More than a job: Helping women migrant workers build lasting livelihoods in Tamil Nadu’s garment industry
Gender
If there were no jobs in your village, what would you do? Move to the nearest town? Cross district borders? Or perhaps you’d travel for days, crossing several states to find work?
For Tripta, a young woman from the Santhal tribe in rural Odisha, India, that is exactly the choice she faced.
A lack of economic opportunity in her village led her 1,600 km south to Tiruppur, Tamil Nadu. Tripta is one of many young women drawn to Tamil Nadu’s labour-intensive garment industry from across the country.
“I first came in 2022 after COVID. I did not want to come here,” she said, “but the kheti bari (agricultural) work would get over and then there was nothing to do.”
Tripta’s sister had made the move first, recruited through a regional government skills and development centre. She referred Tripta for a job at her factory in Tiruppur.
For thousands of young women like Tripta, migration offers a chance at greater financial independence, new skills and opportunities that would not have been possible at home. Across Tiruppur, employers, governments and civil society are already testing new ways to help ensure those opportunities last.
A recent report by ESCAP, IOM and UN Women documents these emerging approaches while identifying practical steps to help migrant women build sustainable careers. These range from better accommodation and education opportunities to fairer pay and stronger social protection.
Building careers, not just jobs
The study finds encouraging efforts already under way.
In Tiruppur, competition for workers has pushed some employers to offer more than a wage.
The factory hostels—in which many of the young workers live—have explored ways of improving their facilities to make a career in the factory a more appealing and sustainable prospect.
For Mini, from Sambalpur, Odisha, that meant an opportunity to continue her education.
Mini passed her school exams and began a degree through her factory’s long-running education scheme. She is one of many whom the factory has helped acquire additional qualifications.
Another respondent described her free tuition from the factory.
“I am doing a BA in Arts at the company-run University,” she said, adding, “I do ironing… till 5pm. At 7pm I go for tuition.”
Her degree includes courses in History, Modern Indian Language (MIL), and English, where she enjoys classes in British literature spanning the 15-20th centuries.
“My mother says we will go back [home] after I finish my studies.”
Education initiatives like these enable women to continue learning while earning an income, expanding their career options both within and beyond the garment industry.
Practical support systems for migrant workers are also evolving.
In Jharkhand, another state which many of Tamil Nadu’s migrant workers come from, the labour department and NGO PHIA have set up a helpline to support workers while they are away working.
Migrant workers can call the number if they run into difficulties, or simply need help or advice.
What began as an NGO effort during COVID times has since evolved into the official State Migrant Control Room — a sign of growing state commitment to workers’ welfare.
The initiative now includes a state portal and database on migrant workers. The database tracks the workers and gives the home state another way to support and safeguard those who have moved away.
Helping opportunity last
While these initiatives demonstrate promising progress, they also highlight where further action is needed.
The factory and hostel system provides women with employment and safe accommodation. However, it is largely designed around their immediate needs rather than supporting them through different stages of life.
Most factory hostels house unmarried women, with few offering accommodation for couples. Meanwhile, ‘piece-rate pay’ (payment by the garment, rather than by the hour) makes maternity leave difficult to access. For many women, marriage or motherhood often marks the end of their factory careers, and a return to their home communities, where employment opportunities may remain limited.
The ESCAP, IOM and UN Women report identifies practical measures that could help more women continue working, including accommodation for married couples, paid maternity leave, childcare facilities and additional Tamil language support for workers’ children.
The study also points to opportunities to address salary disparities between local and migrant workers, and for a fairer level of pay across the board.
Importantly, many of the foundations for change already exist.
Tiruppur's tradition of wage bargaining between employers and unions, along with its Stakeholders' Forum — which brings together exporters, trade unions, global brands and UN Women — offers a space to engage employers and raise the key issues facing migrant women workers.
For women such as Tripta and Mini, migration has opened a door. By building on initiatives that are already making a difference and expanding protections that support women throughout their working lives, those opportunities can become lasting livelihoods.
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