A vast number of working women hold unpaid jobs in the country which is a challenge, said speakers at a workshop at the Brac Centre in the capital’s Mohakhali area, yesterday.
Yet, the female labour force participation rate has increased from 4% in the 1970s to 36% in 2010, they said.
Titled “‘Gender dynamics in the labour market in Bangladesh: A puzzle and a challenge,” the workshop was organised by the BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD), the Centre for Gender and Social Transformation (CGST) and the London School of Economics and Political Sciences.
A three-year research programme under the BGID and CGST was launched at the event. The research will focus on how job markets for men and women from different socio-economic groups work in Bangladesh.
Sultan Hafeez Rahman, executive director of the BIGD and country director of International Growth Centre (IGC) Bangladesh, said: “In Bangladesh, women’s participation in the labour market has happened via unpaid work, rather than salaried employment. Around 77% working women are involved in unpaid work.”
Naila Kabeer, professor of Gender and Development at the London School of Economics and Political Sciences, said: “Women spend much of their time on domestic chores or unpaid work, which is around 60% of their daily time allocation. Gender segmentation in the labour market is not unique in Bangladesh. People think the primary responsibility of women is household chores and child care, rather than working outside.”
Speakers agreed that money brought women respect and recognition both in their families and the society. Some case studies on paid and unpaid working women were also presented at the workshop.
Lily, a 24 year old NGO worker said: “Women were neglected when they did not work. Earning husbands sometimes did not give their wives any money, or did not give them enough. But even if their husbands are millionaires, there is still a need for women to earn their own income because otherwise they are not valued by society. They should have some means of strengthening their positions.”
Simeen Mahmud, leading researcher at the BIGD and coordinator at the CGST, said: “Women in paid work are more likely to value their own work and feel that their families value their contribution and have a greater voice within the family. They also get the opportunity to have savings of their own.”
Speakers said most of the women did not prefer to take paid work due to bad work environments and potential harassment. The current challenge is to find a solution to overcome the barriers, they said.
