{"id":65378,"date":"2026-01-03T08:51:53","date_gmt":"2026-01-03T08:51:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lirneasia.net\/futureworksasia\/?post_type=projects&p=65378"},"modified":"2026-01-22T10:16:04","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T10:16:04","slug":"heat-health-and-gender","status":"publish","type":"projects","link":"https:\/\/lirneasia.net\/futureworksasia\/projects\/heat-health-and-gender\/","title":{"rendered":"Heat, Health, and Gender: Climate Risks and Decent Work in India and Bangladesh\u2019s Garment Sector"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Grantee<\/strong>: Good Business Lab (GBL)
Partner organizations<\/strong>: N\/A
Country of focus:<\/strong> India and Bangladesh 
Grant period:<\/strong> November 2025 \u2013 January  2027<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

FutureWORKS Asia<\/a> is part of the FutureWORKS Collective, a global initiative supported by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) of Canada<\/a>, aimed at addressing the evolving challenges in the world of work across the Global South. As the Asian arm of the broader FutureWORKS network, the initiative is led by LIRNEasia<\/a> and focuses on supporting high-quality, innovative, and gender-responsive research to inform skills development and policy pathways for an inclusive and sustainable future of work in Asia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following the completion of the first competitive selection process, five research projects under Cycle 1 are currently ongoing. In November 2025, FutureWORKS Asia onboarded seven additional research projects under Cycle 2, expanding the regional research network. These Cycle 2 projects will run until April 2027, deepening evidence and policy engagement across diverse future-of-work themes, including climate transitions, gender, and labour market transformation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

GBL has been selected to conduct a 15 month research and advocacy project, Heat, Health, and Gender: Climate Risks and Decent Work in India and Bangladesh\u2019s Garment Sector.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rising temperatures and extreme heat pose growing risks to worker health, productivity, and earnings\u2014especially in labour-intensive industries such as garment manufacturing. Yet there is limited evidence that directly links daily heat exposure to medically recorded health outcomes and economic losses at the worker level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This project examines how heat stress affects workers\u2019 health, absenteeism, wages, and retention in the formal garment sector in India and Bangladesh, with particular attention to gendered vulnerabilities. Women are often concentrated in roles that involve repetitive tasks, limited flexibility, and poorer ventilation, making them especially exposed to climate-related risks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By combining large-scale administrative data with qualitative insights, the study generates robust, gender-responsive evidence to inform climate-resilient workplace practices and labour policy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n