At the Cutting Edge of Automation? Gender and Work in the Apparel and Footwear Industry in Indonesia

Abstract

This article addresses the drivers of and limitations to automation and technological upgrading in the apparel and footwear industry and their impacts on job loss, earnings, conditions of work, and the gender division of labor. The article presents case studies of two apparel and two footwear factories in Indonesia based on factory visits and interviews with employers, technology specialists, workers, and worker representatives. Findings show that automation has been incremental rather than rapid and partly driven by concerns about minimum wage compliance, which managers state would not be possible without productivity increases. This outcome is related to asymmetrical power relations within global supply chains. Automation made some tasks easier but led to deskilling and created fewer high-skill jobs. While automation undermines the rationale for the gender division of labor, this translates into relatively minor shifts on the shopfloor, partly due to path dependency in the gender typing of tasks. HIGHLIGHTS A study of four “best practice” factories in Indonesia finds that technological upgrading was incremental, particularly in sewing, where women work. Technological upgrading was labor-displacing at the task but not at the factory level. Technological upgrading did not generally lead to wage increases. Integrating more women into technical vocational training can help desegregate work.