Academic literature on the topic 'Wages Women Bangladesh'

The economic relationship between Japan and Bangladesh has grown stronger since the global financial crisis of 2008, with Bangladesh being identified as ‘China plus one’ by the Japanese companies. These companies have accordingly begun transferring the capital from China to Bangladesh to avoid political and social risks in China. This article examines the skills, wages, and householding of female Bangladeshi readymade garment workers, focussing on a Japanese multinational company’s international transfers and business activities in Bangladesh since the global financial crisis. This study yielded three main findings. First, it identified the structure of the division of labour involved in the production of pairs of short pants exported to Japan. Second, it compared 20 female operators’ wage assessments to those of the overall labour force, based on their skills and experience, and pointed out ambiguous and unfounded issues caused by the gender-asymmetrical workforce deployment of Bangladeshi factories. This gender-asymmetrical system is responsible for Bangladeshi female workers’ low wages. Finally, despite their low wages, the analyzed Bangladeshi women were found to share multiple household reproduction costs through remittances and perform most of the housework and care work in the household. JEL: B54, F23, F66, O53

The recent bilateral agreement between Bangladesh and the Gulf Cooperation Countries (GCC) has facilitated migration of female domestic workers, which has opened up an opportunity as well as challenge for Bangladesh. Opportunities are quite significant in a sense that male migration has already been saturated in the GCC countries which has a major impact on the flow of remittances. The abundant and employable female labour force in Bangladesh could easily contribute to this international labour migration, and thereby add to the national economic development. There are serious problems as well since many Bangladeshi female domestic workers are reported to be exploited, sexually abused and raped by the middle man, recruiting agents, and the overseas employers. Many women fled from their employer and sought shelter at the Bangladesh consulate in Jeddah and Riyadh, alleging that they are either being tortured, not properly fed, paid, or not given job as promised. Many female migrants left their family members and young children at home in Bangladesh, which created further social problems as women are still considered as homemakers and childcare providers in the Bangladeshi cultural context. At this backdrop, the time is up to find out ways to make female domestic migration safe and secure. Both the sending and receiving countries must come up with policies and awareness programs that would ensure safety for the female domestic workers. It requires a strong commitment from both the sending and receiving countries that the policies, acts and laws are in favour of female migrant workers. National and international NGOs, civil society and media could play vital role to adopt and implement appropriate policies for safe and sound migration of the female domestic workers.

There are labour laws pertinent to health issues of garment workers in Bangladesh. The laws cover work hours, wages, sick leave, maternity leave and benefits, compensation and other working environment related issues. Because of the lack of implementation and/or violation of the laws, workers often suffer from health hazards both at work and at home. The problem is compounded by the fact that workers are unaware of many of the laws and the benefits they are entitled to because of lack of education and resources. The Bangladesh government, garment employers and different international and national NGOs have important roles to play in reducing the health hazards of workers. The paper discusses different types of illnesses and through narratives of women garment workers explores health hazards experienced by them. It also suggests solutions for policy-makers, NGO activists, employers and workers.

The study was conducted to find out what significant socioeconomic impact and how microfinance programs play the key role on the development of Bangladesh. To observe that we tried to find out in which way it is playing its role and what kind of socioeconomic impacts are related with microeconomic programs. Microfinance programs are providing a significant role in the development of Bangladesh by providing financial assistance to the lower income but self-employed people. They have turned into employed by getting the financial support from the different institutions especially from Grameen Bank, BRAC etc. The poverty level has minimized a lot from the rural area and household income increase by around one-third. Wages and marginal propensity to consumption (MPC) increased especially for women and it creates positive impact on children's schooling: A 1.05% increase in Grameen Bank female borrowers increases the probability of school enrollment by 1.8% for girls and 1.99% for boys. Microfinance also contributed to smoothening consumption level and reducing vulnerability of life of people. It plays a role in eradicating poverty, promoting education, improving health and empowering women.

Abstract We study how women's choices over labor activities in village economies correlate with poverty and whether enabling the poorest women to take on the activities of their richer counterparts can set them on a sustainable trajectory out of poverty. To do this we conduct a large-scale randomized control trial, covering over 21,000 households in 1,309 villages surveyed four times over a seven-year period, to evaluate a nationwide program in Bangladesh that transfers livestock assets and skills to the poorest women. At baseline, the poorest women mostly engage in low return and seasonal casual wage labor while wealthier women solely engage in livestock rearing. The program enables poor women to start engaging in livestock rearing, increasing their aggregate labor supply and earnings. This leads to asset accumulation (livestock, land, and business assets) and poverty reduction, both sustained after four and seven years. These gains do not crowd out the livestock businesses of noneligible households while the wages these receive for casual jobs increase as the poor reduce their labor supply. Our results show that (i) the poor are able to take on the work activities of the nonpoor but face barriers to doing so, and, (ii) one-off interventions that remove these barriers lead to sustainable poverty reduction.

Abstract Objectives Scaling-up nutrition interventions during pregnancy may provide human capital gains by lowering the risk of adverse birth outcomes associated with reduced long-term socioeconomic outcomes. We estimated gains in years of schooling and lifetime wages of scaling up prenatal maternal nutrition interventions for a 137 low- and middle-income countries. Methods Through a comprehensive review of the literature, we identified four prenatal maternal nutrition interventions with convincing-level of evidence for improving birth outcomes: prenatal multiple micronutrient supplements (MMS), calcium supplements, iron-folic acid supplements (IFA), and balanced protein energy supplements (BEP) among underweight pregnant women (BMI < 18.5 kg/m2). Effect sizes for intervention impact were derived from systematic reviews and random-effects meta-analysis. We focused on low birthweight (LBW) and preterm birth (PTB) as primary birth outcomes. We used the 2015 LBW and PTB prevalence estimates to calculate country-specific absolute reductions attributable to scaling-up a given prenatal nutrition invention. We then used an effect size based on a de novo review of the economics literature to quantify gains in schooling and lifetime wages due to reductions in LBW/PTB under two hypothetical scale-up scenarios of 50% and 90% coverage. Results For each country, returns on schooling and lifetime wages were estimated for scaling-up each prenatal nutrition intervention. For example, in Bangladesh, scaling-up IFA supplements from current coverage of 26% to 90% was estimated to reduce LBW prevalence by 3.2% contributing to a predicted increase of 0.11 million school years and US$153 million in wages per birth cohort. Similarly, scaling-up MMS, calcium supplements, and BEP to 90% coverage was predicted to increase schooling by 0.25, 0.17, and 0.07 million years, and wages by US$338, US$223, and US$97 million, respectively, per birth cohort. Global, regional, and national-level estimates for schooling and wage gains for each nutrition intervention will be presented. Conclusions Our findings indicate that scaling-up prenatal maternal nutrition interventions will contribute to substantial population-level increases in human capital, particularly in countries with a high burden of low birthweight or preterm birth. Funding Sources Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

This study has identified the present situation of the fieldworkers working in the development field, or we can call it data collection work, regarding their social, financial, and employment conditions. There is no existing literature on the social acceptances, financial security, job environment, and job security of the field workers working in the research and development sector. According to the founder president of the Organization of Research Associate in Bangladesh, almost 3500 to 4000 people work in the data collection field. The study found that only a few organizations have a wages policy for the field data collector. If the project budget is high, it will enable them to increase the payment of the fieldworkers. If the budget is low, they have to decrease the payment of the field workers. The working environment for the female workers working in the development sector for women is not well established.

This article undertakes an examination of Bangladesh’s latest available Quarterly Labour Force Survey 2015–2016 data to draw in-depth insights on gender wage gap and wage discrimination in Bangladesh labour market. The mean wage decomposition shows that on average a woman in Bangladesh earns 12.2 per cent lower wage than a man, and about half of the wage gap can be explained by labour market discrimination against women. Quantile counterfactual decomposition shows that women are subject to higher wage penalty at the lower deciles of the wage distribution with the wage gap varying between 8.3 per cent and 19.4 per cent at different deciles. We have found that at lower deciles, a significant part of the gender wage gap is on account of the relatively larger presence of informal employment. Conditional quantile estimates further reveal that formally employed female workers earn higher wage than their male counterparts at the first decile but suffer from wage penalty at the top deciles. JEL: C21, J31, J46, J70

Studies of ethnic residential segregation and its impacts on labour market performance have reported both negative and positive outcomes for different groups in different geographies. We revisit the issue with a particular focus on the Bangladeshi minority in England and Wales using both quantitative and qualitative data to explore the impact of living in segregated areas upon their labour market outcomes. We analyse the 2001 UK Census Controlled Access Microdata Sample (CAMS) and a subset (34 Bangladeshis) of qualitative data collected through in-depth interviews with 73 men and women from Indian, Bangladeshi and Black Caribbean backgrounds in 2005. Our quantitative analysis does show a clear negative impact of living in segregated areas (i.e. Bangladeshi ethnic enclaves) on unemployment, economic inactivity and on the occupational returns on education. Qualitative material suggests that cultural and practical reasons very often lead Bangladeshis, including highly qualified persons, to live in enclaves or nearby. Also, ethnic businesses in enclaves appear to offer jobs to many Bangladeshi men and women, but these jobs are normally low-paid that does not require high qualifications increasing the risk of lower occupational returns further.

AbstractIncreasingly disasters like floods, droughts, cyclones, and heat waves are recurring in the wake of climate change impacts. Women and children are among the most vulnerable, particularly in developing countries. At the same time, young people are among the most eager to respond with solutions to protect populations affected by disasters. In the low-lying riverine country of Bangladesh, YouthMappers are working to create fundamental maps to support the information needs of women who seek safety from climate-inducted disasters, but currently must rely on their husbands for evacuation. Initiatives like our open data mapping that entails participation of young women to alleviate such vulnerabilities toward disasters contribute to global goals for climate (SDG 13) and gender (SDG 5).

Being unemployed or inactive in youth leaves scars, but some people appear to be more successful than others in overcoming an initial disadvantaged situation. This chapter examines how early labor market experiences affect later employment and occupational opportunities for different groups. It compares the outcomes of White British men and women with those of second-generation ethnic minorities (Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, and Caribbean) in England and Wales. It also discusses mechanisms affecting scarring and how they might vary across ethnic groups and genders. The analysis is based on the ONS Longitudinal Study. The examination follows individuals’ labor market experiences from 2001 (aged 16–29 years) to 2011 (aged 26–39 years). Having not been in employment, education, or training (NEET) has a less detrimental effect on later employment probabilities for Asian men than for White British men; the opposite is observed for Pakistani and Caribbean women compared to White British women.

Gender equality and information and communication technology are important in the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in policy, planning, and practice. The 2000 Millennium Declaration of the United Nations (UN) formed an international agreement among member states to work toward the reduction of poverty and its effects by 2015 through eight Millennium Development Goals: 1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger 2. Achieve universal primary education 3. Promote gender equality and the empowerment of women 4. Reduce child and maternal mortality 5. Improve maternal health care 6. Combat HIV and AIDS, malaria, and other major diseases 7. Ensure environmental sustainability 8. Develop global partnership for development Progress toward gender equality and the empowerment of women is one goal that is important to achieving the others. Poverty, hunger, illiteracy, environmental threats, HIV and AIDS, and other health threats disproportionately affect the lives of women and their dependent children. Gender-sensitive ICT applications to education, health care, and local economies have helped communities progress toward the MDGs. ICT applications facilitate rural health-care workers’ access to medical expertise through phones and the Internet. Teachers expand learning resources through the Internet and satellite services, providing a greater knowledge base for learners. Small entrepreneurs with ICT access and training move their local business into world markets. ICT diffusion into world communication systems has been pervasive. Even some of the poorest economies in Africa show the fastest cell-phone growth, though Internet access and landline numbers are still low (International Telecommunications Union [ITU], 2003b). ICT access or a lack of it impacts participation, voice, and decision making in local, regional, and international communities. ICTs impact the systems that move or inhibit MDG progress. UN secretary general Kofi Annan explained the role of the MDGs in global affairs: Millennium Development Goals are too important to fail. For the international political system, they are the fulcrum on which development policy is based. For the billion-plus people living in extreme poverty, they represent the means to a productive life. For everyone on Earth, they are a linchpin to the quest for a more secure and peaceful world. (UN, 2005, p. 28) Annan also stressed the critical need for partnerships to facilitate technology training to enable information exchange and analysis (UN, 2005). ICT facilitates sharing lessons of success and failure, and progress evaluation of work in all the MDG target areas. Targets and indicators measuring progress were selected for all the MDGs. Gender equality and women’s empowerment are critical to the achievement of each other goal. Inadequate access to the basic human needs of clean water, food, education, health services, and environmental sustainability and the support of global partnership impacts great numbers of women. Therefore, the targets and indicators for Goal 3 address females in education, employment, and political participation. Progress toward the Goal 3 target to eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education, preferably by 2005, and in all levels of education no later than 2015, will be measured by the following indicators. • Ratio of girls to boys in primary, secondary, and tertiary education • Ratio of literate females to males who are 15- to 24-year-olds • Share of women in wage employment in the nonagricultural sector • Proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments (World Bank, 2003) Education is positively related to improved maternal and infant health, economic empowerment, and political participation (United Nations Development Program [UNDP], 2004; World Bank, 2003). Education systems in developing countries are beginning to offer or seek ways to provide ICT training as a basic skill and knowledge base. Proactive policy for gender equality in ICT access has not always accompanied the unprecedented ICT growth trend. Many civil-society representatives to the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) argue for ICT access to be considered a basic human right (Girard & Ó Soichrú, 2004; UN, 1948). ICT capability is considered a basic skill for education curriculum at tertiary, secondary, and even primary levels in developed regions. In developing regions, ICT access and capability are more limited but are still tightly woven into economic communication systems. ICTs minimize time and geography barriers. Two thirds of the world’s poor and illiterate are women (World Bank, 2003). Infant and maternal health are in chronic crisis for poor women. Where poverty is highest, HIV and AIDS are the largest and fastest growing health threat. Ninety-five percent of people living with HIV and AIDS are in developing countries, partly because of poor dissemination of information and medical treatment. Women are more vulnerable to infection than men. Culturally reinforced sexual practices have led to higher rates of HIV infection for women. Gender equality and the empowerment of women, starting with education, can help fight the spread of HIV, AIDS, and other major diseases. ICT can enhance health education through schools (World Bank). Some ICT developers, practitioners, and distributors have identified ways to incorporate gender inclusiveness into their policies and practice for problem-solving ICT applications toward each MDG target area. Yet ICT research, development, education, training, applications, and businesses remain male-dominated fields, with only the lesser skilled and salaried ICT labor force approaching gender equality. Successful integration of gender equality and ICT development policy has contributed to MDG progress through several projects in the developing regions. Notable examples are the South-African-based SchoolNet Africa and Bangladesh-based Grameen Bank Village Pay Phone. Both projects benefit from international public-private partnerships. These and similar models suggest the value and importance of linking gender equality and empowerment with global partnership for development, particularly in ICT. This article reports on developing efforts to coordinate the achievement of the MDGs with policy, plans, and practice for gender equality beyond the universal educational target, and with the expansion of ICT access and participation for women and men. The article examines the background and trends of MDG 3, to promote gender equality and the empowerment of women, with particular consideration of MDG 8, to develop global partnership for development, in ICT access and participation.