Maliha Ahmed :
As the month of the year when International Women’s Day is celebrated comes to an end, policy-makers should remember that while availability of economic opportunity might be the first step towards women empowerment, it is not sufficient.
Michelle Obama’s eloquent speech to girls in Argentina urging them to stand up against sexism and encouraging more girls to pursue science and technology breaking gender stereotypes, yet again reminded us that gender based gaps are still pervasive in all societies although the nature and extent of such discrimination differs across countries and different socio-economic groups within countries.
Even in OECD countries women on average earn 16 per cent lesser than men, and the wage differential is greater for women at the high end of the income distribution, indicating presence of ‘glass ceiling.’ Interestingly, the earning differential has been found to be attributable to the occupation and industry that women choose to work in.
Women tend to be choosing these lower paying occupations not due to lack of skills, education or interest, but due to certain occupations or industries being seen as ‘men’s jobs’ or ‘women’s jobs.’ As traditional barriers of gender discrimination no longer exists, the disparity in the labour market earnings have taken a more subtle form in the sense that both men and women are reluctant to move to occupations that it best suited to their real interests but instead molding their choices to fit traditional gender stereotypes.
The case of developed countries somewhat bears a resemblance with the kind of discrimination existing in the upper middle and high income households of Bangladesh, where girls have equal access to education and formal labour market; however, the subtle discrimination manifests itself through gender stereotyping at home, school and community.
It is not uncommon for textbooks to give examples of female nurses and male engineers, and parents to foster dreams in daughters of becoming a teacher and sons of becoming an engineer. Among many well-off families, the concept of ‘women empowerment’ is women having a job that allows them to maintain family and household. Whereas, economic opportunity might be the first and essential step towards empowerment, in the true sense empowerment means giving women the power and independence to pursue their desired career goals and work-family balance.
For Bangladeshi women from disadvantaged backgrounds gender gaps remain much more pronounced and empowerment remains much more elusive. The garment industry provided the first opportunity for economic independence to many of these women. The Rana Plaza tragedy clearly depicted what a ‘double-edged’ sword this industry has been in the lives of these young women.
Many studies have shown garment female workers as having no control over the income they earned, and facing increased levels of abuse and stress due to having to work both outside and at home without help. Many women are in a sense forced to work in the garment industries as they might have no other alternative, and better paid supervisory positions remain mostly occupied by men.
The garment sector has the power to contribute to empowering these women from disadvantaged households due to the massive scale of the industry. Since, downward pressure on wages through further real wage cuts might not be possible, there is incentive for employers to invest in the productivity and skill level of the workers especially the women in order to retain the competitiveness of the industry.
Evidence so far indicates that there remains significant scope for productivity improvements and attempts by garments owners to achieve this through training female employees might benefit these women immensely in terms of obtaining better positions. Each Bangladeshi garment worker accounts for 5,300 dollars in exports compared to 7,000 dollars per garment worker in Vietnam. Also, a recent study by Professor Woodruff of University of Warwick on some garment factories in Bangladesh shows average efficiency rates of 45 per cent and that fewer than 10 percent of managers are female whereas 80 per cent machine operators are female.
Girls now outnumbering boys in both primary and secondary enrollment, the main challenges in developing empowered girls remain the quality of education, early marriage, drop-out rates, safety and security, and deeply embedded gender stereotyping in society.
While in the short to medium run policies favourable policies such as additional security measures, trying to provide safe transport might help, in the long-term the most effective solution is developing both girls and boys from early childhood. Through proper education both at home and school from an early age, their outlook can be influenced so that they consider themselves as being equal each other in every aspect of life and develop constructive attitudes towards their counterparts. Parents, especially those of low-income households, along with teachers need appropriate training and a change in their attitude first to make this possible for their children. Mass media can play an effective role in changing attitudes and also breaking gender stereotypes.
For now, we might have to wait a long time to see the world being an ‘equal’ place for half of its citizens.
As the month of the year when International Women’s Day is celebrated comes to an end, policy-makers should remember that while availability of economic opportunity might be the first step towards women empowerment, it is not sufficient.
Michelle Obama’s eloquent speech to girls in Argentina urging them to stand up against sexism and encouraging more girls to pursue science and technology breaking gender stereotypes, yet again reminded us that gender based gaps are still pervasive in all societies although the nature and extent of such discrimination differs across countries and different socio-economic groups within countries.
Even in OECD countries women on average earn 16 per cent lesser than men, and the wage differential is greater for women at the high end of the income distribution, indicating presence of ‘glass ceiling.’ Interestingly, the earning differential has been found to be attributable to the occupation and industry that women choose to work in.
Women tend to be choosing these lower paying occupations not due to lack of skills, education or interest, but due to certain occupations or industries being seen as ‘men’s jobs’ or ‘women’s jobs.’ As traditional barriers of gender discrimination no longer exists, the disparity in the labour market earnings have taken a more subtle form in the sense that both men and women are reluctant to move to occupations that it best suited to their real interests but instead molding their choices to fit traditional gender stereotypes.
The case of developed countries somewhat bears a resemblance with the kind of discrimination existing in the upper middle and high income households of Bangladesh, where girls have equal access to education and formal labour market; however, the subtle discrimination manifests itself through gender stereotyping at home, school and community.
It is not uncommon for textbooks to give examples of female nurses and male engineers, and parents to foster dreams in daughters of becoming a teacher and sons of becoming an engineer. Among many well-off families, the concept of ‘women empowerment’ is women having a job that allows them to maintain family and household. Whereas, economic opportunity might be the first and essential step towards empowerment, in the true sense empowerment means giving women the power and independence to pursue their desired career goals and work-family balance.
For Bangladeshi women from disadvantaged backgrounds gender gaps remain much more pronounced and empowerment remains much more elusive. The garment industry provided the first opportunity for economic independence to many of these women. The Rana Plaza tragedy clearly depicted what a ‘double-edged’ sword this industry has been in the lives of these young women.
Many studies have shown garment female workers as having no control over the income they earned, and facing increased levels of abuse and stress due to having to work both outside and at home without help. Many women are in a sense forced to work in the garment industries as they might have no other alternative, and better paid supervisory positions remain mostly occupied by men.
The garment sector has the power to contribute to empowering these women from disadvantaged households due to the massive scale of the industry. Since, downward pressure on wages through further real wage cuts might not be possible, there is incentive for employers to invest in the productivity and skill level of the workers especially the women in order to retain the competitiveness of the industry.
Evidence so far indicates that there remains significant scope for productivity improvements and attempts by garments owners to achieve this through training female employees might benefit these women immensely in terms of obtaining better positions. Each Bangladeshi garment worker accounts for 5,300 dollars in exports compared to 7,000 dollars per garment worker in Vietnam. Also, a recent study by Professor Woodruff of University of Warwick on some garment factories in Bangladesh shows average efficiency rates of 45 per cent and that fewer than 10 percent of managers are female whereas 80 per cent machine operators are female.
Girls now outnumbering boys in both primary and secondary enrollment, the main challenges in developing empowered girls remain the quality of education, early marriage, drop-out rates, safety and security, and deeply embedded gender stereotyping in society.
While in the short to medium run policies favourable policies such as additional security measures, trying to provide safe transport might help, in the long-term the most effective solution is developing both girls and boys from early childhood. Through proper education both at home and school from an early age, their outlook can be influenced so that they consider themselves as being equal each other in every aspect of life and develop constructive attitudes towards their counterparts. Parents, especially those of low-income households, along with teachers need appropriate training and a change in their attitude first to make this possible for their children. Mass media can play an effective role in changing attitudes and also breaking gender stereotypes.
For now, we might have to wait a long time to see the world being an ‘equal’ place for half of its citizens.
