It appears very positive and inspiring; Bangladesh is the only country in the globe, where the factor-weighted hourly wage gender pay gap is positive.
As per the latest report of the UN, the gender wage gap in Bangladesh is the lowest in the world, as it came down to 2.2% last year against the world average of 21.2%.
Here, women, in general, are politically empowered at a significant level and are gradually attaining a strong foothold in becoming economically resilient with an increasing trend in labour force participation or paid jobs.
Efforts to empower women through spontaneous participation in the workforce and paid jobs, or broadening access to finance towards entrepreneurship, micro-credit and education played an important role.
"After completion of my graduation from a public university, I was appointed as a trainee officer at a private bank in Dhaka. It was the first step towards empowerment," Silvia Afrin Sumi, a banker told Dhaka Tribune.
In order to become financially solvent, women need jobs and for employment opportunities quality education is a must, she added.
There is no denying of the fact that Bangladesh celebrates her progress and achievement in women's empowerment, however, there is more to be done to accelerate the economic attainments of women which would eventually broaden and contribute to the country’s progress, shared prosperity, and economic growth.
While addressing how to attain the full potential of the economic power of women, leading economists, trade leaders and stakeholders made the following observations.
"Economic empowerment for women is contingent upon available resources and whether women have the skills to use them, while her capacity in the decision-making process is dependent on her financial contribution to the family," Zahid Hossain, former World Bank lead economist in the Dhaka office told Dhaka Tribune.
To this end, women's involvement in the labour force or paid employment has increased considerably but their participation has remained at low paying jobs, said Dr Zahid.
Therefore, the economic empowerment of women is less than men but it has increased in relation to past experiences. However, there has been significant progress, said the economist.
As per a report from the International Labor Organization (ILO), “World Employment and Social Outlook Trends 2020”, women's unemployment rate came down to 6.2% in 2019 from 6.6% in the previous year. Participation of women in labor market was 36.3% in 2019, whereas, male participation in job market was 81.4%.
At the same time, women in leadership and in organizational decision-making in businesses as well as in the company’s board are very few, because of social stigma towards women.
"Over the past couple of years, I was deprived of my much anticipated, albeit, deserving promotion only because of being a woman employee," a government official told Dhaka Tribune seeking anonymity.
"I performed well in every exam along with my male counterparts but could not draw the attention of the decision-makers; she claimed, adding that I would not leave any stone unturned."
According to the Global Gender Gap Report 2020, companies with female-majority ownership in Bangladesh are only 1.70%, whereas firms with female top managers are 4.80%.
Employers say that they are ready to make sure a workplace is free of discrimination.
"As far as our industry is concerned, there’s no discrimination in our salary structure. Besides 70% of our workers are women. And the RMG is one sector that drives the economy," BGMEA president Rubana Huq told Dhaka Tribune.
Considering all that, we could safely derive that women's empowerment has taken place and the female workforce is far more liberated than ever before, she reiterated.
Reckoning over the issue, male dominance continues to persist in managerial or decision making positions at corporate or in the boards of companies, which is necessary for women for evidence-based economic empowerment, said Zahid Hossain.
Barriers and way forwards
"It is acknowledged that a significant number of women have reached the decision making level positions in businesses and hold top-level positions both in the public and private sectors. But the journey was not on rosy wings," Selima Ahmad, president of the Bangladesh Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BWCCI), told Dhaka Tribune.
Societal custom and attitude towards women, absence of proper infrastructure and a lack of security and violence against women are among the key barriers, said Selima.
When a woman is qualified for jobs or is at her high time to secure a job, she takes up the role of motherhood and has to take the responsibility of her family. In taking care of a child, there are not enough daycare centres either in private and public sector and organizational infrastructure is not women-friendly, said Salima.
These issues need to be addressed in order for proper and effective empowerment of women, she added.
Beyond the physical infrastructure, there is a need for social infrastructure development such as changing narrative and mindset about women's equality and well being.
"It is often a prevailing reality, that when a corporate house goes for selecting a decision-maker, they [Board] opine that it’s not possible for a woman to do tougher jobs. But the reality is that women are performing challenging tasks in top jobs,” said former FBCCI first vice president Monowara Hakim Ali.
On top of that, experts suggest that women are more likely to become technology savvy as the future of businesses is technology dependent.
According to a World Economic Forum report, women across the economic spectrum are more vulnerable than men to lose their jobs to technology and their jobs remain at risk of job automation more than men.