Voices to Choices: Bangladesh's Journey in Women's Economic Empowerment

Solotaroff, Jennifer L.; Kotikula, Aphichoke; Lonnberg, Tara; Ali, Snigdha; Pande, Rohini; Jahan, Ferdous

doi:10.1596/978-1-4648-1374-0

Cited by 31 publications

(36 citation statements)

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“…For example, when a death was registered, securing rights to inherit properties of the deceased was the reason most commonly reported (males: 48%; females: 55%). Since only 13% of women own agricultural land (solely or jointly), compared to 70% of men (Solotaroff et al, 2019), this motivation might explain why male deaths are registered at a higher rate than female deaths. Respondents also stated more frequently that deaths of male relatives were registered to obtain social safety benefits (male deaths: 38%; female deaths: 24%).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Adult death registration in Matlab, rural Bangladesh: completeness, correlates, and obstacles

Haider

Alam

Bashar

et al. 2021

Genus

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Civil registration of vital events such as deaths and births is a key part of the process of securing rights and benefits for individuals worldwide. It also enables the production of vital statistics for local planning of social services. In many low- and lower-middle-income countries, however, civil registration and vital statistics (CRVS) systems do not adequately register significant numbers of births and, especially, deaths. In this study, we aim to estimate the completeness of adult death registration (for age 15 and older) in the Matlab health and demographic surveillance system (HDSS) area in Bangladesh and to identify reasons for (not) registering deaths in the national CRVS system. We conducted a sample survey of 2538 households and recorded 571 adult deaths that had occurred in the 3 years preceding the survey. Only 17% of these deaths were registered in the national CRVS system, with large gender differences in registration rates (male = 26% vs. female = 5%). Respondents who reported that a recent death in the household was registered indicated that the primary reasons for registration were to secure an inheritance and to access social services. The main reasons cited for not registering a death were lack of knowledge about CRVS and not perceiving the benefits of death registration. Information campaigns to raise awareness of death registration, as well as stronger incentives to register deaths, may be needed to improve the completeness of death registration in Bangladesh.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Adult death registration in Matlab, rural Bangladesh: completeness, correlates, and obstacles

Haider

Alam

Bashar

et al. 2021

Genus

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“…During qualitative exploration the researchers identified 4 work-related factors that influenced breastfeeding practices: 1) employment benefits, 2) commute time, 3) workplace environment and 4) labor intensity. With women having increasingly entered the workforce in Bangladesh [ 36 ], promoting the use of expressed breast milk among working women could offer a solution to address what has been the country’s stagnant rate of exclusive breastfeeding.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Work and breast milk feeding: a qualitative exploration of the experience of lactating mothers working in ready made garments factories in urban Bangladesh

Hasan

Smith²,

Selim

et al. 2020

Int Breastfeed J

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Background In Bangladesh 65% of children under 6 months of age were exclusively breastfed with maternal employment being a risk factor that has jeopardized exclusive breastfeeding. As Ready Made Garment (RMG) factories have been the largest employer of low income women in Bangladesh, the objective of our study was to explore the barriers and facilitators of breastfeeding and perceptions about use of expressed breast milk among mothers who worked in the RMG sector. Methods This formative research was conducted during July–September 2015 in two slums of Dhaka among RMG workers who were mothers and the caregivers of 0–12 month old infants. Qualitative data was obtained from purposively selected participants of 8 in-depth interviews and 4 focus group discussions (mothers and caregivers), and 2 key informant (RMG factory official) interviews. Mothers were from multiple RMG factories while factory officials were from a single factory. Thematic analysis was conducted. Results The main themes of qualitative exploration were knowledge and experience of breastfeeding; structural barriers (home and workplace); consequences of inadequate breastfeeding; and perception and experience of using expressed breast milk. Despite knowledge both of the benefits of breast milk and of the importance of breastfeeding for 6 months, most mothers introduced formula as early as 2 months to prepare for their return to work. Barriers such as excessive workload, inadequate crèche facilities at work, and lack of adequate caregivers at home impeded exclusive breastfeeding. Mothers and caregivers had very little knowledge about the use of expressed breast milk and were concerned about contamination. Conclusion As RMG factories are the largest employer of low-income women in Bangladesh, facilitating RMG factory working mothers’ ability to use breast milk could help to promote infant health and help women remain in the workforce.

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“…Deep-seated sociocultural norms guide the roles that men and women play in a society and the economic opportunities that they can seize. Whereas men are seen as breadwinners and decision-makers over finances and other household matters, women have disproportionate responsibility for unpaid caregiving and household work; this significantly constrains women's time and mobility (El-Horr & Pande, 2016; Kotikula, 2013;Muñoz Boudet, Petesch, Turk, & Thumala, 2013;Solotaroff, Joseph, & Kuriakose, 2018a;Solotaroff et al, 2018b;The World Bank, 2015a, 2016cWomen's Edge Coalition, 2003;WTO, 2015). In Sri Lanka, for example, married women are much less likely to be a paid employee than unmarried women while the opposite is true for men (Solotaroff et al, 2018a).…”

Section: The Effect Of Gender Inequality On the Supply Of Female And mentioning

confidence: 99%

Promoting Women’s Participation in Cross-border Trade in South Asia

Livani

Solotaroff

2019

ANTYAJAA: Indian Journal of Women and Social Change

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Historically, practitioners and policymakers have overlooked gender issues in the trade space; however, research in recent decades strongly suggests that trade is not gender neutral. Cross-border trade produces changes in employment and prices, and these changes have different effects on women and men. Moreover, because women and men do not have equal access to education, networks, transportation and productive resources, their ability to seize trade-related opportunities differs. General trade barriers, such as deficient infrastructure and cumbersome regulatory and documentary requirements, also have gender-differentiated impacts. Drawing from the global literature, this article proposes policy recommendations to expand the benefits of trade to women in South Asia. The recommendations range from strengthening female-dominated export sectors and implementing trade facilitation measures to increasing women's access to training, productive resources, information, transportation and trade networks.

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Voices to Choices: Bangladesh's Journey in Women's Economic Empowerment

Cited by 31 publications

References 0 publications

Adult death registration in Matlab, rural Bangladesh: completeness, correlates, and obstacles

Adult death registration in Matlab, rural Bangladesh: completeness, correlates, and obstacles

Work and breast milk feeding: a qualitative exploration of the experience of lactating mothers working in ready made garments factories in urban Bangladesh

Promoting Women’s Participation in Cross-border Trade in South Asia

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