Gender Champions Network launched to promote workplace equity

The Gender Champions Network (GCN), an initiative of SAJIDA Foundation supported by the Gates Foundation, was launched at an event in Dhaka titled “Transforming Workplaces: Driving Equity and Empowering Action”.

The programme was held at Sheraton Dhaka and attended by business leaders, researchers, development practitioners and corporate professionals, according to a press release.

Representatives of the Gates Foundation were also present.

The event featured the presentation of a study titled “Gender at Work: A Study of Selected Private Sector Firms in Bangladesh”.

The study examined gender equity practices in sectors including manufacturing, healthcare, finance, pharmaceuticals, real estate and leather.

It focused on areas including gender representation, pay equity, recruitment and promotion, workplace culture and access to sexual and reproductive health services.

The findings showed that women account for 22 percent of entry-level positions but only 6 percent of mid-management roles.

The report also found that women earn 85 taka for every 100 taka earned by men, with the gap widening further at leadership level.

A panel discussion moderated by Sajeda Amin, senior research adviser at SAJIDA Foundation, included speakers Anupama Anand of the Gates Foundation, Melita Mehjabeen of Dhaka University and National Bank PLC, Ruhul Quddus Khan of Unilever Bangladesh, Nihad Kabir of Syed Ishtiaq Ahmed & Associates, and Zahida Fizza Kabir of SAJIDA Foundation.

Ruhul Quddus Khan said, “At Unilever, we made gender equality a business imperative by making it accountable for every function head, not just HR. Every organization need to focus on building a strong pipeline by asking where the roadblocks are, not why women are absent to ensure equity.”

Zahida Fizza Kabir said, “Gender justice is not about women only, it is a human right. It is not enough to have women at the top or the bottom; the entire organization must be on that path.”

Anupama Anand said, “In Bangladesh, women make up half the working-age population, yet their labour force participation stands at only 35%. It is not a lack of aspiration; it is the structure that is failing them.”

SAJIDA Foundation said the network aims to support gender equity in Bangladesh’s private sector through collaboration, training, policy advocacy and organisational partnerships.

Ten organisations have joined the network as founding members, according to the organisers.