Viewing Supply Chains through a Gender Lens : An Intra- and Inter-Firm Analysis of the Challenges to Achieving Gender Equality in Garment Supply Chains

Chidgey, Ophelia and Stevenson, Mark and Liu, Lingxuan (2025) Viewing Supply Chains through a Gender Lens : An Intra- and Inter-Firm Analysis of the Challenges to Achieving Gender Equality in Garment Supply Chains. PhD thesis, Lancaster University.

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Abstract

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) underscore the critical role of gender equality in achieving economic and social development. Despite this, gender inequality remains pervasive within global supply chains, particularly in the garment industry where women make up 80% of the workforce and face, for example, persistent exploitation, precarious employment, and gender-based violence & harassment (GBVH). While social issues like child labour and modern slavery have gained attention, gender remains an underexplored topic within the socially sustainable supply chain management (SSSCM) literature. By applying a gender lens to the field of SSSCM, this research presents four papers that provide a comprehensive understanding of the barriers to achieving gender equality in supply chains. Paper 1 reviews the academic literature before papers 2 to 4 draw on insights from an action research project with a UK garment brand focused on co-developing a gender due diligence programme for its supply chain. Collectively, the papers highlight the challenges faced by women workers, the role of key stakeholders, and the structural barriers preventing progress in achieving gender equality. Paper 1 presents a systematic literature review of 38 academic sources to identify gendered human rights abuses in garment supply chains. This identifies 11 gendered issues across three themes: (i) existing SSSCM issues compounded by gender disparities, (ii) SSSCM issues that manifest in a gendered manner, and (iii) explicitly gender-specific SSSCM issues. The study underscores capitalism, the feminisation of labour, patriarchal structures, and limited female agency as key drivers of gender inequality in supply chains. It calls for further research on gendered issues and highlights the importance of Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) in addressing these issues. Paper 2 synthesises 34 NGO reports to map the challenges women workers face and identifies 628 individual recommendations or policies for gender equality within the garment industry. This initial desk-based analysis provided context to the action research and informed the direction of the project. A total of 24 issues facing women workers are identified, thereby expanding on the set of 11 issues extracted from the academic literature in Paper 1. The myriad of recommendations fall under four broad themes: (i) embedding gender equality in business practices, (ii) fostering sustainability-oriented collaboration, (iii) integrating gender considerations into supplier assessments, and (iv) enhancing communication and disclosure strategies. Despite the wealth of guidance, the study finds a significant disconnect between recommendations and current supply chain practice. It asserts the need for more holistic efforts to achieve gender equality within supply chains. Paper 3 utilises exploratory interviews with six buyers and six NGOs to better understand the disconnect between recommendations and current supply chain practice on gender equality within the garment industry. It uses Supply Network Analysis (SNA) to study inter-firm relationships within the garment industry, identifying three systemic barriers to gender equality. Importantly, it explores the potential of worker-centric supplier development (WCSD) as an alternative to traditional buyer-led strategies. The WCSD model aims to amplify women’s voices and promotes collaboration with grassroots NGOs and women-led trade unions. It highlights that simply transferring responsibility to female workers is insufficient; instead, systemic change must be embedded in supply chain governance and supplier development. Finally, Paper 4 explores the intra-firm barriers to implementing gender equality encountered in the action research. The research once again uses SNA but this time to explore vi intra-firm relationships and structures. It identifies six barriers, including (1) a lack of cross departmental collaboration; (2) internal goal misalignment between departments; (3) a lack of power, influence, and agency within the firm; (4) a lack of dedicated resources, capacity, and capabilities; (5) inability to diffuse initiatives and information throughout the company; and, (6) a lack of boundary spanners for intra- and inter-firm relationships. The study leads to three propositions for effective gender due diligence of the supply chains. Overall, the thesis highlights the importance of applying a gendered lens in the field of operations and supply chain management, moving away from the traditional, gender-blind approach to social sustainability that treats workers as one homogenous group. For practitioners, the findings highlight the need for garment brands to adopt a holistic and collaborative approach to gender equality by embedding gender policies across all levels of the organisation and by fostering intra- and inter-firm collaboration, including with traditional and non-traditional supply chain actors. These findings also offer a roadmap for addressing disparities in other global supply chains that lack transparency, have a high proportion of vulnerable workers, and a history of gender-based abuses, such as in the agriculture and mining industries.