Economic liberalization in Bangladesh has led to the emergence of a number of export-oriented industries, of which the manufacture of ready-made garments is the most prominent. The industry currently employs around 1.5 million workers, the overwhelming majority of whom are women. This paper explores the poverty implications of this new form of employment through a comparison of the socio-economic backgrounds, wages and working conditions and contributions to household needs of women working for global markets with those working for domestic markets. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Globalization, gender and poverty: Bangladeshi women workers in export and local markets

https://faculty.washington.edu/rmheath/dvBDfinal.pdf

Women’s Access to Labor Market Opportunities, Control of Household Resources, and Domestic Violence: Evidence from Bangladesh

This study extends the literature on entrepreneurship in developing countries by offering a two-stage explanation for the paradoxical observation that enterprise activities often flourish under extreme adversity. Our findings complement the base-of-pyramid and peace-through-commerce attention to the growing role of business in international development by fleshing out the functions of enterprise resilience under terrorism. We first explain how terrorism conditions (outbreak, escalation, and reduction) may create psychological incentives for enterprise resilience; then we show that, controlling for ex ante terrorism conditions, enterprise resilience yields more favorable economic payoffs at higher levels of terrorism, especially for informal entrepreneurs.

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Another day, another dollar: Enterprise resilience under terrorism in developing countries

/pdf/does-paid-work-provide-a-pathway-to-women-s-empowerment-4nsegi9aj8.pdf

Does paid work provide a pathway to women's empowerment? Empirical findings from Bangladesh

s screened (n = 3498) Records excluded (n = 3136) Full-text articles assessed for eligibility (n = 362) Full-text articles excluded, with reasons (n = 257) Studies included in qualitative synthesis (n = 11) Studies included in quantitative synthesis (n = 23) Refined screening of remaining 107 full-text articles; 74 excluded with reasons

/pdf/economic-self-help-group-programs-for-improving-women-s-3tci3b7br5.pdf

Economic Self-Help group Programs for Improving Women's Empowerment: A Systematic Review

Drawing on survey and ethnographic data, this article presents empirical evidence regarding the impact of work participation on poor women's lives in urban Bangladesh. Working for pay is common among poor, married women in Dhaka and working women commonly make an important contribution to household income. There is evidence that working women are more likely to manage money, shop for household provisions and move about outside the home than non-working women. Working women also appear better able to accumulate personal assets and take steps to secure their own well-being. Despite such signs of challenge to ‘traditional’ gender identity, social and economic structures continue to be heavily weighted against women, limiting the impact of employment on other dimensions of their lives. In the acutely insecure urban setting, women (and men) are found to pursue multiple strategies aimed at both securing ‘centrality’ within their families, as well as protecting personal interests should familial entitlements prove unreliable.

Shahana Rahman

Papers

Women's Employment in Urban Bangladesh: A Challenge to Gender Identity?

A profile of women's work participation among the urban poor of Dhaka

Impacts of community based fisheries management project.