People working on the assembly line in April 2012 at Huajian shoe factory in Dukem, Ethiopia. Jenny Vaughan/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

Aracelis Upia Montero works at the Alta Gracia garment factory in the Dominican Republic. She says she was desperately poor before she began working at the factory, which pays much higher than usual wages. "I'm now eligible for loans and credits from the bank because I earn a good salary," she says. Jackie Northam/NPR hide caption