As we mark International Women’s Day, the global fashion industry is called not only to celebrate the women who power its value chains, but to confront the structural inequalities that continue to shape their economic reality.

At Global Fashion Agenda (GFA), our mission is to accelerate the transition to a net-positive fashion industry – one that gives back more to people, the planet, and economies than it takes. Central to this ambition is ensuring that environmental and social agendas advance together. Wages – and specifically pay equity – are one of the many indicators of whether progress is truly reaching the people who make our clothes.

Last month, GFA published a new insights paper, Unpacking Pay Equity in Fashion: Türkiye, examining the drivers of gender pay disparities in one of Europe’s most important fashion sourcing hubs. As we reflect on International Women’s Day, the findings offer both urgency and direction for the path ahead.

Why pay equity and why now?

Equal pay for equal work is a fundamental human right, yet it remains far from realised across global fashion value chains. Women make up the majority of the global apparel workforce, yet they continue to earn less than men and remain systematically underrepresented in higher paid roles.

In the European Union, the unadjusted gender pay gap averages around 12% as of 2023. Estimates for Türkiye vary across sources, ranging from 15.6% (2018) to 17.4% (2023).

Recent aggregated data from the Social & Labor Convergence Program (SLCP) shows that globally 35% of nearly 5,400 facilities with an SLCP assessment still have a gender pay gap, with men earning more than women for the same or similar work. In 13% of facilities, the gap exceeds 10%. In 2024, supervisory functions accounted for roughly 500,000 roles across facilities that had an SLCP assessment, with 67% of these positions held by men.

However, gender pay gap figures – defined by the EU and ESRS S1-16 as the difference in average gross hourly earnings between women and men – reflect a combination of factors, including differences in working hours, seniority, sectoral and occupational distribution, and access to higher paid roles. Because they aggregate earnings across all jobs, they do not reveal whether women and men are paid equally for the same or equivalent work, nor do they explain the underlying drivers of inequality.

In sectors such as fashion, where occupational segregation is common, pay gap figures alone can mask the structural dynamics underlying gender based pay inequality.

Türkiye’s pivotal role in fashion supply chains

Türkiye is a major global textiles and apparel hub, supplying high-quality, fast-turnaround products to European markets. The Turkish textile and apparel industry’s direct contribution to national GDP is estimated at approximately 7.8% (as of 2023/2024), employing approximately 959,395 formally registered workers at the end of 2024 according to SGK-based data. More than 25% of European brands list Türkiye as a crucial sourcing location.

Yet the sector has faced sustained economic strain. In 2024, inflation reached 75.45% annually, increasing the cost of labour, energy, raw materials, and financing. Reports indicate that between 2022 and 2025, the sector experienced more than 300,000 job losses. Many Turkish textile manufacturers have established factories in Egypt where operating costs are lower, amid high inflation, rising wages and production costs.

These pressures disproportionately affect women, who are more likely to work in lower-paid or informal positions. At the same time, employers are making sustained efforts to maintain formal employment, comply with labour laws and buyer standards, and protect jobs amid rising costs and inflation – demonstrating resilience in challenging conditions.

What the research reveals

Türkiye’s legal framework formally supports pay equity. Labour Law 4857 (2003) prohibits gender-based pay discrimination (Article 5) and protects workers from dismissal on the grounds of maternity or breastfeeding leave. These legal provisions show that the principle of equal pay and protection around parenthood is formally recognised. The insights paper explores how far these commitments translate into reality in Türkiye’s labour market and fashion manufacturing sector.

GFA’s paper draws on a facility-level survey of 43 Turkish textile and apparel manufacturers, interviews with trade unions and worker associations, and input from social sustainability experts including the Social & Labor Convergence Program (SLCP), the Fair Labor Association (FLA), and the Anker Research Institute (ARI).The findings highlight that gender pay disparities are driven largely by structural factors rather than unequal pay for the same work. These include:

• Occupational segregation
• Differences in career progression opportunities
• Cultural norms including the distribution of care responsibilities
• Access to training
• Informal work and subcontracting obscuring wage transparency

Women remain concentrated in lower-paid production, sewing and quality control roles, while men are more prevalent in higher-paid technical and supervisory positions – a key driver of persistent pay inequalities.

In the surveyed sample, only 17% of companies reported having a woman as sole administrator, and just 18% of companies with a Board of Directors had a female CEO. One-third of companies reported no women on the Board at all, and a further 27% reported that women make up less than one-third of board members 

The insights paper also finds that limited measurement and disclosure of gender-disaggregated wage data continues to hinder companies’ ability to identify where inequality sits and therefore to address it effectively.

A shifting regulatory environment

Regulatory pressures are intensifying globally, most notably in the EU. The EU Gender Equality Strategy (2020–2025) laid the foundation for strengthened oversight, followed by the Pay Transparency Directive (2023), which obliges companies with more than 100 employees to report annually on their gender pay gap as early as 2027 and to conduct a joint pay assessment if the report reveals a pay gap of more than 5% that cannot be explained by gender-neutral factors.

Under the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS), companies must publish gender pay gap data and describe the policies and actions they are taking to narrow disparities. The Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) further requires large companies to conduct risk-based human rights due diligence across their operations and value chains, including identifying and addressing adverse human rights impacts such as discriminatory employment practices.

While Türkiye is not required to transpose Directive (EU) 2023/970, the regulation significantly affects Turkish manufacturers through the expectations and compliance obligations placed on EU-based buyers sourcing from Türkiye.

This shift means brands increasingly require visibility into pay practices throughout their supply chains. While brands do not directly set wages at supplier factories, purchasing practices – including pricing, forecasting, and lead times – significantly shape a manufacturer’s ability to pay fair and equitable wages.

From insight to action

Closing gender pay gaps is not only a social imperative but a business one. Improving pay equity can strengthen workforce morale, retention and long-term resilience, while supporting alignment with evolving EU regulatory and buyer expectations.

The insights paper outlines practical recommendations for policymakers, brands, other buyers and suppliers. These include expanding access to childcare and parental support, strengthening formal employment and oversight of subcontracting, improving gender-disaggregated pay reporting, adopting responsible purchasing practices, and investing in women’s skills development and leadership pathways.

Collectively, these actions can strengthen Türkiye’s manufacturing base, enhance women’s economic participation, and advance the fashion industry towards a net-positive future in which pay equity is a lived reality.

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As we observe International Women’s Day, the message is clear: progress on gender equality in fashion requires structural change, sustained collaboration, and transparent measurement.