Economic contribution of women in Bangladesh

ECONOMIC CONTRIBUTION OF WOMEN IN BANGLADESH: A Competitive Study on RMG, Agriculture Agriculture & SME

Bangladesh is a resource limited and over populated country where society is highly stratified; services and opportunities are determined by gender, class and location. Bangladesh has a population of about 144.5 million, making it one of the densely populated countries of the world, among which 70.5 million are female. We can see that the half of the population is female and if they lag behind the nation cannot prosper. So the empowerment of women and reducing gender inequality is a vital necessity in the development process. And again at independence in 1971, most observers of the newly emerged country took a pessimistic view about the developmental prospect of Bangladesh. Many thought that the country would remain permanently locked in a „below poverty level equilibrium trap‟. But now a day we can see that women are contributing a great proportion to the economic development of our country. Their contribution to RMG, Agriculture & SME sector is really praiseworthy. If both men & women work together, the day is not so far when our country will be financially solvent.

Bangladesh is the twelfth largest apparel exporters in the world. This industry currently brings in about 76 per cent of the country‟s total export earnings. The garment industry currently employs about 1.5 million workers, 90 per cent of whom are females. A Significant dimension in the labor

integration of economics like Bangladesh has occurred in the domain of what are known as the Export Processing Zones (EPZs). Bangladesh‟s competitive advantages (Unskilled labor)

in RMG sectors lies in the availability of cheap labor as compared to western economics and developed economics like South Korea and Japan and Germany. From the early 1980s, Bangladesh undertook a series of economic reforms to open up its economy under the aegis of the IMF and the World Bank. RMG sector form around 50 factories employing a few thousand workers in the early 1980s to over 3,000 factories employing around 1.8 million workers by 2000. In addition about 0.2 million people are employed in other industries linked to garment manufacturing. The share of manufacturing in GDP growth increased from 9.8 per cent at the beginning of the 1990s to 11.4 per cent in 2000. That this growth was largely driven by the RMG sector – which grew at a compound rate of 15 per cent per year during the 1990s.A much higher proportion of workers in these factories are male. Only 35 per cent of workers in the knitwear industry, which is more technology intensive than woven Jagannath University | Prepared By: GLADIATOR

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ECONOMIC CONTRIBUTION OF WOMEN IN BANGLADESH: A Competitive Study on RMG, Agriculture Agriculture & SME

garments, are women. The export-oriented RMG sector has made crucial contribution to this above mentioned transformation of the Bangladesh economy and as well as in empowerment of the women.

2.1 Development of RMG sector: The RMG sector plays a critical role in the development of the economy. It has not only provided livelihood to many people but changed the role of women in the society. Female workers played a significant role in working in the garments sector and boosting the economy. Female workers can give a lot of effort in the work field and contributes to the family welfare. The garments sector lead to economic freedom of around 1.5million women. With their renewed sources of income, many small industries began to emerge. Industries like cosmetics and clothing began to cater to the increasing demands of the women.

Key issues: 

Capacity building is crucial for entrepreneurship development in Bangladesh.

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The garments sector and micro-credit scheme transformed the face of economy in the country especially for women.

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Over the several years, the mobility of women, especially in urban sectors, has improved.

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As women became more involved in business; they also changed the standard of living of their families.

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Women have successfully played dual roles in both professional and personal lives.

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Women entrepreneurs understand the way of doing business and have even diversified their business into different sectors.

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Women can thrive more in the field of business if they have better information and financial sources.

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Women have played key role in managing their families even in disasters.

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The development agenda needs to change from a social-welfare approach to a realistic approach.

2.2 Women Workers’ Participation in the RMG Sector: Women‟s participation in the formal economy of Bangladesh has traditionally been low

compared to that of men. The structure of gender participation has undergone a major shift Jagannath University | Prepared By: GLADIATOR

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ECONOMIC CONTRIBUTION OF WOMEN IN BANGLADESH: A Competitive Study on RMG, Agriculture & SME

with the emergence of the export oriented RMG sector in the late 1980s and its continued expansion in the 1990s. The female labour force currently accounts for about 90 percent of the total employment in this sector. In fact success of the country‟s flagship export -oriented

industry – the RMG industry – is built to a large extent, on the supply of cheap and flexible female labour in the country.

2.3 The contemporary scenario of RMG sector of Bangladesh: The readymade garments sector (RMG) is now-a-days been called the vital life line of Bangladesh economy. As in micro-finance, the RMG sector has also benefited immensely from the lost cost labor of poor women of Bangladesh. RMG sector now occupies a very significant position in the economy of Bangladesh accounting around 5% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the country. The RMG products were quite unknown even before 1980s; the export of this sector became prominent within a short span of time. Currently around 2.2 million people -- 80 percent being women -- are engaged in this sector for their livelihoods. Bangladesh has more than 4500 garment factories fetched US$ 7.9 billion in 2006 compared to US$.6 billion in 1990 registering annual growth of about 19%. The share of RMG export in total exports rose from virtually nothing in 1980 to 75 per cent in 2006. In the late 1980s, raw jute and jute products overwhelmingly dominated the export sector constituting 74 per cent of the export accruals. This was later replaced by a robust growth of the RMG sector.

Poverty

GDP Growth

Alleviation

Employment

RMG

Socioeconomic Changes

Bangladesh‟s export of textile and Ready Made Garments (RMG) make up 6% of the world‟s total

export. The graph below shows the RMG export growth over the year in our country. Jagannath University | Prepared By: GLADIATOR

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45.00 40.00 35.00 30.00 25.00 20.00 15.00 10.00 5.00 0.00 -5.00 -10.00 1 9 0 9 9 1

2 9 1 9 9 1

3 9 2 9 9 1

4 9 3 9 9 1

5 9 4 9 9 1

6 9 5 9 9 1

7 9 6 9 9 1

8 9 7 9 9 1

9 9 8 9 9 1

0 0 9 9 9 1

1 0 0 0 0 2

2 0 1 0 0 2

3 0 2 0 0 2

4 0 3 0 0 2

5 0 4 0 0 2

6 0 5 0 0 2

7 0 6 0 0 2

8 0 7 0 0 2

2.4 Some introductory notes focusing on conceptualising the term contribution of women: We all know that the empowerment of women is one of the central issues in the process of development of countries all over the world. And traditionally we define it as “Empowerment is a

multi faceted, multi-dimensional and multi- layered concept. Women‟s empowerment is a process in which women gain greater share of control over resources - material, human and intellectual like knowledge, information, ideas and financial resources like money - and access to money and control over decision-making in the home, community, society and nation, and to gain `power'”.

2.4.1 How financial solvency and empowerment are related: The intervention of garment industry in Bangladesh gave unskilled, illiterate or less educated women in urban areas a great opportunity to have certain incomes. Girls and women who previously didn‟t have any income or were working as domestics in household s only for

survival could escape from their poor dependent life cycle by virtue of wage employment in garment industries. From all over Bangladesh girls and women migrated to different cities hoping to get some opportunities of earning money and reducing their dependency on others. Women‟s presence in the garment industry is a huge achievement in a country where women‟s visibility is extremely low. The graph below shows the Employed Female Labor Force (in millions):

Jagannath University | Prepared By: GLADIATOR

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12.00

11.30

10.00 7.90

8.00 6.00 4.00 2.60 2.00

0.90

1.40

0.00 1974

1981

1983-84

1999-

2005-06

2000

In Bangladesh poor, unskilled, girls and women who did not have any other choice rather than to domestic workers for their livelihood were attracted by the opportunity of getting jobs and earn money. Thus they have got a chance to come out of the circle of poverty and oppression. Women from the poorest backgrounds both in rural and urban areas, found a new dimension of life, which lead them towards economic freedom.

2.4.2 How contribution of women can reduce the gender disparity: Women who work in Garment industries experience a very significant impact on their social and family life. Through this labor force participation, women have access to resources that is they earn money and on one hand and on the other hand they have more mobility in the socio-economic sphere, which increases their awareness and knowledge in various ways on many socio- political aspects. Women‟s earning capacity and their contribution to the family increases their economic value in the family. Once totally dependent on others for her survival a women becomes capable to earn money and able to live her own life with her income. She is perceived as an earning member of the family and her fallback position is improved. Since her income means a lot for a poor family, she has more decision making power. This process of economic empowerment reduces women‟s vulnerability in the family and hence men‟s attitudes toward her also changes.


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Furthermore, a sense of solidarity has been developed among women as a result of group work. They help each other during a crisis either financial or other family related. This solidarity of women becomes a threat to men as they realize that women are not alone now. If one women is in problem other members will try to protect her, moreover self awareness of women through self dependence means they no longer accepts all types of behaviour of men.

2.4.3 Economic capabilities: Economic capabilities of women have been enhanced by the employment generated by the ready-made garments industry. In previous decades women were engaged in paid work to a limited extent in the agricultural sector, at construction sites and as domestic maids. Now in the ready-made garment industry, women on average have the opportunity to receive higher and possibly more regular wages in the industry than in other alternatives open to them. However, during some periods, wages in the ready-made garments industry did not keep up with inflation, making survival hard. Nevertheless, employment in garments factories enhances women‟s economic capabilities to spend, save and inv est their incomes. Some are

able to save for their dowry, which is a big motivation for the unmarried women to join this industry.


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2.4.4 Social capabilities: Women‟s social capabilities have been enhanced as they are now able to develop an identity

for themselves, have social visibility and command respect in their additional role of earning members of society. There is a change in aspirations of women and girls and their families towards education, employment, marriage and child bearing. Earlier girls got married upon attaining puberty, thus transitioning abruptly from childhood to womanhood. There is evidence that now more families are investing in girls‟ education with a view to engage them

in the garments industry. This is occurring simultaneously with changes in attitudes and practices towards girls‟ education in Bangladesh as a result of sustained advocacy and ground

work by many non-government and government organizations. Upon gaining experience in the industry, some women change factories as this may improve their prospects for getting higher. Most entrants in the ready-made garments industry are new entrants into the labor force, a pointer to the social changes taking place. This is significant at the population level since Bangladesh has the highest fertility rate of 147 per 1000 girls for the age group 15-19 than anywhere in the world. Further, the spillover effect of women‟s employment in the

ready-made garments industry may be that it contributes to changing the existing community norms of early marriage for all girls and not just for working girls.

2.4.5 Political capabilities: Women‟s political capabilities are also being enhanced as women workers especially those in

the export processing zone (EPZ) factories, are more aware of their rights now. Strikes in garment factories now make national and sometimes international news. Pressure from the disruption and strikes of 2006 paved the way for discussions with factory owners and government officials that eventually yielded a new minimum wage for garment workers and other concessions. However trade unions are still dominated by males and they do not necessarily address concerns specific to women such as child care, sexual harassment and problems in getting safe transportation, especially when working late at night.

There are several ways where the field of women entrepreneurship can be further enhanced: 

The field of development consists of people who do not have entrepreneurial mindset. It is important to change the perspective of development from a social-welfare approach to a realistic approach. Jagannath University | Prepared By: GLADIATOR

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ECONOMIC CONTRIBUTION OF WOMEN IN BANGLADESH: A Competitive Study on RMG, Agriculture & SME 

The mind set of lenders should be changed as women are generally good borrowers and they understand the dynamics of doing business.

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The aspects of equity in society and economic development of women needs to be given adequate assistance. These two factors are important to enhance the role of women in the development of the economy of Bangladesh.

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The economic activities of women needs to be increased in order to foster the economic growth of Bangladesh.

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Capacity development can make the environment more conducive to the women entrepreneurship growth.

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A framework needs to be created to provide women entrepreneurs with adequate information and greater financial assistance.

2.5 The Immediate Steps: The workers are the backbone of the RMG sector, at least in case of Bangladesh. They keep the chain rotating, but their welfare is often lost in the queue. They have no voice in policymaking. A comprehensive strategy demands economic justice for workers, providing for human dignity, fair exchange and the participation of everyone. It is essential that employers change the mindset towards corporate responsibility that ensures decent work as upheld in ILO charters. The immediate steps suggested below are doable. 

Insurance for Workers: The workers‟ contributions to the economy in recent times

have kept the country afloat in terms of the highest contribution to the balance of payments. The RMG sector comprises 80 per cent of the export basket for Bangladesh (USD 5.1 billion) while remittances constitute nearly 2.5 billion US dollars. Foreign aid brought in only of USD 1.25 billion in FY02. A one per cent exports tax totals 50 million US Dollar, which could comprise the paid up capital of a Workers Insurance Fund. 

Enforcement and Monitoring of Labour Standards: There is no denying that many

good labour-friendly laws are written in the statute books. What is conspicuously missing is enforcement mechanism and the political will or capacity of the government to enforce and monitor labour standards. An independent Labour Standards Commission should be set up which will not only ensure workers‟ rights, but will also serve to boost exports in the wake of consumers‟ awareness for ethical buying. This Jagannath University | Prepared By: GLADIATOR

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kind of commission could replace the codes of conducts being touted by the large-scale multinational buying houses.

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Letter of Appointment and Minimum Wages: Employers should immediately institute

regulations mandating that all factories must give contracts or appointment letters to their employees and these appointment letters and contracts should clearly spell out provisions and conditions of work and terms of service, in a manner compatible with human rights and ILO conventions. BGMEA should remain firm to ensure compliance with this provision. The employers should forthwith implement the Minimum Wage Ordinance, 1994. Studies have shown that higher wages may actually reduce the cost of production through improvement of the working environment, providing greater incentives to workers, thereby increasing productivity. It is imperative that compliance with the Factory Act, 1965 is ensured.

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Low-cost Housing: A prime insecurity and disincentives faced by migrated workers is

finding a safe and secure place to live. A housing scheme involving owner-bankgovernment-NGO is feasible if the government comes forward with land.

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Training for Skill Development: There is a need for a concerted effort to scale up the

skills of the existing workers as well as helping them find alternative forms of employment. This may require building of new institutions, especially for those who have been retrenched.

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Security: Security appears to be real cause of concern for the garment workers,

especially those that must work in the evenings. Travel to and from the factories is dangerous: women are often sexually harassed and sometimes raped. Since the garment factories, even without planned settlements, have clustered in a few areas of the city, and workers also tend to live near the factories, a special contingent of police should be deployed in these areas to protect the workers while they commute from home to the factory and back. 

Transport: Women workers are often verbally and sexually harassed and sometimes

raped, when travelling to and from the factories. They are further constrained by their low-wages which prohibits them from taking public transport to work. Long commutes to work effects their health and hence their productivity. The owners may arrange Jagannath University | Prepared By: GLADIATOR

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contractual bus service for workers, as has been the practice in the government and for other private sector businesses.

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Spread of Ownership: A rights-based incentive structure demands an incentive system

based on shared ownership. This will not only unleash productive capacity through active engagement in the workplace but also act as a dividend for the investment of their labour which rotates the cycle of value chain forward.

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.

3.1 Crop production: Paddy is the major crop in Bangladesh and grown in nearly 80% of the cultivated land. Wheat, sugarcane, tobacco, oilseeds, pulses, potatoes are the other principal crops grown in the country. Tea and jute are the main cash crops. Tropical fruits, spices, vegetables are included in the production system. In Bangladesh, a common social perception exists according to which women in the farm households do not perform field and market work and men do not undertake most of the productive activities carried out in the proximity of the homestead.

But in reality among poor households, such clearly demarcated gender divisions of labour do not apply. The traditional gender relations with women's involvement in post-harvest work and men's in fieldwork have not remained static over time. Presently, due to extreme poverty and a food crisis, social norms and traditions are changing and women are appearing in the Jagannath University | Prepared By: GLADIATOR

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field as well. About 60-70% of women from landless and near-landless households work as agricultural wage labourers, whereas women from larger farms do not participate in field activities. In the Grameen Krishi Foundation working areas in North-West Bangladesh, women equally share all tasks in rice production, even the presumably male task of irrigation.

3.2 Forestry: Forests are limited to 14% of the total land area in Bangladesh. In 1992-93, the country had a forest cover of only 1.89 million ha. Since early 1974, due to the conversion of forests into agricultural land and rapid urbanization, forests have declined markedly. Mangroves account for nearly half of the total forest cover. Timber, firewood, Golpata, bamboo, sungrass, honey, wax, cane are derived from the forest. Women use the forest products for food, fuel as well as for handicrafts. Women in rural Bangladesh are responsible for obtaining the household fuel supply. They collect firewood from the forests. A traditional role of Bangladeshi women is collecting dung for fuel from the forests where cattle grazes. Cow dung is the largest source (6.6 million ton or 26%) of traditional fuels in the unorganized sector. Women also have a major role in homestead forestry.

3.3 Fisheries: Fishing is predominantly artisanal although there is an industrialized processing sector geared to export. Rice and fish constitute principal elements in an average person's daily diet. Innumerable rivers, canals, tanks and paddy fields and other low-lying and depressed areas are the sources of fish of hundreds of varieties. Bangladesh has an extensive marine fishery potential mainly in the Bay of Bengal South of the country. Women in Bangladesh have diversified roles in fisheries, with substantial participation in small-scale fisheries. In Barisal and Rajshahi districts, women catch fish. They, to a large extent, carry out the drying, curing, and marketing of fish as hawkers, stall keepers in permanent market places and weekly bazaars. The majority of the employees in shrimp processing plants in Chittagong and Khulna are women. Women are also predominantly involved in net-making, the main income generating occupation in many families, and freshwater fish farming. Women have traditionally participated primarily as family labour in preparing fish nets and, in some areas, in fish processing. In some NGO and government


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programs, women from landless households cultivate fish individually or jointly in leased ponds, either within or near the homestead.

3.4 Livestock: Livestock is an important component of the farming systems in Bangladesh, and cattle, goat and poultry are the most commonly reared animals. Cattle are raised mostly for draft power. Goats and poultry are raised primarily as a source of cash income. In Bangladesh, women are in general responsible for livestock and poultry rearing. Poultry rearing is a traditional activity performed by women for income generation. Feeding livestock, cleaning sheds, securing them properly for the night, and health care are the activities performed by women. Men are involved in the heavy work with the animals such as taking them out of the compound. Owing to their crucial role in livestock care, women are generally consulted while buying and selling the livestock. Women take care of the farmyard manure collection thus reducing recycling, which has important consequences for soil fertility.

3.5 Environment: A number of environmental hazards in Bangladesh have an impact on rural livelihoods in general and on women's lives in particular. Serious flooding is a constant threat, destroying crops, livestock and human life. Rapid forest degradation has forced women and girls to go further afield to collect fuel wood, which along with the other tasks has reduced girls' opportunities to attend school. Destruction of mangroves for shrimp cultivation has made women, who usually collect firewood to earn their livelihood, jobless. Though some of them obtained employment in pre-processing factories near shrimp farms, the pay is low. Women's traditional role of collecting dung for fuel has become increasingly impossible as the number of cattle decreased due to the decline in fodder availability. Moreover, mangrove destruction has resulted in the saline inundation of the fields surrounding the homesteads along the coastline, impeding women's contribution through kitchen gardening, livestock and poultry rearing.

3.6 Rural production: In families engaged in weaving, pottery or production of oil or syrup, women have fixed responsibilities in relation to the finished product. In weaving, women undertake all the Jagannath University | Prepared By: GLADIATOR

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activities prior to loom work. In pottery, women perform the lower portion of the work in pitching pots and handle the drying. Women in some areas are also involved in processing jute for the market. Women also earn cash income as agricultural wage labourers. In sericulture, women contribute nearly half the total work hours. Silkworm rearing and cocoon reeling are the two critical activities dominated by women. They are also involved in mulberry planting. Women have the main responsibility in post-harvest processing of rice and other agriculture commodities that provide a source of income. Men generate income especially as migrant non-agricultural wage labourers in transportation, construction, service works. In Bangladesh, a very active NGO community serves rural women's credit needs and assist them in micro-enterprise development. Special government program are also in place to address the needs of vulnerable rural women.

3.7 Food security: Despite a noticeable improvement in recent years, yields, particularly of food crops, still fall short of attainable levels. The seasonal variations in food availability and uneven access also creates household food insecurity. Combined with population growth which places greater pressure on the land, there has been an increase in indebtedness, landlessness and destitution. In Bangladesh, fully half the country's population cannot afford an adequate diet. Over 95% of women headed households, which account for about 8% of rural households, fall below the poverty line. Of these, 30% are amongst the hard core poor with cash incomes 40% below those of poor male-headed households. Women share only 23.1% in total earned income in the country. The question of intra-household allocation of food is also very important, especially for its gender dimension. Food insecurity is a critical concern with widespread child and maternal malnutrition. Shortage of dairy products for baby food is also acute. The factors responsible for this are reduced crop diversification and low productivity of high nutrition crops, substantial food losses at all stages in the food chain, seasonal inefficiency in water use, and market price distortion.

Recently, women in the poor households have been identified as the 'victims' as well as 'managers' of household food security. Women as producers of food and livestock as well as primary meal makers have important responsibilities to ensure household food security. As primary managers of livestock, women ensure a supply of high-quality protein to the country. Women dominate home garden production thus improving the variety and quality of the Jagannath University | Prepared By: GLADIATOR

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family diet. Women adopt diverse and intense household resource-use strategies to cope with food deficit situations, such as during the lean season and natural disasters. Women intensify their efforts in homestead production and seek non-farm production options.

The development of women entrepreneurship in Bangladesh is perceived as a low priority agendum. Therefore, it is evident that policies and programs for encouraging and supporting women

entrepreneurship

are

few.

This

section

attempts

at

identifying

women

entrepreneurship related policies and objectives adopted in various national documents of Bangladesh. Women entrepreneurship related policies and objectives adopted in various international documents, which the GoB ratifies, have also been identified in this section:

4.1 Women entrepreneurship related policies and objectives in various Five Year Plans of Bangladesh: The importance of women entrepreneurship in Bangladesh was first at acknowledged in the Second Five year Plan (1980-85). The Second Five Year Plan emphasized creating a congenial atmosphere for women‟s increased participation in development by expanding

opportunities for skill development, credit and entrepreneurship development. The same policies and programs were adopted in the Third Five Year Plan (1985-1990). The Fourth Five Year Plan (1990-95) placed women within the context of macro framework with multisectoral thrust. During this plan period, women were brought under various credit programs mainly for developing micro entrepreneurship among the poor and disadvantaged women. The gender policies and objectives adopted in the Fifth Five Year Plan (1997-2002) were also supportive of developing entrepreneurships among women of Bangladesh. Women entrepreneurship development related policies and objectives adopted in the Fifth Five Year Plan are as follows:

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Ensure women‟s legal rights in property inheritance,

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Ensure women‟s equal right to skill, information resources and opportunities,

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Promote women‟s economic self reliance,

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Ensure women‟s access to managerial training,

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Ensure women‟s access to credit facilities, Jagannath University | Prepared By: GLADIATOR

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ECONOMIC CONTRIBUTION OF WOMEN IN BANGLADESH: A Competitive Study on RMG, Agriculture & SME 

Create appropriate institutional arrangement with necessary financial and human resources and authorities at all levels to mainstream women‟s concern in al l

aspects and sectors of development

4.2 Women entrepreneurship related objectives in NAP: The Government of Bangladesh developed a National Action Plan for Women‟s Advancement (NAP) in 1997. The NAP emphasizes the strategy of mainstreaming women‟s

development into the policies and programs undertaken by various ministries, departments and agencies of the Government of Bangladesh. This plan puts emphasis on responsibilities of all stakeholders to bring women in all spheres of life. It also emphasizes the need for inter sectoral linkages, networking, co-ordination and collaboration for women‟s development. In this context, NAP assigned a definitive set of responsibilities to the Ministry of Industry to finance, train and provide other support to develop women‟s capability to undertake

production enterprise. The main objectives of NAP in relation to women entrepreneurship development are as follows: 

Adopt a comprehensive and sustainable industrial policy that will promote equity for men and women.

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Increase the number of women entrepreneurs

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Develop women‟s entrepreneurial skill

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Ensure women‟s easy access to market

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Provide infrastructural facilities for women entrepreneurs and

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Upgrade the technical know-how of women and develop technology suitable for women

4.3 Women entrepreneurship related policies and objectives in the PRSP: Bangladesh has prepared a poverty reduction strategy paper (PRSP) to achieve efficiency in reducing poverty and to attain sustainable socio-economic development. This report extensively discusses the gender dimension of poverty and has adopted a right-based approach to eliminate gender gap from all spheres of life. The same approach has been adopted for the advancement of women. In this context, PRSP has emphasized the development of women entrepreneurship as one of the means to women‟s advancement. It is Jagannath University | Prepared By: GLADIATOR

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very encouraging to notice that one suggested intervention is regarding the amendment of the family and inheritance laws to ensure women‟s equal access to the right to own and inherit

property. In fact, it is a long felt demand of the women groups of Bangladesh because of the fact that lack of ownership of property is the root cause of all forms gender inequality. It is also one of the root causes of low level entrepreneurship development among the women of Bangladesh.

4.4 Women entrepreneurship related objectives in International Treaties: Bangladesh is also a signatory of several international treaties regarding women‟s development. Among these, Convention for the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against women (CEDAW) and Platform for Action (PFA), Fourth World Conference on Women, Beijing 1995, are important.

4.5 Problems: 4.5.1 Major problems faced in family:

Women faced various hindrances in their attempts to become entrepreneurs and the foremost obstacles were from their own family members. There were 81.1% respondents to this question. Amongst the women entrepreneurs 1.2% faced the problems from their parents who did not want them to be in the line of business. This came mostly for those who were not married or stayed with their parents. The next was for the married women (1.4%) who faced problems from their husbands, since husbands did not usually approve of their freedom out of houses and also their attitude in response to the conservative society. Moreover, in many instances it was found that husbands did not want their wives to be successful in life and earn fame. It was natural for the in-laws not to like the free movement of the women outside homes. This was mentioned by 0.6% women, who faced problems from in-laws in working as entrepreneurs. 17.3% mentioned of other problems which they faced from families as women entrepreneurs. 18.2% did not spend for family purpose and this created problems for them in managing their business activities. It was interesting to note that 42.5% women did not face any problems from their families.


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4.5.2 Major problems faced in society:

Major problems faced in society by the women entrepreneurs were those which the women in this country face when they try to use the freedom of movement in this male-dominated social structure. 12% complained that religious leaders did not approve of women in business and these issues became religious barrier by people. 9% complained of the male domination of the society and 9% also mentioned about the security problems faced in business and at work, 4% reminded that family heads did not like women to work out side homes. 12% women entrepreneurs mentioned about backbiting of the society including nasty remarks and bad comments about women‟s free movement as businesswomen. 7% said that they could not move alone

at night safely, 7% reminded that the women were not equally accepted as their male entrepreneurs also stated about the transport problem for marketing and movement. 6% said that women could not participate alone in social work and enjoy social occasions, while 5% spoke of non-cooperation of the society people regarding business development and out-house activities. 6% said that they could not move freely in the society and 6% pointed out the negative attitude of the social leaders. 5% mentioned that the conservative society did not allow women in business or work outside at night, while 5% complained of teasing by men & hoodlums.

4.6 Recommendations: A recent survey conducted by the Power and Participation Research Centre (PPRC), showed that females constitute only one percent of the sample, indicating the very limited presence of women in formal businesses. To enhance the participation of women in formal businesses the following recommendations have been developed: 

Increase the ability of women to participate in the labour force by ensuring the availability of affordable child care and equal treatment in the work place. More generally,

improving

the

position

of

women

in

society

and

promoting

entrepreneurship generally will have benefits in terms of women‟s entrepreneurship. 

Listen to the voice of women entrepreneurs. The creation of government offices of women's business ownership is one way to facilitate this. Such offices could have program responsibilities such as providing women's business centre, organizing


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information seminars and meetings and providing web-based information to those wanting to start and grow a business. 

Incorporate a women's entrepreneurial dimension in the formation of all SME-related policies. This can be done by ensuring that the impact on women's entrepreneurship is taken into account at the design stage.



Promote the development of women entrepreneur networks. These are major sources of knowledge about women‟s entrepreneurship and valuable tools for its development

and promotion. Co-operation and partnerships between national and international networks can facilitate entrepreneurial endeavors by women in a global economy. 

Periodically evaluate the impact of any SME-related policies on the success of women-owned businesses and the extent to which such businesses take advantage of them. The objective should be to identify ways to improve the effectiveness of those that should be retained. Good practices that are identified in this way should be disseminated and shared internationally.

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The central bank should determine a target for each bank to provide loans for women SMEs and form a monitoring team to monitor the implementation.

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A number of institutions, including NGOs, should increase the amount of credit so that women can develop themselves as entrepreneurs especially to business starters.



Banks can organize training on women SME development, which will enable them to find more female credible clients.

The Government should take initiatives to increase the research program on women entrepreneurship development and provide financial support to the institutions that are currently involved in research activities on women entrepreneurship development.


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As a student of Marketing and as being a young development ambassador of my country, I think both the issue we have focused is very important of the mainstream development process of my country, the one is about the present economic backbone of my country that is the RMG, Agriculture & SME sector and the other is empowerment of women. Years back in Bangladesh women were discriminated in socio-cultural, economic and legal practice. Women‟s very limited access to education, employment , health, nutrition, and other

fundamental rights makes them poor and dependent on men. But now the scenario has changed and half of our total population is on the move towards the development stream. Even if we see the third and fifth goal of the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) we can see that both majorly focuses on Gender, one is about empowering the women and providing equity for them and the other is concerned with maternal health. So if carefully nurtured, we think we have a bright future ahead.


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Walid-Al-Zubayer, Md., Finance (BBA), University of Dhaka, SME: A Prospect for the Developing.



Mintoo, A.A (2006), “SMEs in Bangladesh”, CACCI journal, vol. 1 .

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http://ezinearticles.com/?Overview-of-Bangladesh-Garment-Industry&id=367773

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http://orp.aiub.edu/FileZone/OtherFiles/orpadmin85899941382301881110/AIUBBUS-ECON-2010-05.pdf

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http://www.discoverybangladesh.com/meetbangladesh/fisheries_livestock.html


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Economic contribution of women in Bangladesh

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