Letter of transmittal

8th December, 2014

Ms. Fahmida Hasan
Senior Lecturer
Department of Business Administration
East West University
Subject: Report on Participation of Women in the Labour Force of Bangladesh.
Madam,
We are very pleased to submit this Report on Participation of Women in the Labour Force of
Bangladesh "as you have authorized us in this semester. This report focuses on the contributions
and conditions of women workers of Bangladesh.
The report is based on the both primary and secondary information; we tried our level best to
accumulate the information for you as comprehensive as possible. We will be obliged to provide
further clarification on this report whenever necessary.
Sincerely Yours
Name

ID

Fariha Karim

2012-1-10-224

Ummay Tabassum

2011-2-10-342

Halima Akter Satu

2011-1-10-094

Farzana Aksar Sohely

2011-1-10-047

Zinia Ferdous

2011-2-10-138

Acknowledgement:
Page 1 of 50

Signatures

At the very beginning, we would like to express our deepest gratitude to almighty Allah for
giving us the strength & the composure to complete this report. This Report is the result of
many peoples contributions and help. At this moment we want to thank those people
who extended their help providing suggestions and advices.
Special thanks go to our honorable Course instructor:
Ms. Fahmida Hasan
Senior Lecturer
Department of Business Administration
East West University
She helped us by giving tips, suggestions and valuable advices regarding the report. She is also
credited for her excellent teaching methods in this course. We also want to make thanks to those
authors whose articles helped us to make this valuable report. And also thanks those companys
authority used in the report to provide important information. We also give gratitude to some of
our friends who are in the following helped us a lot.

Table of Contents
Page 2 of 50

Serial no

Name of content

Page no.

1.

Chapter 1

4-5

2.

Chapter 2

6-28

3.

Chapter 3

28-37

Chapter 4

37-46

5.

Chapter 5

46-48

6.

References

49-50

Page 3 of 50

Chapter 1: Introduction of the report

Introduction
Economic growth is necessary for poverty reduction, but not sufficient. There is empirical
evidence to show that productive employment plays a key role in transmitting the benefits of
economic growth into poverty reduction. In that regard, womens employment, by reducing the
dependency ratio and harnessing the potential labour force, can play an important role. While
labour is an important factor of production, it is not homogeneous; gender and skill differences
constitute important aspects of the heterogeneity of labour. Factors influencing demand for and
supply of female labour can be different from those relevant for males, and hence it is important
to devote specific attention to gender differences in this respect. Employment of women is
important in developed economies, particularly for those facing a labour supply constraint. In
developing economies, women play an important role by contributing to household income,
adding to the supply of labour for economic activities, and above all by empowering women.

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Women labour market in Bangladesh and other dimensions of gender and development received
attention of researchers especially during last two decades. This section presents a review of two
types of studies related to the labour force participation rate of women in Bangladesh: first,
recent studies focusing on women labour force participation rate; and second, various studies
indirectly related to women labour force participation rate and covering general aspects of the
women labour market in Bangladesh.

Origin of the Report

Ms. Fahmida Hassan, Senior lecturer, Department of Business Administration, East West
University and Course instructor of Business Law and Legal Environment (BUS-361) gives the
responsibility of preparing a report on Participation of women in the labour force of
Bangladesh by assigning it during the ending of the course. This report is required as a part of
fulfilling the course. We have given our best effort to appropriately apply our potentiality and
theoretical knowledge to make the report reliable and information worthy. Hopefully our sincere
effort will be regarded as successful if this dissertation fulfills the objective of the course.

Objective of the report

The objective of this report is to pin point several factors given below_

Find out fundamental idea regarding participation women labour force in Bangladesh.
The number of women in the unpaid family employment category has increased by a
large percentage.
Role of women labour force in our economy.
Laws for women workers in Bangladesh and other countries.
Trade union and women of Bangladesh.

Scope and methodology

This report is developed to analyze the participation women labour force in Bangladesh. At the
same time we also know a number of concept regarding women labor force and several
observation and recommendations from general people by using questioner. To conduct this
report the information collects from various sources and mostly data collected from both primary
and secondary sources. The report uses secondary data to analyses participation of women in
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labour force, government and NGOs and Mostly data are collected from several articles and
internet. On the other hand World Banks website plays a good role to collect information.
Discussion with expert was another source of information to conduct the report. We also use
questioner and direct consultation with general people as sources of primary information and that
is why this project is totally based on both primary and secondary information.

Limitation of the Report

To make this report widely acceptable and lucrative we were facing quite a lot of barriers. Those
barriers or limitations are given below:

Difficulty in accessing latest data.

Some information was found different from different sources.
The time span was not sufficient enough to learn all the activities.
Lack of co-operation from the data source
Project is for academic purpose that is why time period is short.
Lack of necessary information.

Chapter 2: Economic Participation of women

Womens contribution in Agriculture:

In Bangladesh the share of women in the total economically active population is 39%, indicating
a relatively lower economic participation in agriculture by women. Most often, activities such as
care of livestock and poultry, vegetable growing, post-harvest processing and preservation,
usually done by women in the farm households.
At present 65% of the employed population has been engaged in agriculture and related
industrial activities. In this sector 71.5% of women were employed compared to 60.3% of men.
Women, who primarily work as unpaid family workers, accounted for 45.6% of total
employment in agriculture. The second largest employment sector is agricultural product
manufacturing - engaged 21.6% of women. Among all people employed, women accounted for
64%.
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Figure 2.1: Involvement of women in Agriculture

(Source: Ministry of Agriculture, 2009-2010)
A large majority of the households in Bangladesh depend upon agriculture and related activities
like livestock rearing, fisheries and forestry. In 2009-2010, crops accounted for 77.7% of the
total agricultural production, fisheries 7.8%, livestock 7.7% and forestry 6.8%.

Figure 2.2: Contribution of agriculture & related activities on household

(Source: Ministry of Agriculture, 2009-2010)
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Figure 2.3: Labor force participation in agricultural and non-agricultural activities by

gender overtime Bangladesh

Figure 2.4: Female participation in agriculture compared to male in Bangladesh

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Figure 2.5: Percentage of adult male and female participation in agriculture overtime
Bangladesh

Despite their routine domestic work, women are very actively involved in agricultural production
in Bangladesh. Women in rural Bangladesh are in general responsible for most of the agricultural
work in the homestead. They traditionally undertake home gardening. Farm activities in the
homesteads, ranging from selection of seed to harvesting and storing of crops, are predominantly
managed by women. Despite women's important role in agriculture, the traditional social norms
and customary laws combined with the purdah system deprive Bangladeshi women of equitable
economic opportunities and access to resources.
The primary activities of women in agriculture sector are as follows:

Cultivation,
Home Gardening,
Livestock,
Poultry,
Vegetable growing,
Post-harvest processing and
Preservation.

In Bangladesh, 120355263 people are engaged in agriculture and agriculture based industrial
activities. Among those people 64091508 are men which is 53.25% of the total population and
56263719 are women which is 46.75% of the total population.
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Statistics is given below:

Population
Division

Total

Men

Women

Barisal

8173718

4159110

50.88%

4014608

49.12%

Chittagong

20290384

12404465

61.13%

7885919

38.87%

Sylhet

7939343

4064701

51.20%

3874642

48.80%

Dhaka

39044680

20362457

52.15%

18682223

47.85%

Khulna

14705229

7585999

51.59%

7119230

48.41%

Rajshahi

30201873

15514776

51.37%

14687097

48.63%

Total=

120355227

64091508

53.25%

56263719

46.75%

Figure 2.6: The Percentage of Men and Women which given in above table
(Source: Ministry of Agriculture, 2008-2009)

Womens Contribution in GDP:

The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Bangladesh is US$ 115.387 billion. The Sector wise
contribution in GDP is follows:
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Figure 2.7: Contribution in GDP

(Source: Bangladesh Bank; Data released on November 2010)
The agricultural sector accounted for nearly 23.50% of Gross Domestic Product which provides
US$ 27.16 billion. Women contribution in GDP is US$ 10.58 billion.
Contribution of Agriculture in GDP:

Figure 2.8: Percentage of economically active women working in agriculture, 1980-2010

(projected)
(Source: Bangladesh Bank; Data released on November 2010)
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It is estimated that women represent a substantial share of the total agricultural labor force, as
individual food producers or as agricultural workers, and that around two-thirds of the female
labor force in developing economies is engaged in agricultural work.
Part of the overall decline in the percentage of economically active women in agriculture
globally is attributable to the greater involvement of rural populations in employment, in addition
to the ongoing increase in migration to urban areas.
The low-income countries of the world - where agricultural production is still labor-intensive also tend to have the highest percentages of economically active women working in agriculture,
particularly in the LDCs. These percentages are also linked to an increase in male migration to
off-farm activities, with women either assuming more responsibility for the family farm or for
increased production of cash crops and food processing activities in order to increase family
incomes.
The female contribution to the overall economy is high throughout Asia and the Pacific region,
particularly in terms of labor input into agriculture. Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China,
India, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan and Vietnam have particularly high percentages of women
employed in the agricultural sector, with estimates ranging between 60 and 98 percent. Indeed, in
most Asian countries the number of women employed in agriculture as a percentage of the
women contribution is higher than that of men. This finding is even more significant given that
data for the economically active population in agriculture tends to exclude the unpaid work by
rural women in farm and family economies. If unpaid work were included, the figures for female
employment in agriculture would be even higher.
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Womens increased responsibilities in recent decades for reproducing and maintaining the family,
in most lower-income countries, have resulted in rather complex and demanding livelihood
strategies. These diversified livelihood strategies have to respond to the internal and external
dynamics that typically influence rural families, such as: Increased out-migration by men,
leaving women with sole responsibility for their families. Increased economic vulnerability to
global market forces as traditional foods become less economical to produce, rural incomes
decline and commercial-agriculture becomes more input-intensive and productive resources are
dominated by agribusiness.
Food security and family well-being are clear reasons for protecting or enhancing womens
access and control over land and other productive resources. Studies have shown that resources
controlled by women are more likely to be used to improve family food consumption and
welfare, reduce child malnutrition and increase overall well-being of the family.
The necessity for thorough assessments of how trade liberalization may or may not impact on
food security, nutritional status and/or access to agricultural inputs and other productive factors from a gender-differentiated perspective - should be seen in this context. Creating such
assessments is crucial to the successful development of any program or policy ultimately
concerned with improving food security or poverty alleviation.
Women have always worked in the production of food and other products in rural areas.
However, official statistics are determined by reporting in line with official definitions of
agricultural work, which tend not to recognize womens contribution to agricultural activities,
despite efforts to improve gender-differentiated data in agricultural census and household
surveys.
Moreover, the increased female labor input into agricultural exports is not associated with greater
access to or control of agricultural resources. In Uganda, for instance, a large proportion of
women engaged in the export sector are not directly involved in the marketing and therefore do
not necessarily benefit from it. Household income is often controlled by men in the household.
In 2003, 49.4 percent of the female population was employed in the agricultural sector, compared
to 51.7 percent of the male population. In agriculture, the majority of women are food producers
working on joint family farms and tending their own land for household food production, while
only a small percentage are independent farmers. About 90 percent of women in Bangladesh are
self-employed or work as unpaid family labor in farming, agro-based enterprises, or small-scale
manufacturing in the informal sector with low productivity and low incomes.
Approximately half of all rural women are classified as economically active. In 1992, women
made up 25.8 percent of the agricultural labor force (including fisheries and forestry). Women
Page 13 of 50

play important roles in the production of cash and subsistence crops, and in small livestock
rearing. They also take part in some fishing activities. To feed their families, women cultivate
kitchen gardens and subsistence crops, mainly root crops.

New Economic Opportunities for Women in Agriculture:

The increased input of female labor into agro processing and manufacturing export activities
tends to be associated with the ongoing process of liberalization in trade and investment
operations in developing economies.
These new job opportunities do not always result in improved living conditions for women and
their families. Heightened demand for female labor is not usually associated with higher wages
but is widely observed to be associated with an increase in flexibility of the labor market. This
generally goes hand in hand with low wages, lack of social protection, and poor contractual
conditions such as very short-term contracts with reduced benefits, long working hours, and no
rights of association, all of which exacerbate the exploitation of women and child labor.
Non-traditional agricultural exports of horticultural or high-value products increasingly involve
womens labor. Women may have experienced higher levels of employment and direct income in
the short term, although these benefits are somewhat mitigated by health and environmental
hazards and unsustainable agricultural production methods. In other areas, such as in the
production of coffee or cocoa in African countries, the increased commercialization of export
crops has shifted the distribution of income away from women, by reducing food crop
production on family farms, and is not necessarily associated with higher income.
The greater involvement of female labor in producing export crops does not correlate with a
substantial increase in womens income, owing to low wage-levels, and womens contribution to
family income may actually decline. In monetary and nonmonetary terms, this may further
reduce her bargaining power within the household.
In addition, since a large part of rural womens contribution to the household livelihood is not
monetary, in order to estimate womens gains from job remuneration in exports it is necessary to
consider the opportunity cost of womens labor.
So we can say that the contribution of women in our agricultural sector of our economy cannot
be expressed in words. Our government and conscious people should emphasis on the betterment
and increasing participation of women in the society for easily doing agricultural activities.
Contribution of Women in Garment Industry:
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The ready-made garment (RMG) industry of Bangladesh started in the late 1970s and became an
important player in the economy. The industry has contributed to export earnings, foreign
exchange earnings, employment creation, poverty alleviation and the empowerment of women.
Like other 3rd world countries Bangladesh is a developing country. Her economic development
depends firstly on Agriculture and secondly on Industry. Although Bangladesh is not developed
in industry, it has been enriched in Garment industries in the recent past years. For Bangladesh,
the readymade garment export industry has been the proverbial goose that lays the golden eggs
for over fifteen years now. It is making significant contribution in the field of our export income
and in the economical development of our country.
The RMG industry enjoyed a meteoric rise from 30 enterprises in 1980 increased to about 5150
in 2010-11 fiscal years.

Figure 2.9: The growth of Garment industries & number of workers of over 5 years
(Source: BGMEA, 2011)
In 2011, Out of 3.6 million manpower employed in BGMEA member factories, 2.88 million are
women (78%), majorities of them are disadvantaged and economically poverty stricken women
folk.

Women in RMG:

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Employment in the RMG (Ready Made Garments) industry has provided direct access to
cash income for the first time to many poor women. Bangladesh has abundant human
resources especially women workers but most of the human resources are unskilled, not
trained, underutilized and not educated as required. RMG is mainly human resource especially
human resources intensive industry and its paramount proportion of human resources are women
workers. RMG is the key contributive sector in economic development of Bangladesh.
In Bangladesh maximum proportion of the garments workers are women. The

garments

industry has been leading the Bangladesh economy since the early 1990s. Garments are
the countrys principal export making up about 70% of total exports, and the industry is a symbol
of the countrys dynamism in the world economy. The industry is also the main non-farm formal
sector creating employment opportunities for the poor. The greater part of the workforce is
female; less educated, and has migrated from rural areas.
Garment sector is the largest employer of women in Bangladesh. The garment sector has
provided employment opportunities to women from the rural areas. This has given women the
chance to be financially independent and have a voice in the family because now they contribute
financially.
In 1999, the industry employed directly more than 1.4 million workers, about 80% of whom
were female. With the growth of RMG industry, linkage industries supplying fabrics, yarns,
accessories, packaging materials, etc. have also expanded. Many women are getting
opportunities to work in those industries. The economic empowerment of these working women
has changed their status in the family.
In 2006 the industry provided jobs for 4.5 million people on which 20% are men and 80% are
women.

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Figure 2.10: Gender wise comparison.

In 2011 economic empowerment of women worker are following:

Particulars

Figure

Total worker

3.60 Million

Total women worker

2.88 Million (78%)

Total export

76% of total export earnings

Page 17 of 50

Figure 2.11: Total worker and total women worker.

This has given women the chance to be financially independent and have a voice in the family
because now they contribute financially.
It is the largest exporting industry in Bangladesh which is increased during the last 20 years. It
attained a high profile in terms of foreign exchange earnings, exports, industrialization and
contribution to GDP within a short span of time.

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It is well recognized that womens participation in income generation activities lends them a
better status within the family and provides them with considerable freedom. A job ensures
equitable access to household resources (nutrition) and larger investment on female human
capital (health and education). .At present, this sector has created highest employment
opportunity in the country where nearly 2 million women are working. As a result the distress,
poor, divorced and suppressed women of the country now dont think themselves as helpless.
Contribution in GDP: 10% of total GDP:
The contribution of women in RMG sector can be viewed in following topics:
Cheap Labour: Bangladesh is a third world country. Labour is cheap here particularly women
labour. Garments industry has become flourishing here because of chip labour of women.
Skill: Bangladeshi women are traditionally expert in sewing. They are creative in clothing. With
their creative work, they put an importance in the success of garment industry here.
Attract the Foreign Investors: Bangladeshi women are expert garment related work.
Bangladeshi govt. also provides training for them. So, they become an asset to RMG. As a result,
foreign investor feels interest to invest in Bangladesh.
Earning Foreign Currency: Bangladesh exports garment products. By exporting garment
products, she earns huge foreign currency. Women are like engine of RMG sector of Bangladesh.
So, there is no doubt the participation of women in earning foreign currency is very important.
Adding value in GDP: Garment industry added 10% of the total GDP in the year 2009-2010. As
women drive the garment sector, we can say, women are adding value in GDP.
EPZ: In Bangladesh, there are 9 EPZs. In these EPZs women are the main labour. Because of the
labour of women, these EPZs are running successfully. So, they are also adding contribution in
our EPZs.
Standard of living: In past Bangladeshi women were confined in home. But time has changed.
They are working in different sectors. Among the sectors garment industry is one. They are also
earning money from working in garments. As a result, standard of living is increasing day by
day. In this regards, their contribution cant be eliminated.

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Increasing face value of Bangladesh: Bangladesh exports RMG products in different parts of
the globe. People of those countries praise the quality garment products of Bangladesh. The face
value of Bangladesh increases. And quality garment products are the gift of Bangladeshi women.

Contribution of Women in SME( Small and Medium Enterprise):

Bangladesh is a developing nation, rich in human resources where women constitute slightly less
than half the population. The majority of them are underprivileged, under nourished, illiterate
and poor. Moreover, there are not enough employment opportunities for women. Therefore,
economic activities, through self-employment have become essential for potential working
women. As a matter of fact, women entrepreneurship or women in business has gained
importance and acts as a very recent phenomenon in Bangladesh. Although women are taking to
entrepreneurship in many challenging fields, their activities in Bangladesh are not that extensive.
However, in spite of fewer opportunities, many women have succeeded in business, though they
are still very small in number.
Despite its importance for the economy, the emergence of women entrepreneurship in SMEs is a
new phenomenon all over the world. In Bangladesh, women entrepreneurship started developing
in fact after the Liberation of Bangladesh. Very few women entered the profession of business
before the seventies. Bangladeshi women entrepreneurs need to have an extra quality in the form
of dogged determination and resilience since this is needed to fight with adverse situations which
seem to confront the female entrepreneurs than their male counterparts in the present-day
context.

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Figure 2.12: Economic activities of women entrepreneur in Bangladesh

According to the Bangladesh Economic Review 2009, around 6 percent of the country's $90
billion economy comes from SMEs. Bangladesh is rightly dubbed as a country of the SMEs.
Bangladesh industrial economy is thickly populated by these industries which amount for over
99 percent of the private sector industrial establishments and provide more than 80 percent of
industrial employment. The relative SME shares in total GDP range between 25-30 percent and
that in manufacturing value added vary between 40-45 percent. The sector is currently exhibiting
dynamism by registering an average annual compound growth rate of over 7- 8 percent in their
value added shares to GDP.
It has been found that at present women entrepreneurs constitute less than 10% of the total
business entrepreneurs in Bangladesh whereas women in advanced market economies own more
than 25% of all businesses. Establishment of women entrepreneurs' enterprises started growing
during the 70s and increased during the 80s and 90s. The highest record of enterprise
establishment was during 2001-2005. Nearly 50% enterprises were established from 2000 to
2010.

Characteristics of Women Entrepreneurs in Small & Medium Enterprises (SMEs):

The age of the majority of the women entrepreneurs were between 31 to 40 years where
the women had the capacity to run enterprises with stability and reliability, overcome
obstacles with courage, face the social criticism and make decisions with confidence. It
was found that the greater the age, the lesser was their participation in the business
profession and activities.

Majority of the women entrepreneurs had education below SSC, while some had
completed HSC, but no women entrepreneurs were found to be illiterate. A recent survey
of SME Foundation informed that 4.98% women entrepreneurs in SMEs were graduates,
while only 4.44% had completed their Masters Degree, and a few had professional
degrees.

It has been found that the majority of the women entrepreneurs of Bangladesh were
married.

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Figure 2.13: The average marital status is given below:

Women entrepreneurs lack resources or capital due mostly to unequal inheritance. For bank loan
women need to give collateral. It is a social problem that loans to women need to be guaranteed
by their husbands or fathers. On the other hand, families feel more comfortable supporting
financially a son, than a daughter for capital.
The majority of the women entrepreneurs 87.5% managed their sources of initial capital out of
their own savings. It was found that Husbands of 32.2% women provided them the initial capital.
21.84% women entrepreneurs in SMEs did inherit some property which they utilized for
business. A recent survey mentions that less than 50% women entrepreneurs owned or rented
showrooms for the marketing and sale of products. Around 48% of women entrepreneurs were
involved with their own business promotional activities and direct sale of their products and
services, while others utilized the services of distributors, whole-sellers, retailers, hawkers and
Commission agents. Business development and increase of promotional activities depended to a
great extent on the modern system of access to IT but only few had access to IT and less than
90% did not have any training on computer operations. Internet facilities were available to only
5% women entrepreneurs and business enterprises of 96% women entrepreneurs did not have
email account and only 1.2% had a website.

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Figure 2.14: Sector contribution of women in Bangladesh economy

About 83% of enterprises were established between the years 2000-2007 indicating that young
women are gradually becoming interested in business and entrepreneurial activities and womens
visibility in economic sector.

Empowerment of women is dependent on certain factors:

Mobility: Today, Bangladeshi women have the benefit of enjoying a freedom where they can go out of
their own houses to places like fairs, markets without anybody accompanying them for security.

Financial wellbeing: This point observes whether the women themselves posses any assets
whose proprietorship lies only with them. In rural Bangladesh, three out of every five women
have cows, goats or chickens to their names. These are assets known to generate income through
the means of milk, eggs or meat.
Equal participation in family decisions: Previously, women were not given enough respect to
consider their opinions in the matters of family. Today, the scenario is such that women have
gained the rights of deciding when to get their daughters married, or to which schools to send
their children to.

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Knowledge about the law and political situation: At present, the majority of women recognize
their own rights. In rural areas, six out of every ten women know who is ruling their country and,
fortunately, these women show a great understanding regarding certain laws which can help
women fight against any injustice!
Liberty from being controlled over: Previously, women were subjected to the loss of their
personal assets such as money, land; jewelries or farm animals like cows and chickens because
they had to hand it over to their fathers, brothers or husbands. Today, women are more aware of
refraining from such activities. They have finally learned to embrace their rights and selfdependency.
Empowerment of women, in Bangladesh, is visible in many areas but, then again, there are
certain sections where the status is still far from being promising. Improvement shall definitely
come through creating more awareness in women- through showing documentaries on
television, through performing plays in villages. It is time that women recognized their own
worth.

Overall comparison in economic participation of women:

Year

Labor force participation rate

Female labor force participation rate

1990

75.8

61.7

1991

75.7

61.8

1992

75.2

60.9

1993

74.6

60.1

1994

74

59.2

1995

73.5

58.3

1996

72.9

57.4

1997

72.3

56.6

1998

71.8

55.8

Page 24 of 50

1999

71.2

55

2000

70.7

54.2

2001

70.7

54.5

2002

70.7

54.7

2003

70.7

55

2004

70.7

55.2

2005

70.7

55.5

2006

70.7

55.8

2007

70.7

56.1

2008

70.7

56.3

2009

70.7

56.6

2010

70.7

56.9

2011

70.8

57.1

2012

70.8

57.3

72.01

57.04

Average

Figure 2.13: Comparison between Labor force participation and Female labor force
participation In Bangladesh [From Year 1990 to Year2012]

From the above comparison we can see that the average value for Bangladesh during that period
was 57.04 percent with a minimum of 54.2 percent in 2000 and a maximum of 61.8 percent in
Page 25 of 50

1991. The female labor force participation rate is the percent of the female population ages 15
and older who are economically active. Younger womens employment has seen the largest
increase. Womens employment across age groups has seen a growth; the striking increase is for
the younger age groups. Thus, the labor force participation of the 20-24 year old women has
increased almost two and half times over the period 1995-2010, but that of men in the same age
group has declined. This is in keeping with the literature on the garment industry which employs
women in their late teens and early twenties.
The second major change is the growth in labor force activity for the older ages, over 60 year
olds especially among men. Therefore, while both women and men stay longer in the labor
force, this trend is much more pronounced for younger women and older men
In the gender gap ranking 2009, Bangladesh stood at a rank of 93, outshining every other Muslim
country other than Indonesia. This was a remarkable achievement because it meant that, in
comparison to the women of the neighboring nations, Bangladeshi women have managed to
break free of the gender gap phenomenon.

Page 26 of 50

Figure 2.14: Comparison participation of Female Labor force Among

Bangladesh and 20 others Developing countries [From Year 1990 to Year
2012]

Country

Average Rate of Female labor

force participation
Year [1990-2012]

Bangladesh

56.97917

India

34.20357

Argentina

44.28696

Pakistan

17.32083

Uruguay

51.36

Nigeria

44.532

South Africa

45.21786

Uganda

79.52174

Bhutan

56.31739

China

68.99167

Iran

13.91923

Chili

59.51481

Japan

49.22222

Malaysia

40.14815

Nepal

80.4087

Oman

22.7875

Maldives

38.41429

Russia

55.13043

Philippines

49.46667

Sri Lanka

36.45417

Hungary

42.825

Above shows the relative comparison of female labour forces with different countries, and while
Bangladesh has a middle position. As far as the empowerment of women is concerned, their
economic status has shown a rather promising development but, other domains are yet to shift
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their standings from being an adversary to being an ally. Thus, the position of women in
Bangladesh still somewhat remains to be at the beginners stage. It is also heartening to know,
that after China and Nepal, Bangladesh is the only country, surpassing India, Pakistan and
Afghanistan, with the highest number of women taking part in the labor force. Besides,
statistics also reveal that a Bangladeshi woman, on average, earns about 55-60% of what a man
earns yearly. Even in this regard, the country is closing the gap between it and China, Sri Lanka
and Vietnam.

Chapter 3: Laws & regulations for women workers in Bangladesh

and other countries

The Bangladesh Labour Code is an act to consolidate and amend the laws relating to
employment of labour, relations between workers and employers, determination of minimum
wage, payment of wages and compensation for injuries to workers, formation of trade unions,
rising and settlement of industrial disputes, health, safety, welfare and working conditions of
workers etc.
This law is also applicable for women workers in various sectors. All laws regarding wages,
compensation, safety etc are same almost same for the women workers. This law also deals with
some additional issues like maternity benefits, restriction of employment of women in certain
work etc.
Some laws of The Bangladesh Labour Code, 2006 regarding female workers have been
discussed below:

A. Employment of women worker prohibited during certain period(Section 45):

(1) No employer shall knowingly employ a woman in his establishment during the eight weeks
immediately following the day of her delivery.
(2) No woman shall work in any establishment during the eight weeks immediately following the
day of her delivery.
(3) No employer shall employ any woman for doing any work which is of an arduous nature or
which involves long hours of standing or which is likely to adversely affect her health; if he has
reason to believe or if she has informed him that she is likely to be delivered of a child within ten
Page 28 of 50

weeks; she has to the knowledge of the employer been delivered of a child within the preceding
ten weeks:
Provided that in case of tea plantation worker, a woman worker can undertake light work if and
for so long as the medical practitioner of the concerned tea estate certifies that she is physically
fit to do so; and, for the days that she does such work, she shall be paid at the prevailing rate of
pay for such work, and such pay shall be paid to her in addition to the maternity benefit which
she may be entitled to receive under existing this Act.
B. Right to, and liability for, payment of maternity benefit(Section 46):
(1) Every woman employed in an establishment shall be entitled to and her employer shall be
liable for, the payment of maternity benefit in respect of the period of eight weeks preceding the
expected day of her delivery and eight weeks immediately following the day of her delivery.
Provided that a woman shall not be entitled to such maternity benefit unless she has worked
under the employer, for a period of not less than six month immediately preceding the day of her
delivery.
(2) No maternity benefit shall be payable to any woman if at the time of her confinement she has
two or more surviving children, but in that case she shall be entitled to the leave to which she
would otherwise be entitled.
C. Procedure regarding payment of maternity benefit (Section 47):
(1) Any pregnant woman entitled to maternity benefit under this act may, on any day, give notice
either orally or in writing to her employer that she expects to be confined within eight weeks
next following and may within nominate a person for purposes of receiving payment of
maternity benefit in case of her death.
(2) Any woman who has not given such notice and has been delivered of a child, shall within
seven days, give similar notice to her employer that she has given birth to a child.
(3) When a notice referred to in sub-section (1) or (2) is received, the employer shall permit the
women to absent her from work from the day following the date of notice in the case mentioned
in sub-section (1); from the day of delivery in the case mentioned in sub-section (2) until eight
weeks after the day of delivery.
(4) An employer shall pay maternity benefit to a woman entitled thereto in such one of the
following ways as the woman desire, namely:
(a) For eight weeks, within three working days of the production of a certificate signed by
registered medical practitioner stating that the woman is expected to be confined within eight
Page 29 of 50

weeks of the date of the certificate, and for the remainder of the period for which she is entitled
to maternity benefit under this act within three working days of the production of proof that she
has given birth to a child; or
(b) For the mentioned period up to and including the day of delivery, within three working days
of the production of proof that she has given birth to a child, and for the remainder of the said
period, within eight weeks of the production of such proof; or
(c) For the whole of the mentioned period, within three working days of the production of proof
that she has given birth to a child:
Provided that a woman shall not be entitled to any maternity benefit or any part thereof, the
payment of which is dependent upon the production of proof under this sub-section that she has
given birth to a child, unless such proof is produced within three month s of the day of her
delivery?
(5) The proof required to be produced under sub-section (4) shall be either a certified extract
from a birth register under the births and deaths registration act, 2004 (XXIX of 2004) or a
certificate signed by a registered medical practitioner or such other proof as may be accepted by
the employer.
D. Amount of maternity benefit (Section 48):
(1) The maternity benefit which is payable under this act shall be payable at the rate of daily,
weekly or monthly average wages, as the case may be, calculated in the manner laid down in
sub-section (2), and such payment shall be made wholly in cash.
(2) For the purpose of sub-section (1) the daily, weekly or monthly average wages, as the case
may be, shall be calculated by dividing the total wages earned by the woman during the three
months immediately preceding the date on which she gives notice under this act by the number
of day she actually worked during the period.
E. Payment of maternity benefit in case of a womans death (Section 49):
(1) If a woman entitled to maternity benefit under this act dies at the time of her delivery or
during the next period of 8 months, the employer shall pay the amount of maternity benefit due,
if the newly born child survives her, to the person who undertakes the care of the child, and if the
child does not survive her; to the person nominated by her under this chapter, or if she has made
no such nomination, to her legal representative.
(2) If a woman dies during the period for which she is entitled to maternity benefit but before
giving birth to a child, the employer shall be liable only for the period up to and including the
day of her death, provided that any sum already paid to her in excess of such liability shall not be
recoverable from her legal representative, and any amount due at the womans death shall be
Page 30 of 50

paid to the person nominated by her under this chapter, or if she has made no such nomination, to
her legal representative.
F. Restriction on termination of employment of a woman in certain cases (Section 50) :
If any notice or order of discharge, dismissal, removal or termination of employment is given by
an employer to a woman within a period of six month before and eight weeks after her delivery
and such notice or order is given without sufficient cause, she will not be deprived of any
maternity benefit to which she would have become entitled under this chapter.
G. Restriction of employment of women in certain work(Section 87):
No women shall be allowed in any establishment to clean, lubricate of adjust any part of
machinery while that part is in motion or to work between moving parts, of any
machinery which is in motion.(Section 39).

No women shall work at any machine unless (Section 40) - (a) she has been fully
instructed as to the dangers arising in connection with the machine and the precautions to
be observed, and(b) Has received sufficient training in work at the machine, or is under adequate
supervision by a person who has thorough knowledge and experience of the machine,
(2) This provision shall apply to such machines as may be notified by the government to
be of such a dangerous character that a woman ought not to work at them unless the
requirements of sub-section (1) are complied with.
(3) The Government may from time to time publish in the official gazette the list such of
hazardous works where, no women shall be employed.
No women shall be employed in any underground or underwater work (Section 42).

H. Rooms for children(Section 94) :

(1) In every establishment, wherein forty or more workers are ordinarily employed, thee shall be
provided and maintained a suitable room or rooms for the use of children under the age of six
years of such women.

The Bangladesh Labour Code, 2006 (amended in 2013)

Page 31 of 50

Bangladesh Labour Law (Amendment) Bill 2013 was passed on Monday 15 July 2013 in the
National Parliament in Bangladesh and some new issues about women workers were included in
it. These issues are given below:
One woman representative would be included in the trade union executive committee if
the factory has 20 per cent women workforce. According to the amended law, women
will have 10 percent representation at the executive committee of the trade union if 20
percent of the total workforce at any particular factory was women. According to the
BGMEA leaders, 80 percent of the workers of RMG sector are women there should have
higher representation of women workers in the executive body.
The law contains important provisions prohibiting discrimination based on sex and
disability, including equal wages for equal work.
However, the revised law includes no measures to tackle sexual harassment of women,
who make up the vast majority of workers in the ready-made garment sector.
Separate washroom for women in Section 59.
No women shall, without her consent, be allowed to work in an establishment between
the hours of 10.00PM and 6.00 AM (Section 109).

Is the law really helping the women workers of Bangladesh?

To know about the real life conditions of women workers in Bangladesh, we can use the
following questions:
QUESTIONNAIRE FOR FEMALE WORKERS:
1) Have you got any letter of appointment?
2) Is there any service book in this factory?
3) Is there any mentioning of maternity benefit in the service book?
4) Are you married?
5) How many childrens s do you have?
6) Did you enjoy maternity leave during your job in this organization?
7) How many days did you get as maternity leave?
8) Did you get any assistance from your supervisor/manager after pregnancy to relieve?

Page 32 of 50

From different journals and reports we can see that many women workers could not answer any
of the questions as they were totally unaware about that or felt afraid to answer the questions
truly in front of the authority.
Some workers do not give any application, but said for maternity leave orally to the authority. In
garments sector, some did not get the leave though they applied and then they left the workplace
with payment of one month and again joined after four months of the delivery.
The condition of the child care centre of the workplace is not satisfactory so the workers could
not bring their child with them. Moreover the authority does not encourage them to bring child
with them in spite of having the child care centre.
Exceptions
We can see some exceptions, like a woman who got leave from the garments before two months
of her delivery and got the full payment of four months. Another worker got four months of leave
during the birth of her first and second baby; she had no complaints about the authority.
Some garments factory having no child care and group insurance facilities, gives maternity leave
for 45 days before delivery and 45 days after delivery. If any worker fails to inform the garment
authority, then she will get three months of leave from the date when she informs the garment.
She can also rejoin the work within 8 weeks after the leave. No heavyweight work is given to the
workers coming back after leave. Performance bonuses are also provided on attendance of the
workers in some workplaces.

Comparison between Laws for women workers of Bangladesh with other

countries

1. Maternity Benefit
India
The Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 regulates the employment of women in certain establishments
for certain periods before and after child-birth and provides maternity benefits. The Building and
Other Constructions (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1996 provides
for maternity benefit to female beneficiaries of the Welfare Fund.

Pakistan:
Page 33 of 50

While article 37 of the Constitution makes reference to maternity benefits for women in
employment, there are two central enactments, one federal and the other provincial providing
maternity benefits to women employed in certain occupations. The Maternity Benefit Ordinance,
1958 stipulates that upon the completion of four months employment or qualifying period, a
worker may have up to six weeks prenatal and postnatal leave during which she is paid a salary
drawn on the basis of her last pay. The Ordinance is applicable to all industrial and commercial
establishments employing women excluding the tribal areas. It also places restrictions on the
dismissal of the woman during her maternity leave. Similarly, the Mines Maternity Benefit Act,
1941 is applicable to women employed in the mines in Pakistan.
Myanmar:
Maternity leave is provided to workers covered by the Social Security Act 1954 for six weeks
before and after the expected date of childbirth on the condition of 26 weeks of contribution
before the benefit. A recent proposed draft of the new Social Security Act includes changes in
maternity leaves such as: requirement of a minimum of one-year service and six-month
contribution to the social insurance: 14 weeks of maternity leave and another four weeks of child
care in the case of the twin delivery: 8-week adoption leave for adopting a child under one year
old: and, 15-day parental leave to care for an infant delivered by an insured partner.
Bangladesh:
Maternity leave is given of 16 weeks (8 weeks before and 8 weeks after child birth), prohibition
of any form of discrimination against women.

2. Safety/Health Measures
India:
Section 22(2) of the Factories Act, 1948 provides that no woman shall be allowed to clean,
lubricate or adjust any part of a prime mover or of any transmission machinery while the prime
mover or transmission machinery is in motion, or to clean, lubricate or adjust any part of any
machine if the cleaning, lubrication or adjustment thereof would expose the woman to risk of
injury from any moving part either of that machine or of any adjacent machinery.
Section 27 of the Factories Act, 1948 prohibits employment of women in any part of a factory for
pressing cotton in which a cotton opener is at work.

Pakistan:
Page 34 of 50

Article 11(3) c of Pakistans Constitution expressly prohibits the employment of children below
the age of fourteen years in any factory, mine or other hazardous employment. In addition, the
Constitution makes it a Principle of Policy of the State of Pakistan to protect the child, to remove
illiteracy and provide free and compulsory education within the minimum possible period and to
make provision for securing just and human conditions of work, ensuring that children and
women are not employed in vocations unsuited to their age or sex.
Article 25c lays down the right to equality before the law and prohibition of discrimination on
the grounds of sex alone
Bangladesh

No women shall be allowed in any establishment to clean, lubricate of adjust any part of
machinery while that part is in motion or to work between moving parts, of any
machinery which is in motion.(Section 39).

No women shall work at any machine unless (Section 40) - (a) she has been fully
instructed as to the dangers arising in connection with the machine and the precautions to
be observed.
No women shall be employed in any underground or underwater work (Section 42).

3. Prohibition of Night Work

India:
Section 66(1)(b) of the Factories Act, 1948 states that no woman shall be required or allowed to
work in any factory except between the hours of 6 a.m. and 7 p.m.
Section 25 of the Beedi and Cigar Workers (Conditions of Employment) Act, 1966 stipulates that
no woman shall be required or allowed to work in any industrial premise except between 6 a.m.
and 7 p.m.
Section 46(1)(b) of the Mines Act, 1952 prohibits employment of women in any mine above
ground except between the hours of 6 a.m. and 7 p.m.
Bangladesh
No women shall, without her consent, be allowed to work in an establishment between the hours
of 10.00PM and 6.00 AM (Section 109).
4. Provisions for Separate Latrines and Urinals
India:
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Provision for separate latrines and urinals for female workers exist under the following:
Rule 53 of the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970.
Section 19 of the Factories Act, 1948.
Rule 42 of the Inter State Migrant Workmen (RECS) Central Rules, 1980.
Section 20 of the Mines Act, 1952.
Section 9 of the Plantations Labour Act, 1951.
Bangladesh
Separate washroom for women in Section 59.

5. Provisions for Separate Washing Facilities

India:
Provision for separate washing facilities for female workers exists under the following:
Section 57 of the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970.
Section 42 of the Factories Act.
Section 43 of the Inter-State Migrant Workmen (RECS) Act, 1979.

6. Legislative power
Pakistan
The Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) of Pakistan consists of two Houses i.e., the Senate (Upper
House) and the National Assembly (Lower House). The Senate is a permanent legislative body
and is comprised of 100 members, of which members of the four Provincial Assemblies,
Federally Administered Tribal Areas and Federal Capital from its electoral college. The term of
the Senators is 6 years. The Constitution provides for the number of women to be elected in the
different bodies. The Senate may not be dissolved. The National Assembly has a total
membership of 342 elected through adult suffrage, of which 60 seats are reserved for women,
and 10 seats are reserved for non-Muslims. The seats of the National Assembly are allocated to
each Province, the Federally Administered Tribal Areas and the Federal Capital on the basis of
their population in accordance with the last officially published census
Page 36 of 50

Bangladesh
National Parliament of Bangladesh current contains 350[4] seats, including 50 seats reserved for
women, which are apportioned on elected party position in the parliament. Elected occupants are
called Members of Parliament or MP. The 10th National Parliamentary Election was held on
January 5, 2014 and under normal conditions, elections are called every five years.
1 - Bangladesh: This figure excluded the 45 reserved seats for women which were not yet filled
in January 2009.
2 - Bangladesh: The parliament was dissolved on 27 October 2006, in view of elections that were
to take place. Women held 52 of the 345 seats (15%) in the outgoing parliament.
3 - Bangladesh: In 2004, the number of seats in parliament was raised from 300 to 345, with the
addition of 45 reserved seats for women. These reserved seats were filled in September and
October 2005, being allocated to political parties in proportion to their share of the national vote
received in the 2001 election.
The Awami League has nominated State Minister for Women and Children Affairs Shirin
Sharmin Chaudhury to run for Speaker of Parliament. Chaudhurys nomination paves way for
Bangladesh to have its first-ever woman and the youngest Speaker at 46 years of age.

Chapter 4: Status of womens participation in trade unions of

Bangladesh
In Bangladesh, there are three-tiers of trade union levels, which are (a) basic unions at the
establishment level; (b) industrial unions at the sectorial level; and (c) national unions.
According to the Register of Trade Unions, in Bangladesh, there is a total of 32 national
federations which has 6,967 unions and a membership of 21, 56,307. The membership numbers
widely contrasts with the claims of leaders of respective trade union. We present below the
number of total trade union membership and also gender segregated data presented by the
respective trade unions leaders.
Women in Leadership Positions in Trade Unions
The number of women in leadership positions is an indicator of womens representation in
decision making process. The womens active participation in leadership positions allow women
Page 37 of 50

to become role models for workers at large and women workers in particular, in effect
encouraging other women workers to participate in the trade union activities.

Name of National

Number of women in

Centers

Leadership Roles

Gender of persons in Positions

Leadership Positions
leadership

of

occupied in female
President

General

members

Secretary
Jatiya
Sramik
Federation-JSF

15

Male

Male

Law
Cultural

Secretary,

Secretary, Member
Bangladesh
Trade
Union
Kendra

BTUC

30

Bangladesh Sanjukta

50

MaleMale

Member

MaleMale

N/A

Jatiya Sramik Jote-JSJ 20

MaleMale

Member

Bangladesh
Jatiyatabadi
Dal-BJSD

MaleMale

Vice President
Women

Sramik
BSSF

Male

Male

Office
Women

Secretary,

Secretary

Federation-

Bangladesh
Trade
Union
ShanghaBTUS

20
Sramik

Affairs Secretary
5

Jatiya
Federation,

Male Male

Sramik

Page 38 of 50

Member

Bangladesh - JSF,B
Jatiya Sramik League 30
JSL

MaleMale

Women
Secretary

Bangladesh
Trade

MaleMale

Cultural Secretary

MaleMale

Assistant
Secretary,

Free 50

Union Congress
BFTUC

Affairs

Bangladesh Sramik

20

federation BSF

General

Member
Bangladesh Labour

50

Male Male

Vice
Women

Federation BLF

President,

Secretary
Bangladesh
Sramik

Jatiya

50

MaleMale

Women
Secretary,

Federation BJSF
Shamajtantrik Sramik

Office
Member
0

MaleMale

N/A

Male

Member

20

Female

Affairs
Secretary,

Front - SSF
Jatiya Sramik Jote
Bangladesh JSJB
Bangladesh
Sramik

Jatiya

Male

Jote BJSJ

President,
Secretary,
Training
Member

Law
Secretary,

Jatiya Sramik Party

JSP

20

Female

Male

President, Member

Bangladesh
Sramik

30

Male

Male

Women
Affairs
Secretary,Assistant
Welfare Secretary,
Assistant Education

Mukto

Page 39 of 50

Federation BMSF

andResearch
Secretary

Source: BILS database and Interviews of Respective Federations Senior Leaders

While a good number of women are active in trade unions as leaders in organizing workers and
carrying out different functions of the trade unions, only a very small number of women do in
fact hold high positions in the trade union organization ladder. Only two organizations out of 17
trade union federations have women as their presidents. None of the federations general
secretary is women. In only few federations, women hold positions of vice presidents. The major
positions in leadership for women in these organizations are mostly secretary of women affairs,
cultural, and education and training.
Barriers to participation of women in trade unions
Workers particularly women workers hurdles in participating in trade union activities and
leadership ranges from issues that are legal, social and economic. Many of the barriers women
face are in fact the extensions of the problem they face in the labour market. A large majority of
barriers are attributable to the lack of enabling environment in the workplaces for women to
contribute to the workplace governance. Key interviews and focus group discussion participants
felt that the lack of enabling environment for enhancing women participation and representation
was one of the important reasons for the under-representation and marginalization of women in
trade union membership and in positions of responsibility within the trade union. However, three
important aspects of enabling environment were highlighted. The first relates to legal provisions
inhibiting women workers disproportionately than men. The second is about the structure and
policies of the union themselves. The third is about hostility of male counterparts and male
family members. Other important dimensions highlighted as inhibiting factors for women is the
lack of their capacity and awareness on underlying value of trade unions.

Extensions of Obstacles of Labour Markets

The obstacles to womens participation in unions are quite often the extensions of the obstacles
they face on the labour market. Informal sector workers do not have any legal coverage, and
union formation is difficult for them under the existing law. For the formal sector, while the
freedom of association and collective bargaining principles are in place in national labour law, in
practice, however these are muddled with several phases of implementation, with complicated
Page 40 of 50

and cumbersome procedures to be followed at each stage posing significant restrictions and
delays in relation to the right to organise. The sectors and occupations where most women work
e.g. teaching, domestic work are the least organised, and their part-time and temporary work
contracts have also made them more difficult to reach trade union.

Disproportionate Legal Barriers

Women often face disproportionate legal barriers to entry to trade union activities. There remain
many restrictions for the realization of the rights to organize and bargain collectively. There are
clear barriers to freedom of association. Before a union can be registered, 30 per cent of workers
in an enterprise have to be members and the union can be dissolved if its membership falls below
this level. Unions must have government approval to be registered, and no trade union activity
can be undertaken prior to registration. Unions can only be formed at the factory/establishment
level, with some exceptions (such as private road transport, private inland river transport, tea,
jute bailing, bidi production) where union formation can take place based on geographic area.
There can be no more than three registered trade unions in any establishment. Membership in a
union is restricted only to workers currently working at an establishment, meaning that severance
from employment also results in the cessation of a workers membership in the union.
Candidates for union office have to be current or former employees of an establishment or group
of establishments.
Workers in the public sector and state enterprises may not belong to a trade union, with the
exception of railway, postal and telecommunications workers. Members of the security forces are
also denied the right to form unions. Teachers, a large number of whom are female at the primary
level, are also forbidden to form trade unions, in either the public or private sector. Managerial
and administrative employees can form welfare associations, but they are denied the right to join
a union. There are also barriers to right to strike: three quarters of a unions members must agree
to a strike before it can go ahead. The government can ban any strike if it continues beyond 30
days (in which case it is referred to the Labour Court for adjudication), if it involves a public
service covered by the Essential Services Ordinance or if it is considered a threat to the national
interest. Strikes are not allowed in new establishments (owned by foreign investors or jointventures in collaboration with foreign investors) for a period of three years from the date the
establishment begins commercial production.
The trade union leaders while highlighted the number of above predicaments applicable to both
men and women workers willing to join trade unions, they were of the view that the procedures
set for the right to organize and strike provide a bold signals for women not to take rights issues
beyond their workplaces. Women quite often get discouraged by the sheer complexity of the
rules that forbid them more than men to join associations and be in the leadership positions.
While in the Bangladesh Labour Act 2006, the right to associations is accepted as principles to
Page 41 of 50

be upheld and practiced, a vast number of establishments remain beyond the purview of that law.
The sectors which are excluded e.g. domestic work, teaching in the Bangladesh Labour Act 2006
are those where women form a large part and often a majority.
Unfavorable Trade Union Structures and Policies
The current trade union structures and policies are not geared towards empowering women to
participate more in numbers and also effectively. Although trade union leaders highlighted the
number of proactive actions taken and are underway in promoting womens interests in trade
union policies, they agreed that the current policies fall short of their expectation too.
The trade union leaders argued that they in principle try to incorporate at least 30 percent women
in any of their programmes. A number of organizations also have claimed that they are trying to
bring more women into their leadership positions over the years. Indeed, as they claim, the
number of women in their leadership positions has increased over last couple of years. In few of
the organizations as many as 30 to 50 women are taking the lead in organizing and carrying out
trade union activities. A few of the FGD participants felt that the trade union environment is yet
to be women friendly. Yet there is no specific policy within trade unions albeit overwhelming
interests in promoting womens issues and concerns. Most of the organizations still deal with
womens issues through the womens committees, which in itself remain marginalized from the
overall trade union structure. However, the participants felt that still overall structure and policies
of the union, venues and times of the meetings, and lack of women in authority are favoring
mens priorities and working patterns, and in effect marginalize disfavor or put off women to a
large extent.
The FGDs participants opined that male agreed to include women in trade unions in general but
not in positioning them in the vital positions of trade unions in particular. That means the male
counterparts are not beyond patriarchal attitudes. On the other hand, many of female counterparts
themselves are not eager for holding the highest position of federations as it demands more time,
labour and efforts influencing upon family life.

Over right Hostility of Societal Actors

The acts of intimidation and abuse by the employers are paramount for women willing to join
trade unions. This is more profound for women workers who have little social ties in the urban
centers and whose economic security solely depends on the job. A number of cases of women
being harassed by the employers for keeping contacts with the trade unions were cited by the
trade union leaders. Many women do not want to risk their jobs for joining unions. This follows
from their disproportionate sufferings in terms of insecurity in their workplaces. This is also due
to the fact that most of them are first generation industrial workers (e.g. garments) and migrants
from remote rural areas in need of survival.
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Women lack voice in the trade unions to ensure rights and to fight against continued
discrimination and patriarchal attitudes prevalent in the workplaces. Women workers also face
hostility from their male partners and male family members. In Bangladesh society, women often
face pressures from their family not to be involved in activities outside the work. Trade unions in
most enterprises where women constitute the majority are not functioning. Moreover, there is
little role model for them to be inspired. Overall, trade union activities in the society are not
taken as prestigious under takings; in contrast, women involved in trade union activities are often
looked down upon. Many of the workers feel intimidated how society perceives them. The
lacking economic security and dependence on male counterparts and other male family members
for livelihood makes it complicated further. The societal perception of womens work in
industrial enterprises though positively set in a process of change, still at large, the social context
is yet to be favorable for their joining unions.
Lacking Capacity and Awareness on Underlying Values
Women participants in the focus group discussions highlighted the fact that even the male trade
union members are not so cooperative in brining women to leadership positions. Much of this
lack of interests though attributable to general social perceptions of womens role in the
development process, some participants even felt that the under-representation of women in trade
unions were due to low capacity of women in trade unions activities.
The under-representation and marginalization of women are quite often attributed to their lack of
understanding on underlying values of trade unions. A good number of participants felt that
overall women workers are not aware of the trade union values and its activities. A senior labour
leader in the key interview claimed that they are less informed and knowledgeable about trade
unions, and also less interested to join trade unions. Indeed, most participants in the FGDs agreed
to the fact that the scope for women to be knowledgeable on trade unions had been till date
limited. Women to a large extent, due to fear of intimidation from the employers and male family
members, are reluctant to join unions. Independent decision making becomes difficult for them
due to the reliance on male partners. Added burden to them is also the domestic responsibility.
Womens domestic responsibilities to many, already represent a second shift on top of the
working day, so union meetings and activities make a third shift as opined by trade union leaders.
Strategies to enhance womens participation in trade unions
The question we posed in the previous section is that whether the lower rate of trade union
participation and representation of women can be explained by the fact that women are less
inclined to join trade union or other legal, social and economic reasons are at play to keep
women on the margin. The study reveals that the workers, specifically women workers hurdles
in participating in trade union activities and leadership ranges from issues that are legal, social
and economic. The under-representation and marginalization of women are best explained by
two major factors. First, it is the hurdles of the labour markets that extend its grip in terms of
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enhancing womens participation in trade unions. The second inhibiting factor is the lack of
enabling environment for women in the country. Amongst those issues, we highlighted three
important aspects: legal provisions, structure and policies of the trade unions, hostility of male
counterparts and male family members. Other important points raised are lack of women
capacity and awareness on underlying value of trade unions. Since, the study points to all of
these as the overwhelming hurdles for gender equality in trade unions, accordingly, strategies to
enhance womens participation should be geared to that end.
Enhancing Womens Participation in Labour Markets
The obstacles to womens participation in labour markets need to be removed. Unless women
feel empowered working in the sectors, there is little possibility of encouraging women to be part
of trade union. The sectors and occupations where most women work are least organized.
Their part-time and temporary work contracts have also made them more difficult to reach trade
union. For the formal sector, where the freedom of association and collective bargaining
principles are in place, need to be enforced. The complicated and cumbersome procedures
followed for the rights to organize need to be made women friendly. Workers at large and women
workers in particular need to be made aware of the rights of the workers as well as
responsibilities of the workers. The industrial and labour relations logic need to go beyond the
narrow idea of industrial peace, rather need to focus on equitable returns to labour and
production, system of social transfer and protection, skill enhancement opportunities,
occupational health and safety, and individual and collective representation provisions.
Since the problems faced by women in their participation in trade unions are extensions of the
barriers they face in the labour markets, the overcoming strategies to those hurdles must build on
workers rights from a gender perspective. These include, right to work calling for provision of
access to employment opportunities, which are fair and equal without discrimination and that
workers know their rights under the law and are able to establish it.
Second, right at work that calls for promoting just and favorable conditions of work, to ensure
sanitary, healthy and safe working conditions for all workers. Third, right through work calls for
rights of everyone to an adequate standard of living. This means ensuring that no discrimination
takes place in terms of hiring and of wages, and enable job creation as needed with equal access
to employment. The ILO decent work agenda indeed brings in all these issues for the promotion
and protection of workers rights. On this line, Common
Minimum Demand for women workers prepared by Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies in
consultation with trade union leaders and other stakeholders should be popularized in the country
for their decent living.
Creating Enabling Environment for Freedom of Association
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It is generally agreed that currently, workers representation is weak, limited, ineffective and
inefficient and has created a representation gap. There is an urgent need to promote participation
of workers including women to fill the representation gap. This has been true for women too as
explicit in this study. For equitable outcome for workers, institutional mechanisms has to be put
in place and enforced for serving workers interests in general and women in particular. The
institutional mechanisms i.e. trade unions need to take into considerations the socio-economic,
political and legal hurdles that women face in participating and to proactively set rules and
procedures for enhancing their participation. The disproportionate legal barriers women face in
the access to trade unions and other positions of representations in and beyond enterprises need
to be removed.
Extending Coverage of National Labour Law
Currently, a number of sectors and occupations which employ a large majority of women
workforce are beyond the purview of national labour laws. The coverage of the Bangladesh
Labour Act 2006 needs to be extended to bring women particularly teachers and domestic
workers within the purview of legal protection.
Proactive Trade Union Structures and Policies
The proactive actions on part of trade union in promoting womens interests in trade union
policies are fundamental. The current trade union policies fall short of gender focus promotion
and protection. The trade union leaders need to incorporate specific women policies in the
federations to encourage women. Women trade union leaders trajectories to the positions of
responsibility and their roles need to be highlighted. Trade union structures need to be more
women friendly in encouraging women. The women concerns need to be mainstreamed and
women leaders needed to be encouraged in a broader position of responsibility. Places can be
reserved for women with voting rights in decision-making bodies. Women engaged in leadership,
particularly engaged in organizing activities needed to provide with more responsibilities to
enable them to work independently. All trade unions should gear towards establishing
organizing cells for integrating womens concerns in trade unions, and building pool of women
organizers. The capacity building of the existing women committees are also important in
promoting womens rights.
Gender Focused Analysis, Awareness Raising and Capacity Building
Gender focused analysis of trade union membership and representation is required. The status of
representation and participation of women in sectors where women are the majority of workers,
need to be a focus of attention to learn the barriers they face in participating in trade unions
federations and also in unit level trade unions. Detailed research to better understandthe
motivation for and barriers against joining, participating in and progressing throughunions would
provide future guidelines and action agenda for trade unions.
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Women awareness on the value of trade unions and its role in promotion and protection of rights
need to be within the agenda of trade unions. Much of the hostility of the male partners and male
family members can be reduced with enhanced awareness on the trade unionism.
Unless a higher level of awareness is created on the positive aspects of trade unionism within the
workforce and public in general, hostility of male workers and family members would continue.
Regular campaigns to raise awareness among trade unionists and managers on equal
opportunities and campaign to encourage women candidates in decision making bodies could
provide a better opportunity for women.

Chapter 5: Conclusion and Recommendation

Conclusion
In Bangladesh, being a traditional Muslim society, womens participation in economic activities
in general and in agriculture in particular has remained low. But recent labour force surveys
conducted by the Bureau of Statistics show rapidly increasing participation of women in
economic activities. The progress is attributed to poverty, empowerment of women by NGOs,
and migration of male members from agriculture to non-farm occupation. With the absence of
male members, womens role is changing from unpaid family worker to farm managers, a
phenomenon termed as feminization of agriculture.
As women in Bangladesh find more comfortable engaging in agricultural activities within the
boundary of household rather than in the field for crop production activities, home-based
agricultural activities like livestock and poultry production as well as homestead gardening
should be encouraged through providing more credit and training facilities to women.

Recommendations:
Observing the present unsatisfactory situation of female workers in Bangladesh the
following recommendations to improve and ensure the maternity leave and other
facilities for them:
Ensure effective and impartial labour administration, increase effectiveness of labour
inspections and labour courts by allocating adequate resources for proper functioning.
Extensive propagandas should be adopted to create awareness among the female workers
about the provision of law regarding maternity benefit so that they can get the full benefit
of it.
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 There should be a strong monitoring system in the garment sectors on the part of the
government so that no female workers can be deprived of that benefit.
The procedure of appointing the workers should be more formal, each worker should be
provided with a service book consisting of the rules and regulations of the service.
The garment factories can arrange workshops, training programs on maternity leave and
benefits to make the workers conscious about it.
The rules and regulations of service should be made in a way which encourages the
female workers to continue doing service after the leave of maternity expires.
The existing laws are needed to be reviewed at the same time the scope and nature of
maternity benefits should made more convenient for the female workers with some
additional benefits.
In most cases female workers are not supported by their superior/ manager assigned for
less stressed work, so there should appoint an extra female worker who will look after the
pregnant workers problems.
The government should provide the umbrella regulatory and legal framework within
which employer-worker differences and disputes can be reconciled in an efficient,
peaceful and equitable manner.
There should be a wide scope on the part of female employees to challenge any
inconsistency and injustice done by the employers.
Different women organizations working for the rights and empowerment of women
should come forward with diverse awareness raising activities among female workers to
address the issue.
Trade union organizations at different levels should extend their work and take different
measures to protect the rights of female workers.
The ministry of labour should spell out how organized and unorganized workers can seek
redress for various grievances for various forums-in the workplace at the labour ministry
or ate the labour court.
Government should provide concrete information to workers on remedies available to
them (labour court, BGMEA arbitration committee);
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 Forming separate women trade union.

References
Laws
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The Bangladesh Labour Code, 2006.

Government of Pakistan, Annual Consolidated Report on the Working of Labour Laws in

Pakistan for the Years 1998 and 1999.

Jillani, Anees&Jillani, Zarina, Child Rights in Pakistan, 2000.

Anant, T., Sundaram, K., and Tendulkar, S., Employment and Labour in South Asia,
1999.

Employment of Children Rules, 1995 (S.R.O. 387)

Factories Act, 1934 [As amended to 1987]

Ali, ShaheenSardar, Gender and Human Rights in Islam and International Law, 2000.

Industrial Relations Ordinance, 1969 [as amended to 1997]

International Encyclopedia for Labour Law and Industrial Relations Vol.10

Employers Federation of Pakistan, Terms & Conditions of Employment in Pakistan 1999

Vol.I and II.

World Wide Web

http://www.ilo.org/ifpdial/information-resources/national-labour-law
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http://www.parliament.gov.bd/general-2.html

http://www.parliament.gov.bd/mp_list_9th.htm

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http://www.bwcci-bd.org/
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Article

W. M. H. Jaim and Mahabub Hossain, (2011) Womens Participation in Agriculture in

Bangladesh 1988-2008: Changes and Determinants.

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