Investing in women

ECONOMIC development efforts are being hampered as women in our society are largely excluded from employment opportunities and relegated largely to the role of caregivers at household level. According to experts, for any country to develop economically and reduce poverty, women must be allowed to enter the mainstream job and business environment. Investing in women is not only the job of policymakers. Rather it requires a change in perceptions of our largely male-dominated society that would open up opportunities for women to play a role similar to their male counterparts in taking the country forward.

Although Bangladesh has made commendable progress in advancing girls' education, school enrolment and maternal health, it is their skills that need to be developed so that they may play a more productive role in the workforce. This would mean greater investments to be made in training and education so that we may see women involved in skilled jobs paying higher wages and not merely in labour-intensive occupations such as the garments industry.

Significant challenges to making such a transformation exist, primarily due to societal perceptions on what a woman should or should not be allowed to do. The mindset is changing but not fast enough. Besides, access to opportunity is still lacking. As per one international study conducted by Washington-based International Research Centre for Women, nations experienced the largest reductions in poverty rates where women's participation in the labour force grew fast.