblings
  • Garment workers in Vietnam (74.8% women in textile/garment workforce) and Cambodia
  • International brands sourcing from these factories
  • The approximately 94 million global garment industry workers, nearly 60% women

What action is being taken

  • Morsheda's paternal grandmother brings her five-month-old baby to the factory twice a day for breastfeeding
  • Morsheda prepares meals, cleans the house, and gets her older child ready for school before work
  • Mina's elder son is currently caring for his younger sibling
  • Factories are maintaining breastfeeding rooms and limited daycare facilities (Morsheda's factory has space for 12-13 children with two caregivers)
  • The ILO and UNICEF's Mothers@Work initiative is operating in Bangladesh's garment sector

Why it matters

  • This issue is significant because it reveals a critical gap between formal labor protections and practical implementation that affects millions of women workers globally. Bangladesh's garment industry generates over $36 billion in exports annually and serves as a major employer for women, yet inadequate childcare infrastructure forces workers to rely on informal family networks that are increasingly strained by migration and changing work patterns. The ILO found that 54 percent of working parents view inadequate childcare as a major barrier to women's employment, and 18 percent have left jobs due to childcare responsibilities. This represents a fundamental sustainability challenge for an industry that depends primarily on women workers while Bangladeshi women already spend seven times more time on unpaid care work than men, perpetuating gender inequality and limiting women's economic participation.

What's next

  • No explicit next steps stated in the article

Read full article from source: Global Voices

Maternity leave is expanding in Bangladesh, but garment workers still struggle for childcare