The traditional norm of women staying inside the house and men providing them protection has been changing as a result of economic and demographic developments. Recent trends show that women are increasingly taking up new challenges in the market economy. Female labour force participation has increased significantly since the late eighties, both in the traditional and the extended definition of work. According to the extended definition, labour force includes expenditure-saving activities performed by women, such as threshing, cleaning, care of livestock and poultry, food processing, boiling, drying, etc.
Labour force participation by female has increased to 29.2 percent, according to the Labour Force Survey (LFS) of 2005-06, from 9.4 percent in LFS of 1985-86 (Figure 1). Unemployment rate is higher among women compared to men, though the gap has narrowed over the years.
Women’s employment is mostly in the agriculture sector (Figure 2). The role of women in agriculture has increased steadily both within and outside their homesteads due to economic pressure and migration of men to the cities in search of better opportunities. The LFS 2005-06 shows that 66.5 percent of the women who participate in the labour force are involved in the agriculture sector. In many areas, such as Dinajpur and Rangpur districts, women also work in the agricultural fields in weeding and harvesting activities. They also take agricultural decisions, such as when to produce what and with what inputs.
Women’s participation in the industrial and manufacturing sectors has increased fast since the mid-eighties thanks to the ready-made garments sector, where females make up 80 percent of the labour force. The construction industry absorbs a large number of women. In the manufacturing sector, apart from RMG, export oriented industries such as electronic, pharmaceuticals, garments and shrimp processing have attracted a large number of women. They are also employed in jute and textiles, rice mills, hotels, restaurants and medical clinics. Women’s education, skills, kinship ties and age are the important factors for entering into the formal sector.
In the informal sector, women are employed in domestic service, construction work, water carrying, sweeping, etc. Informal manufacturing units also employ women in unskilled and low-paid activities, such as making paper bags, jute rope, bidi, etc. In the rural areas, women’s participation in gainful activities has increased due to their engagement in various income-generating activities taken up with credit from government and non-government organisations.
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