Young women lag far behind young men in terms of employment, education and training, as 47% of such women do not belong to any of the three criteria compared to 10% young men in Bangladesh.
They are in the age group of 15-24, says a report of the International Labour Organisation (ILO).
“Young women are almost three times more likely to be neither employed nor in education or training (NEET) than young men. The gender gap in NEET rates is particularly large in countries like Bangladesh, where 47% of young women are NEET, compared to 10% of young men,” reads the report.
Quoting the Global Employment Trends for Youth 2020 (GET youth 2020) released yesterday, the ILO says the youth unemployment rate in the Asia and the Pacific region has risen since 2012 and is estimated at 14.1% in 2020, compared to 13.7% globally.
The report calls for a renewed focus on integrated, gender-responsive labour market policies to address the youth employment challenge.
“Not enough decent jobs are being created for these young people, meaning the potential of millions is not being properly tapped,” said Tuomo Poutiainen, Country Director, ILO Country Office for Bangladesh.
“The ILO has been working with the government of Bangladesh for over a decade with development partner European Union and the government of Canada to ensure that young people get access to the best opportunities, the best training and the best skills.”
“We are currently supporting the government in transforming several TVET institutes into Model TVET institutes so that students can meet the challenges posed by technology, climate change, inequality and demographics. These Model institutes will also partner with employers’ organisations to offer careers guidance and job placement services to all trainees.”
Meanwhile, the incidence of working poverty among youth has continued to decline, there are still around 55 million young workers not earning enough to lift themselves and their families out of extreme poverty (Tk170 a day), it says.
Young people who are employed also face a greater risk than older workers of losing their jobs because of automation, and those with vocational training are particularly vulnerable, the report shows.
It calls for vocational training programmes to be revised and modernized so that they meet the changing demands of the digital economy.
The GET Youth 2020 report shows that those who do complete tertiary education are less likely to find their jobs replaced by automation.
However, they face other issues because the rapid rise in the number of young people with a degree in the labour force has outpaced the demand for graduate labour, pushing down graduate wages, the report says further.
