The Industry Wage Gap Metric for 2022 was launched during an OECD Forum on Due Diligence in the Garment & Footwear Sector side session by The Industry We Want: Launching Drivers for Change. It is based on the Living Wage calculations by WageIndicator, Global Living Wage Coalition, Asia Floor Wage Alliance and Clean Clothes Campaign.
The gap of 45% means that garment and footwear workers in the selected countries are earning far less than needed for a decent living. WageIndicator and The Industry We Want apply this metric to garment and footwear industries in Honduras, Turkey, Bangladesh, Romania, Morocco, Pakistan, India, Cambodia, Vietnam, Mexico, Tunisia, China and Indonesia. These countries were selected based on their trade volume and market relevance, among other criteria.
Indexing the difference between what a worker will receive as their minimum salary and what they should earn to provide for themselves or their family, is only the first step in this project. According to The Industry We Want, "stage two will focus on moving towards the collection of real wage data. We will work to determine minimum standards for the collection of real wage data and potential methods for harmonising such efforts." WageIndicator will play an important role in the data collection phase, via its established channels.
The wages collected by WageIndicator, The Industry We Want and others, will then be used to enable change: "In stage three, we will set positive wage growth targets for each of the 13 countries over the next four years and devise a methodology for gathering data and tracking this."
To access the Industry Wage Gap Metric and the visuals created by WageIndicator, please visit The Industry We Want website.