The number of female employees in Bangladesh's banks and non-banking financial institutions has decreased. In the last six months, 721 female employees in the banking sector and 49 female employees in financial institutions have decreased.
This information has emerged in the latest report on gender equality in banking and financial sectors published by Bangladesh Bank.
According to the report, the number of female employees in the banking sector was 35,782 at the end of June last year. However, it decreased to 35,061 at the end of December last year.
At the same time, the number of female employees in non-banking financial institutions has decreased from 1,068 to 1,019.
The report, prepared based on information from 61 banks and 35 non-banking financial institutions, shows that the total number of employees in the banking and financial sector was 218,487 at the end of December last year.
Of these, 182,407 are male employees and 36,080 are female employees. Accordingly, about 16.5% of the total employees in this sector are women.
Sector stakeholders say that after the political change in 2024, initiatives have been taken to merge and close down some banks and financial institutions that were in crisis. As a result, some institutions have been retrenched and voluntarily quit their jobs, which has also affected female employees.
According to the report, a large portion of women working in the banking and financial sector work in private commercial banks.
At the end of last year, the number of female employees in these banks was 22,983. In addition, 9,147 women worked in state-owned commercial banks, 1,947 in specialized banks, and 984 in foreign banks.
However, a position-based analysis has shown that the presence of women in high-level positions in the banking sector is relatively low. The rate of female employees at this level is only 10.35%.
The report says that policy support, skill development, and increased leadership opportunities are needed to increase women's participation in the banking and financial sectors.