Brief Policy 3 Re-Dressing for the Future Gender justice for garment workers in Asia Benjamin Velasco, Coeli Barry, Dao Mai Linh, Pabitra Raut, Ploypilin Tinkan, Sidra Saeed and Suchita Krishnaprasad Executive Summary Asia is a critical hub for global garment production, accounting for 60 per cent of the industry’s output in the region. Women and girls represent the majority of workers in this sector, facing enduring challenges related to low wages and unsafe working conditions, issues exacerbated in times of economic downturns. This policy brief explores how to advance gender justice in the garment sector through more equitable and sustainable practices. Should policymakers focus on enforcing existing protections for women workers, or should they prioritise public-private partnerships that respond to global norms and consumer pressures? How can workers’ voices be effectively integrated into decision-making? This policy brief addresses these questions through a comparative analysis of India, Nepal, Vietnam and the Philippines and advocates for worker-driven social responsibility(WSR) as a mechanism to enforce human rights standards within the industry. 1 Introduction Asia’s garment sector is crucial, making up over 60 per cent of global production. This industry has provided women with significant opportunities, helping many to lift themselves and their families out of poverty. It has also attracted foreign direct investment and contributed to industrial growth in the region. However, the low-skilled nature of the work and the surplus labour in South and Southeast Asia have led to persistently low wages and challenging working conditions. Achieving gender justice in this sector requires concerted efforts from policymakers, government representatives, the private sector, civil society, and the workers themselves. Gender justice involves ensuring that women achieve full equality and equity across all areas of life(OXFAM, 2023). Although the term‘women’ 2 is widely understood, this brief acknowledges the evolving concepts of gender beyond the male/female binary and supports the principle that gender justice extends beyond legal and policy frameworks(Barry, 2023). 1 Worker Driven Social Responsibility, http://wsr-network.org. 2 term‘women’ here refers to individuals whose gender aligns with their assigned sex at birth. 1