A World Bank report suggested that apparel export industry could be an ideal sector where India's female workforce can find more jobs. This was close on the heels of a United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) survey which highlighted the linkage between higher percentage of women workforce and high economic growth.

According to the World Bank report ‘The Stitches to Riches? Apparel Employment, Trade and Economic Development’, export-oriented apparel production in India and other South Asian countries has the potential to create more and better jobs, especially for female workforce.

Women are expected to benefit the most as their share in the total apparel employment is much higher than their share in other industries. A one per cent increase in expected wages in the textiles and apparel industry could raise the probability of women entering the labor force by 18.9 per cent, says the report. South Asia’s top four apparel producers - Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka - have made big investments in world apparel trade and account for 12 per cent of global apparel exports. India also has a more diversified export structure and has a well-developed fiber (cotton), textile and apparel manufacturing base.