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Voices to Choices Bangladesh’s Journey in Women’s Economic Empowerment Jennifer L. Solotaroff, Aphichoke Kotikula, Tara Lonnberg, Snigdha Ali, Rohini P. Pande, and Ferdous Jahan INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN FOCUS INTERNATIONAL INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN FOCUS Voices to Choices Bangladesh’s Journey in Women’s Economic Empowerment Jennifer L. Solotaroff, Aphichoke Kotikula, Tara Lonnberg, Snigdha Ali, Rohini P. Pande, and Ferdous Jahan © 2019 International Bank for Reconstruction and Development / The World Bank 1818 H Street NW, Washington, DC 20433 Telephone: 202-473-1000; Internet: www.worldbank.org Some rights reserved 1 2 3 4 21 20 19 18 Books in this series are published to communicate the results of Bank research, analysis, and operational experience with the least possible delay. The extent of language editing varies from book to book. This work is a product of the staff of The World Bank with external contributions. 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Contents Foreword ix Acknowledgments xi About the Authors xiii Executive Summary xv Abbreviations xxxi CHAPTER 1: Introduction 1 Rationale 1 Main objectives 2 Overview of the country and the macroeconomic context 3 Social norms and gender relations 5 Economic empowerment and organizing framework 10 Data and methods 12 Book roadmap 14 Notes 15 References 16 CHAPTER 2: Gender Gaps in Bangladesh’s Labor Market Outcomes 21 Patterns of labor force participation and employment status over time: Descriptive statistics 21 Employment by sector 27 Unemployment and employment status 30 Relative importance of different barriers and enablers to women’s LFP and employment 32 Gender differentials in earnings 47 Good practices and recommendations 49 Data gaps 56 Conclusion 56 Notes 57 References 58 CHAPTER 3: Ownership and Control over Productive Assets 63 Gender gaps in productive assets 64 Causes of gender gaps in asset ownership 69 Good practices and recommendations 78 Conclusion 88 Notes 88 References 89 iii iv | VOICES TO CHOICES CHAPTER 4: Use and Control of Financial Assets 95 Gender differences in access to and use of financial services 96 Women’s control over financial assets 107 Barriers to women’s use and control of finances 111 Good practices and recommendations 116 Data gaps 124 Conclusion 125 Notes 127 References 127 CHAPTER 5: Female Entrepreneurship 133 What is a SME? 134 Patterns and trends of women’s entrepreneurship 135 Barriers to women’s entrepreneurship 142 Good practices and recommendations 149 Data gaps 155 Notes 156 References 156 CHAPTER 6: Economic Empowerment Patterns among Ethnic Minority Groups in Bangladesh 161 Overview: Situation of key minority and ethnic groups 161 Differentials in women’s labor force participation 163 Differentials in ownership and control over assets 168 Barriers to minority women’s economic empowerment 170 Enabling factors for minority women’s economic empowerment 172 Good practices and recommendations 174 Data gaps 179 Notes 179 References 180 CHAPTER 7: Taking Action to Improve Women’s Economic Empowerment in Bangladesh 183 Women’s economic empowerment has increased, but choices remain limited 184 Recommended roles and responsibilities of various stakeholder groups 192 Conclusion 211 References 212 APPENDIX A: Bangladesh Country Gender Statistical Profile 213 APPENDIX B: Full Regression Results for Labor Outcomes 221 APPENDIX C: Full Regression Results for Relationship of Child Marriage with FLFP and Women’s Education 229 APPENDIX D: Full Regression Results for Assets 235 APPENDIX E: Full Regression Results for Women’s Control over Credit (Rural Bangladesh) 239 APPENDIX F: Ethnic and Religious Minorities 241 Boxes 1.1 Female labor force participation and growth 4 1.2 Selected quotes from female participants in Dhaka focus group discussions 9 2.1 Balancing act of the RMG sector: Slowdown, working conditions, and competitiveness 23 Contents | v 2.2 Married boys are more likely to stay in school than married girls in Bangladesh 26 2.3 Definition of contributing amilyf helpers 31 2.4 Child marriage and women’s work for pay in Bangladesh over time—a multivariate analysis 35 2.5 Married women’s work: Comments from women in urban slums, rural areas of Bangladesh 36 2.6 Reasons for not working among rural women in Bangladesh 39 3.1 Bangladesh Integrated Household Survey data (BIHS) 65 3.2 Types of assets that women own increases their relative vulnerability 68 3.3 Interviews with imams on women’s inheritance rights in Bangladesh 70 3.4 International efforts to collect sex-disaggregated data on assets 87 4.1 Definition of microfinance in Bangladesh 100 4.2 Types of microfinance providers in Bangladesh 101 4.3 Recommended good practices to structure mobile microfinance 125 5.1 Select characteristics of women-owned SMEs in Bangladesh 137 5.2 Select government of Bangladesh policies and schemes for women’s SMEs 139 5.3 Nupur’s story 142 5.4 Monika’s story 147 5.5 Cross-border trade and women’s economic empowerment 151 7.1 The National Women Development Policy 193 Figures ES.1 Trends of labor force participation in Bangladesh, by sex and year, 2003–16 xvii ES.2 Gender differences in borrowing from a financial institution, 2017 xxi 1.1 Frequency of mentions of gender-based violence among women’s FGDs, by issue 9 2.1 Trends of labor force participation in Bangladesh, by sex and year, 2003–16 22 2.2 Labor force participation by sex and division, 2003 24 2.3 Labor force participation by sex and division, 2016 24 2.4 Labor force participation by sex and education level, 2003 25 2.5 Labor force participation by sex and education level, 2016 25 2.6 Labor force participation by sex and wealth quintile, 2016 27 2.7 Trends of labor force participation by age group and sex, 2003 and 2016 28 2.8 Formal employment by sex and education, 2016 28 2.9 Sector composition of employment by gender, 2003–16 29 2.10 Rate of unemployment by age group, sex, and residence, 2016 30 2.11 Unemployment rate (age 15+), by education level, sex, and area, 2016 31 2.12 Employment status by sex and residential area, 2016 31 2.13 Age profile of emalef labor force participation by marital status and marriage rate 33 2.14 LFP and paid employment of women, by age range and marital status, 2016 33 2.15 LFP and paid employment of women, by age range and marital status, 2003 34 B2.4.1 Marginal effect of child marriage on women’s probability of working for pay 35 B2.4.2 Relationship of child marriage and women’s years of schooling 36 2.16 Time use in care work among married