Bangladesh's Maternity Leave Reform and the Unmet Need for Childcare

• Bangladesh has increased statutory maternity benefits to 120 days, but working mothers in the garment sector continue to face significant barriers to childcare.
• Long working hours, often extending to 14 hours with overtime, make it difficult for mothers to utilize existing factory facilities.
• Informal care networks, including relatives and paid sitters, remain the primary solution for many, filling gaps where factory-provided support is insufficient or inaccessible.

Workplace Challenges

• Garment workers report that even when breastfeeding rooms exist, production targets and long shifts prevent them from accessing these spaces effectively.
• Existing on-site daycare facilities are often inadequate; for example, one factory with 2,000 women employees provided space for only 12 or 13 children.
• Workers frequently express concerns regarding the hygiene, quality, and reliability of available factory-based care.

Industry Context

• The garment industry in Bangladesh employs roughly 4.5 million people, over 57 percent of whom are women.
• While national law requires facilities with 40 or more women to provide childcare spaces, implementation is often limited by staffing and practical access issues.
• Women continue to carry the bulk of unpaid domestic work, spending more than seven times as much time on it as their male counterparts.

Global Perspectives

• Similar struggles are documented in Vietnam and Cambodia, where international brands and local laws have made strides in policy, yet high overtime requirements often render childcare systems unusable for the average factory employee.
• International initiatives, such as the ILO and UNICEF’s Mothers@Work, push for broader standards including flexible working arrangements and genuine access to childcare, but the gap between policy and daily practice remains significant.