Stories of work, well-being and inclusive empowerment: a qualitative exploration of young women in India's textile industry

Purpose The well-being of employees has been recognised as significant to both the health and success of businesses. Whilst physical wellness has typically been given more focus, the importance of psychological well-being has gained recognition and has been incorporated in more recent approaches. The current study investigated the perceptions of young Indian women textile workers of their workplace as well as working conditions and the effects of those on their wellbeing and empowerment Design/methodology/approach The current paper reports on a qualitative study with 63 young women textile workers, recruited through convenience sampling from a large textile manufacturer in the province of Gujarat in India's Northwest who volunteered to participate. Standardized one on one interviews were conducted, which explored the following themes: Social Inclusion; Individual Empowerment; Economic Empowerment and Health and Wellbeing. Thematic analysis was employed to reflect on the data using a phenomenological stance. Findings The following subthemes emerged within the pre-determined themes: family support; acceptance and sexism emerged for Social Inclusion. Education emerged for Individual Empowerment. Contribution to family; independence and self-sacrifice emerged for Economic Empowerment; and workplace dynamics; working conditions and gender bias emerged for Health and Wellbeing Originality/value While the participants of the current study shared various concerns and desires for change, they clearly did experience empowerment as income earners, which is, generally, in accord with the political and community discourse in India. Recommendation: further strategies, policies and interventions are encouraged to narrow gender biases in both worldviews and practice. Future research directions are discussed.