Although the women’s participation in the labour force is lagging behind that of men, more and more women are entering the labour force. However, they often work at the lowest level of the jobs hierarchy in low pay, low status jobs with little employment security. The majority of women workers are engaged in the informal economy where the application of social protection and legislation is negligent.
Serious gender-based inequalities continued to prevail in the labour market, as well as violence and sexual harassment against women. According to the ILO Study in 2008, women earn an average of 21 per cent less per hour than men. Equal opportunities for women existed neither in employment nor in education nor in vocational training.
In addition, women continue to be mainly responsible for household duties and family care which add many hours every day to their workload despite their increasing role in earning money. It is important for men and women to work together to promote gender equality at work and at home, and to address social and cultural traditions regarding the role of women in society and resulting occupational segregation, in order to promote gender equality in practice.
The ILO Dhaka Office in cooperation with the Ministry of Labour and Employment, the Bangladesh Employers’ Federation (BEF), the National Coordination Committee for Workers’ Education (NCCWE), and social partners, works to promote gender equality and to eliminate discrimination in the world of work. The current activities include:
- Mainstreaming gender in the Decent Work Country Programme (DWCP)
- Promoting women’s participation and gender equality in trade union movement: A study and a consultative workshop for planning
- Promoting gender equality in the Bangladesh Employers’ Federation (BEF)
- Capacity building of government, employers’ and workers’ organizations on promoting gender equality and eliminating violence against women including sexual harassment at work
- Action against Sexual Harassment: ILO component of the UN Joint Programme on Violence against Women
- Promoting and protecting rights of female and male migrant workers
For more information, contact:
Mr. Shahabuddin Khan
ILO Office in Dhaka
Road 12, House 12
Dhanmondi R/A, Dhaka
Telephone 8114705, 9112876
