Women's Participation, Constraints, and Opportunities for ...

Women’s Participation, Constraints, and Opportunitiesfor Trade in Bangladesh

SARTFP GENDER PLATFORM KNOWLEDGE SERIES

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2 | WO M E N ’ S PA R T I C I PAT I O N , CO N ST R A I N TS , A N D O P PO R T U N I T I E S FO R T R A D E I N BA N GL A D E S H

WO M E N ’ S PA R T I C I PAT I O N , CO N ST R A I N TS , A N D O P PO R T U N I T I E S FO R T R A D E I N BA N GL A D E S H | 3

Acknowledgements

This study is the product of the SARTFP Gender Platform. It is a companion piece to the larger report, Voices to Choices: Bangladesh's Journey in Women's Economic Empowerment with an aim to inform programming that promotes women’s economic empowerment in Bangladesh and enhances their participation in regional trade activities. The team included Luiza Nora, Hiska Noemi Reyes, Ferdous Jahan, Talajeh Livani, and Tara Lonnberg from the World Bank. External team members included Maheen Sultan and Rita Alam. The team is grateful for the guidance received from Maria Beatriz Orlando during the preparation of this study.


Table of Contents

Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Acronyms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

1. Mapping women’s work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Women’s employment in Bangladesh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Women’s Entrepreneurship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

2. Challenges to Women’s Entrepreneurship and Trade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Markets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Institutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Households . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

3. Opportunities for Bangladeshi Women in Trade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Fisheries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Agricultural Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Agro-processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Medicaments and Medicinal Plants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Jute and Jute Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Footwear/Leather Goods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Information Technology (IT) Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

4. Recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Annex A. Methodology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Annex B. List of Interview and Consultation Participants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Annex C. International Trade Agreements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53


Acronyms

ADB Asian Development BankBFTI Bangladesh Foreign Trade Institute BGB Border Guard BangladeshBLPA Bangladesh Land Port AuthorityBPO Business process outsourcing servicesBSF Indian Border Security ForcesBWCCI Bangladesh Women Chamber of Commerce and IndustryCOEL Centre for Excellence for Leather Skills BangladeshCOMESA Common Market for Eastern and Southern AfricaCWCCI Chittagong Women Chamber of Commerce and IndustryDAE Department of Agricultural ExtensionDAI Development Alternatives IncorporatedDCCI Dhaka Chamber of Commerce & IndustryDJP Diversified jute productsEPB Export Promotion BureauEPZ Export processing zoneFAO Food and Agriculture OrganizationFBCCI The Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and IndustryFLFP Female labor force participationICT Information and communications technologyIMF International Monetary FundITES Information technology enabled servicesLFMEAB Leathergoods and Footwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association of BangladeshLFS Labor Force SurveyMLFP Male labor force participationMoC Ministry of CommerceMoWCA Ministry of Women and Children AffairsMT Metric tonsNBR National Board of RevenueNGO Non-governmental organizationsNTTFC National Trade and Transport Facilitation CommitteeOECD Organisation for Economic Co-operation and DevelopmentRMG Readymade garmentsSAR South Asia regionSARSO South Asian Regional Standards OrganizationSDC Swiss Agency for Development and CooperationSEZ Special Economic ZoneSME Small and medium enterpriseWEAB Women Entrepreneur Association of BangladeshWHO World Health OrganizationWTO World Trade Organization


Overview

South Asia is one of the most dynamic regions in the world, but remains one of the least economically integrated. Regional trade can be a strong driver of economic growth. Yet in South Asia, regional trade and connectivity is poor and undermines the economic potential of all the countries in the region, including

Bangladesh. Regional trade accounts for just over five percent of total trade in South Asia – as compared to 50 percent of total trade in East Asia and the Pacific – with the current USD 23 billion in South Asian regional trade far below its potential worth of USD 67 billion (Kathuria 2018).

The low level of women’s economic participation in the region – including in Bangladesh – is a criti-cal constraint to growth. While labor force participation (LPF) in Bangladesh has increased more rapidly for women than for men, there remains an almost 50 percentage point gender gap. Women are unemployed and underemployed at higher rates than are men and are overwhelmingly engaged in the informal sector (Bangla-desh Bureau of Statistics 2016a). Bangladeshi women earn three-quarters of the wages received by their male counterparts (Solotaroff, et al. 2019), and are concentrated in less profitable and traditionally “female” industries (Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics 2016a). Even within the same industry, women and men fall into different roles with women concentrated in lower levels of value chains (World Bank 2016). A large share of working women is engaged in unpaid work or work from home (Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics 2016a), constrained by domestic responsibilities and mobility restrictions.

Bangladeshi women’s involvement in entrepreneurship and trade is also limited, with most women entrepreneurs focused on the national market. Despite Bangladesh’s microfinance revolution, women still make up only around seven percent of the country’s entrepreneurs (Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics 2015a) and own only 15 percent of firms in the country (World Economic Forum 2017). As with women’s employment, female entrepreneurs are concentrated in a smaller number of sectors and industries when compared to male entrepreneurs and are largely relegated to lower positions (Solotaroff, et al. 2019). Relatively few women-owned firms are also involved in cross-border trade. Women’s limited access to assets, poor infrastructure at borders and ports, cumbersome bureaucracies, lengthy clearance processes, corruption, and frequent documentary and other non-tariff barriers tend to be especially challenging for vulnerable traders operating on a small scale, like women. Women’s access to institutions and programs that support trade and entrepreneurship is also low, contributing to their difficulty in establishing contacts with potential buyers. Furthermore, workplace and mar-ket-based entrepreneurial activities are considered to be ‘male domains’ and work opportunities as vendors, purchasers, or middlemen are greatly restricted for women, in part due to mobility restrictions (Asadullah and Wahhaj 2016).

Women’s participation in trade can contribute to economic growth and be a powerful driver for women’s economic empowerment. The IMF estimates that closing gender gaps in employment and entrepreneurship in South Asia could increase the region’s gross domestic product (GDP) by as much as 25 percent (Kochhar, Jain-Chandra and Newiak 2017). Trade can be a driver of female labor since it often increases demand for low-skilled workers in developing countries and women are concentrated in low-skilled jobs (Livani and Solotaroff


2019). Promoting inclusive trade and market opportunities can uniquely generate livelihoods and create jobs while simultaneously improving the business environment and strengthening the productivity and competi-tiveness of female-led firms and female-dominated sectors. Women’s engagement in paid work not only raises household income, but also improves household welfare, especially for girls in terms of education and health (Sabarwal, Sinha and Buvinic 2011). It furthermore enhances women’s agency and decision-making power over household finances (Klugman, et al. 2014) as well as contributes to women’s sense of well-being, voice, and empowerment in other domains of their lives (Solotaroff, et al. 2019).

Bangladeshi women are benefitting from an increasingly enabling environment for economic activity. The number of women entrepreneurs’ associations in Bangladesh is growing, increasing the services and sup-port available to businesswomen and strengthening their voice at the national level. Greater access to mobile phones and the internet is enabling home-based work, rendering women’s restricted mobility less of a barrier to income-generating activities. Furthermore, policies such as Bangladesh’s Seventh Five Year Plan FY2016 – FY2020 (Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh 2015) emphasize gender equality and seek to promote women’s entrepreneurship and participation in international trade. Regional trade is possibly particu-larly conducive to female employment because of advantages such as shorter distances (enabling women to circumvent some mobility constraints) as well as historic, social, and cultural ties among neighboring countries.

This study employs mixed methods that include literature reviews, quantitative analysis of employment and trade data, key informant interviews and consultations, as well as field visits. The quantitative data analysis aimed to identify key export sectors in the region1 with notable female participation. Field-level findings and observations were used to narrow down these key export sectors to seven industries with the greatest potential for promoting women’s participation at different levels of the value chain (see Annex A for more detail on the methodology, Annex B for a list of organizations/associations interviewed).

The objective of this paper is to inform programming that promotes women’s economic empowerment in Bangladesh and enhances their participation in regional trade activities. To this end, the study consid-ers women in trade not just from the purview of women as entrepreneurs, but also women as workers in sectors with high potential for trade, and therefore, for increased employment of women. Gender-disaggregated trade data is scarce, making it challenging to gain a solid and comprehensive understanding of women’s participation in regional trade. This paper seeks to contribute to this understanding. It is organized into four sections. Section 1 presents a snapshot of women’s employment in Bangladesh while section 2 discusses the broad challenges for women entrepreneurs. Section 3 highlights opportunities in seven key export sectors that have notable female participation and potential to further promote women’s economic empowerment and involvement in regional trade. Finally, section 4 presents a set of policy and programmatic recommendations to strengthen the role of women in trade.

1 In the context of this study, the countries include Bhutan, India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka in the South Asia Region, as well as Myanmar.


1. Mapping women’s work

The business case for women’s economic empowerment is strong. Women’s lower engagement in in-come-generating activities has been found to have a significant cost in terms of economic growth and productivity. Cuberes and Teignier (2016) estimate that labor market gender gaps account for income

losses of about 15.4 percent of GDP in sampled Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) economies and 17.5 percent in sampled developing economies. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) finds that narrowing global gender gaps in employment gives a greater boost to economic growth than just adding a corresponding number of more men to the labor force (Ostry, et al. 2018).

1 0 | WO M E N ’ S PA R T I C I PAT I O N , CO N ST R A I N TS , A N D O P PO R T U N I T I E S FO R T R A D E I N BA N GL A D E S H

Women’s employment contributes to household income and welfare, especially for girls. Women’s engagement in paid work raises household income and enhances women’s agency and decision-making power over household finances (Klugman, et al. 2014). This has positive consequences for overall house-hold welfare as women tend to invest more in healthcare and education than do men (OECD (2010) Yoong et al. (2012)), something that particularly benefits girl children as they often bear the cost of house-hold financial constraints including being kept out of school and denied healthcare (Sabarwal, Sinha and Buvinic 2011).

Women’s employment in Bangladesh

Labor force participation (LPF) in Bangladesh has increased more rapidly for women than for men, yet the LFP gender gap remains wide. Female labor force participation (FLFP) increased from 26.1 percent in 2003 to 35.6 percent in 2016, while there was a drop in men’s LFP rate during this same period from 87.4 percent to 81.9 percent (Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics 2016a). Male and female LFP rates were slightly higher in rural areas than urban areas in 2016; 37.6 percent of rural women participated in the labor force as compared to 30.8 percent of urban women (Figure 1.1). Bangladesh’s steady increase in female employment is mostly the result of growth in the readymade garment (RMG) industry and a rise in livestock rearing (Rahman and Islam 2013). Yet women’s significantly lower LFP rates point to the continued focus on home-based work, tending to domestic responsibilities such as childcare, elder care, cooking, and cleaning as well as unpaid homestead-based agricul-tural work.

Figure 1.1 Male and female labor force participation rate in Bangladesh, by gender, 2003-16

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Sources: World Bank calculations based on Bangladesh LFS 2003, LFS 2006, LFS 2010, LFS 2013, and LFS 2016 data.Note: Refined activity rate is used.

WO M E N ’ S PA R T I C I PAT I O N , CO N ST R A I N TS , A N D O P PO R T U N I T I E S FO R T R A D E I N BA N GL A D E S H | 1 1

Bangladeshi women have lower access to quality employment than men. Women in the labor force are unemployed at higher rates than are men, and female unemployment is higher in the country’s urban areas than rural areas. In urban areas, 7.7 percent of women are unemployed compared to 3.2 percent of men, while 6.5 percent of women are unemployed in rural areas compared to 2.9 percent of men (Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics 2016a). Women are also underemployed at a much higher rate than men: 30 percent for women versus 13 percent for men (ILO, 2017). Furthermore, Bangladeshi women are overwhelmingly engaged in the informal sector. Both men and women are highly concentrated in the informal sector; 95.4 percent of women are in informal employment as compared to 82.3 percent of men (Figure 1.2). Women’s informal employment is greater in rural areas than in urban areas, possibly because most of the work in rural areas is in agriculture or in small business-related services and sales.

Figure 1.2 Employed population aged 15 and above, by formal/informal employment, sex, and area

14.13.0 10.7

26.4

9.421.9 17.7

4.613.8

85.9 97.0 89.3 73.6 90.6 78.1 82.3 95.4 86.2

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Male Female Total Male Female Total Male Female Total

Rural Urban National

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Source: World Bank calculations based on Bangladesh LFS 2016 data.

Bangladeshi women experience wage discrimination, receiving lower wages than do men for the same work. While the gender wage gap in Bangladesh has narrowed over the last few years, in 2016 employed women earned only 76 percent of the wages received by their male counterparts, at USD 83 and USD 109, respectively (Solotaroff, et al. 2019). Furthermore, women belonging to small ethnic communities in Bangladesh earn significantly less than Bengali women, and the gender wage gap is larger among minority groups than the overall population (Toufique, et al. 2016).

A significant proportion of working women, particularly in rural areas, is unpaid in their work or work from home. Forty-five percent of rural working women and 16 percent of urban working women are contrib-uting family workers as compared to only five percent of all employed Bangladeshi men (Bangladesh Bureau of


Statistics 2016a).2 These workers neither receive pay for their work nor do they control the income generated from their household enterprises (Solotaroff, et al. 2019). While there has been a decline in the percent of wom-en employed as contributing family workers, the share of self-employed3 female workers who are likely to be more economically empowered has also declined. Women are increasingly working as employees (i.e. salaried workers), with this group representing 32.8 percent of Bangladesh’s employed female population in 2016, up from 11.40 percent in 2006 (LFS various years). A larger share of Bangladeshi women works from home. Sixty-two percent of Bangladeshi women undertake home-based work as compared to only six percent of Bangladeshi men (Figure 1.3). Yet some significant geographical differences exist, with rural women overwhelmingly working from home as women’s entrepreneurship in rural areas often involves land, animals, or micro business while urban women work predominantly outside the home.

Figure 1.3 Location of work, by sex and residential area (percent), 2016

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All men All women Urban men Urban women Rural men Rural women

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Source: World Bank calculations based on Bangladesh LFS 2016 data.

Women are concentrated in more traditionally “female” industries. LFS 2016 data show that over three-quar-ters of rural women are employed in agriculture, forestry, and/or fishing. Female rural employment constitutes about 70 percent of total unpaid employment in Bangladesh, with 87 percent of rural women working unpaid jobs in the agriculture sector (Farole and Cho 2017). In contrast, urban women are more concentrated in ser-vices and industry, reflecting the growth of these sectors in Bangladesh’s cities and women’s high presence in the readymade garments (RMG) sector. In urban areas, women work predominantly in factories, boutiques, bakeries and fast food, doll making, tailoring, fabrics paint, and interior decoration. Urban women also work in beauty parlors, computer training centers, leather goods, and fish industries, some of which are non-traditional

2 Bangladesh’s Labor Force Survey includes four categories of employment status: employer, own-account worker, contributing family member, and employee.3 Two categories of workers in the Bangladesh Labor Force Survey are considered self-employed: employers and own account workers.


activities for women (Zaman and Islam 2011). Other important industries for female employment are education (4.8 percent), other service activities (4.9 percent), and household activities as employers (4.7 percent), as well as wholesale and retail trade (2.5 percent). Women also hold a notable number of positions in the health and public administration sector (ADB and ILO 2016, 112).

Even within the same industry, women and men tend to fall into different roles with women’s employ-ment mostly concentrated in lowest levels of value chains. Bangladeshi women comprise about one-fourth of employees in the country’s major industry divisions, with significant gender differences across employment categories. Large numbers of Bangladeshi women are left out of secondary and tertiary sector jobs that require particular skills (Salway, Jesmin and Rahman 2005). There is extremely low female representation in mid-level management and as entrepreneurs. Women are typically engaged in the lower levels of the organizational/value chain hierarchy (World Bank 2016) across various sectors and industries such as agriculture, shrimp, and RMG (IFC (2011b); UN Women (2015a); Weeratunge et al. (2012); Zhong (2015); and Mahmud (2018)). Even in sectors or industries where women form the majority of the workforce, they are less likely to hold managerial or supervisory positions (ADB and ILO 2016, 112).


Women’s Entrepreneurship

The share of female entrepreneurs in Bangladesh is low but growing. According to the Bangladesh Eco-nomic Census 2013, there are 7.8 million entrepreneurs in Bangladesh, of which only 7.1 percent are women (Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics 2015a). The Global Gender Gap Report 2017 notes that 15 percent of Ban-gladeshi firms have women participation in ownership (as owners or co-owners), while only 5 percent have women as top managers (World Economic Forum 2017).

Women entrepreneurs in Bangladesh are quite young, highly educated, and concentrated in a smaller number of sectors and industries. Studies find that most women entrepreneurs are between 20 and 40 years old and a large share has a university degree (Singh et al. (2016); Eusuf, et al. (2017)). As with women’s work in general, women’s entrepreneurship is more concentrated than men’s; while men’s entrepreneurship is spread across a wide variety of sectors, women’s businesses are concentrated in the relatively low capital-intensive wholesale and retail textile sectors (USAID 2014). Furthermore, consistent with global patterns, women-owned enterprises in Bangladesh are more likely to be small, informal, and home-based compared to male-owned enterprises (Bangladesh Bank (2014); Solotaroff et al. (2019)).

Women also appear to be far less involved in cross-border trade than men despite the economic oppor-tunity it presents. While there is an absence of data on the engagement of Bangladeshi women in cross-border trade (Taneja, et al. 2018), women are known to be significantly less involved than men. This limited participation is, in part, explained by the constricted export opportunities for female-owned firms resulting from their smaller size relative to male-owned firms (Sultan, Alam and Nora (Forthcoming), cited in Solotaroff et al. 2019). For instance, Raihan et al. (2016) found that none of the 100 surveyed female-owned or female-operated firms in Bangladesh’s textiles and apparel industry or processed agro-food industry were directly involved in cross-bor-der trade.4 The many risks of cross-border trade render women traders particularly vulnerable in this type of work (see section 2.1).

4 Some are indirectly involved, however, by either supplying to small-scale exporters or using imported raw materials. Some entrepreneurs in the textiles and apparel industry engage occasionally in informal trading.


2. Challenges to Women’s Entrepreneurship and Trade

Despite Bangladeshi women’s increasing entrepreneurship and educational attainment, a number of issues continue to hamper their business and keep them from maximizing economic benefit. Wom-en entrepreneurs have serious skills deficits in terms of financial literacy, business management, and

marketing (Khalily and Miah (2015); Singh et al. (2016); Eusuf et al. (2017)). They have limited business training opportunities as compared to their male counterparts (Kabeer 2012), and tend to lack access to certain markets that are considered “male domain” (ADB and ILO 2016, 111). When women do access markets, a different set of work conditions typically apply to them. Work opportunities as vendors, purchasers, or middlemen are greatly restricted for women due to limitations placed on their mobility (Asadullah and Wahhaj 2016). Women entre-preneurs in rural areas furthermore lack the physical space to sell goods or services as well as supportive market infrastructure.


The World Development Report 2012 on Gender Equality and Development (World Bank 2011) flagged markets, institutions, and households as critical in both determining as well as closing gender gaps. As such, this section uses these same themes to frame the presentation of the opportunities and challenges facing Bangladeshi women in business and trade.

Markets

AssetsThere are wide gender gaps in women’s ownership of and rights over land and other phys-ical assets including machinery, fertilizers, and large livestock (Csisa (2018); IFPRI (2016)). Of rural households that own agricultural land, only 12 percent of women have sole or joint ownership

of agricultural land as compared to 70 percent of men (IFPRI 2016). In rural areas, 96 percent of household land is owned solely by men (Quisumbing, Kumar and Behrman 2017). Women also own smaller plots of land than do men (FAO n.d.). Where women are not listed as farmers, they miss out on agricultural extension programs and information on new technologies (ADB (2010); Solotaroff et al. (2019)). This undermines the possibility of raising yields (both in terms of quantity and quality) and marketing agricultural products that are demanded in domestic and international markets. Women can access land in meaningful ways other than through formal ownership, however, which appear to be more socially acceptable (Solotaroff, et al. 2019). Forty-three percent of Bangladeshi women hold non-ownership economic rights over land – including the right to sell, mortgage, lease, and maintain revenue generated from land – as compared to 88 percent of men (IFPRI 2016). Yet these rights are highly vulnerable; Bangladeshi women usually acquire land rights through a male relative, so rights depend on continuation of that particular relationship (Solotaroff, et al. 2019).

Access to finance is a significant — often the most significant — barrier to the operation and growth of women-owned enterprises as well as their participation in international trade (ADB (2015); AFI (2017); Foisal et al. (2015); IFC (2016); Khatun (2014); Rahman and Reza (2016); Raihan et al. (2016)). On the demand-side, accessing financial services is constrained by lack of awareness, low income/assets, social exclusion, and illiter-acy. Only 18 percent of digital finance users in Bangladesh, for instance, are women (Shrader 2015), and only 6 percent of women have their own mobile money accounts compared to 19 percent of men (IMF 2016). On the supply side, distance from bank branches, branch timings, cumbersome documentation and other procedures, unsuitable products, high transaction costs, and negative staff attitudes to women are common reasons for ex-clusion. Women may also lack the documents required to open a bank account such as national ID, photo, and birth certificate. Most banks have a minimum balance requirement, charge a fee, and require a reference letter to open an account, making it difficult for the poor, and especially women, to open an account (Mujeri 2015).

Various government entities, donors, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have implemented programs to bolster women’s access to finance and support their economic activity. Bangladesh Bank encourages all banks and non-bank financial institutions to provide loans to women entrepreneurs at a lower than market interest rate of 10 percent, and to establish Women Entrepreneurs Desks to meet the particular needs of female clients (Raihan, Khondker, et al. 2016). While loans to women SMEs grew substantially over 2010-2014, they stalled at around 3 to 4 percent of the total SME portfolio (IFC 2016). Businesswomen inter-viewed for this study noted that private banks were more reluctant than government banks to follow central bank guidelines on lending to women entrepreneurs (this was confirmed in the consultations and workshops held for the study). Interestingly, limited financial literacy – which is found among both Bangladeshi men and


women – appear to make financial institutions more reluc tant to lend to women, but not to men (Singh, Asrani and Ramaswamy 2016).

The gender gap in access to technology also disadvantages women entrepreneurs. Information and com-munication technologies (ICTs) are increasingly used for production, training, banking, accessing information, and connecting to markets (Livani, Rizwan and Kathuria 2019). They increase the flexibility of when/where eco-nomic activity may take place and enable female-owned businesses to break into new markets without having to rely on traditional, male-dominated networks (Brenton et al. (2014); World Bank (2011)). Farmers with access to technology are more likely to take part in international trade than those who depend on traditional channels (Kunaka 2011). Women in the textile and handicraft sectors who use online outlets can sell their products to a wider customer base and keep a larger share of their profits than they would under traditional middle-man-based systems (World Bank 2011). Phone connectivity provides rural women with more accurate food crop market price information, enabling improved negotiations with middlemen (ITC 2015). Mobile phones help female entrepre-neurs and producers communicate with their clients and suppliers, reducing travel time and costs (World Bank 2011). Yet Bangladeshi women cannot access information as frequently or easily as men (The Carter Center and Manusher Jonno Foundation 2016). In 2013, 4.5 percent of women used computers as compared to 8.7 percent of men; 82.8 percent of women versus 92.4 percent of men used mobile phones; and 6.2 percent of women compared to 10.3 percent of men had access to the internet (Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics 2015a, p. 27).

InfrastructurePoor physical infrastructure is restricting economic opportunities for both women and men. Consultations for this study – particularly in Sylhet and Sunamganj – highlighted poor road conditions as a major constraint to business and trade. Research has found that better rural roads

can augment female and male labor force participation by 51 and 49 percent, respectively (World Bank 2011). Improved rural road and transport facilities also help traders to access villages to purchase produce, thus ex-panding market access for female farmers (UN Women 2015).

Given women’s time and mobility constraints as well as other socio-cultural factors, distance, cost, ease, and safety of travel are important considerations in work-related decisions. Public transportation in Ban-gladesh’s cities is not efficient, affordable, or safe. Inadequate lighting, overcrowded buses and waiting areas, lack of restrooms, and prevalent sexual harassment act as disincentives for women to use public transportation. Dhaka’s lack of a women-friendly transportation system is seen as a major issue by 85 to 90 percent of female entrepreneurs (Raihan, Khondker, et al. 2016). Research has found that women living in some urban slums do not participate in garment factory work because lack of public transport would require them to walk home from distant factories by foot in the dark (ADB and ILO 2016). Women have reported significant harassment in public spaces, with transport being one of the prime areas of concern. Andaleeb et al. (2018) find that a staggering 94 percent of female public transport commuters in Bangladesh have experienced some form of sexual harassment.

The governments of India and Bangladesh have established local border markets to formalize trade activities, but women’s participation remains limited. Local border markets, or border haats, have facilitated formal trade as well as generated market opportunities between small-scale industries and farmers (CUTS Inter-national 2016). The World Bank finds that border haats have had positive welfare impacts because of increased incomes and livelihood opportunities, improved cross-border relations, and reduced informal and illegal trade (Kathuria 2018). Yet women are less active in border haat trade than men and may thus benefit from it less. Some local Border Haat Market Committees have established a quota for vendor cards to be given to women to increase their participation.


Poor infrastructure at Bangladesh’s borders has adverse effects for women’s involvement in cross-border trade. Poor conditions at border haats, border crossings, and in border towns affect women disproportionately. At border markets, the lack of functioning toilets, poor approach roads, and inadequate space for loading and unloading, creates additional barriers for women who wish to participate as vendors and entrepreneurs (Kathu-ria 2018). Bangladeshi women entrepreneurs highlight poor infrastructure at borders and ports, corruption, and lack of gender sensitization of border officials as key obstacles to their engagement in cross-border trade (BWCCI 2015). Border areas also present comfort and security issues for women traders as they often lack continuous electricity supply, proper lighting, separate or adequate waiting or restroom facilities, and separate counters for women to have their immigration papers processed.

Lack of gender sensitization among border officials presents additional challenges for female traders. The various types of officials present at borders – including customs, immigration, police, and military – can be intimidating to women, the poor, and other vulnerable groups, especially those with limited understanding of the procedures. High volumes of male travelers in border areas also present certain risks to women, including harassment, theft, and rape. Border posts have no help desks for women to advise them on where to go, where to stay, or where to change money, among other things. Qualitative data collected through field observations, interviews with female entrepreneurs in border towns, and consultations with female entrepreneurs in Dhaka suggest that there are no grievance redressal mechanisms where women can complain about staff behavior or services. There are also very few female agents. A Customs Officer in Benapole explained that only two of the 600 clearing agents in Benapole are women, and the Custom’s Commissioner in Sylhet shared that there are no active women clearing agents in Sylhet.5 Furthermore, as female traders often deal with small volumes of produce and have limited funds, their goods and clearances given lower priority.

Institutions

Legal & policy framework, information and networksBangladeshi corporate and labor laws grant women and men equal rights, but women face a number of barriers in practice. Women can legally sign contracts, register businesses, open bank accounts, and apply for loans without the consent of their husbands (World Bank 2019a).

Yet some banks and programs continue to require consent/guarantee from husbands or other male relatives in order for women to access loans or other services (L. B. Jahan 2017). Women also face legal barriers to working in occupations that are deemed to be physically arduous or dangerous. Women are, for instance, not able to work in the same way as men in mining, metalworking, the water sector, in factories, or in jobs requiring lifting weights above a certain threshold (World Bank 2019a).

A key objective of the Bangladesh Export Policy 2018-21 is to enhance women’s involvement in ex-port-oriented industries (WTO Secretariat 2019). The policy encourages women entrepreneurs to diversify their products and calls for strengthening compliances to improve worker welfare, with a focus on working conditions for female garment sector employees to help strengthen garment exports in global markets. The policy provides certain benefits and facilities for highest priority sectors that are deemed to have special export potential that cannot be fully tapped due to certain constraints, including agro-products and agro-processed products, footwear and leather products, jute products, pharmaceutical products, information communication technology (ICT) products, as well as software and IT-enabling services. The policy provides similar benefits to

5 Interviews carried out in May and October 2017, respectively.


special development sectors that have products with export potential but whose production, supply, and export bases are not strong enough to tap the export potential, including diversified jute products and value-added frozen fish. Benefits provided to these sectors under the Export Policy 2018-21 include loans at lower interest rates, income tax rebates, export credit at lower interest rates and on softer terms, air transportation facilities on a priority basis, and expansion of institutional and technical facilities for improving and controlling quality of products (WTO Secretariat 2019).6 Such provisions may improve women’s involvement in export as they are already engaged in these priority sectors. Furthermore, Bangladesh’s Inter-ministerial National Trade and Trans-port Facilitation Committee (NTTFC) – which coordinates all trade and transport-related policies and activities in Bangladesh – has a Working Group for Women Traders and Entrepreneurs led by the Ministry of Commerce to help integrate gender issues.

Women entrepreneurs are, however, limited by their knowledge of trade regulations and capacity to meet business and trade documentation requirements (ICRIER 2018). While the requirements for small busi-nesses in Bangladesh are not very different from those of other countries, there is a lack of public information in Bangladesh about relevant laws and regulations (USAID 2006).7 A 2008 BWCCI survey of female entrepreneurs found that about half were unaware of the need for tax and VAT payments, and only 34 percent had a tax

6 To support export of agricultural and agro-based products, for instance, it provides venture capital facilities to agricultural farms five acres or larger in size to encourage production and export of vegetables, fruits, fresh flowers, orchids, etc.

7 Further corroborated by interviews and consultations conducted with women traders for this study.


identification number (TIN) even though a TIN is required by to access many collateral-free loans (Hughes and Jennings 2012). About half the women also lacked and were unaware of the need for trade licenses despite their absence barring access to banks, chambers of commerce membership, trade fair participation, profitable orders, and entering import-export oriented sectors. Raihan et al. (2016) found that 80 percent of surveyed female entrepreneurs in the garment sector and 90 percent in the agro-processing sector flagged as a major obstacle the number of forms and documents required to run a business, including paperwork for obtaining SME loans and trade licenses.

Significant delays are often experienced as small businesses must make multiple visits to government offices and leverage contacts or offer bribes to meet regulatory requirements8 and obtain necessary services (USAID 2006).9 The bureaucratic hurdles related to documentary requirements is very high in Bangla-desh. In 2019, it took an average of 147 hours and USD 225 to meet all documentary requirements, compared to 9 hours and USD 50 in Bhutan, 11.6 hours and USD 58 in India, and 43 hours and USD 110 in Nepal (World Bank 2019c). Forty percent of women in the 2008 BWCCI survey had to pay an average of BDT 5,000 in fees and

8 These requirements include registration with the Registrar Joint Stock Company, BSCIC or Board of Investment; obtaining a Tax Identification Number (TIN); trade license; fire license; and payment of taxes.

9 Further corroborated by interviews and consultations conducted with women traders for this study.


bribes to complete the procedures (Hughes and Jennings 2012). In 2013, the Graft Index10 for Bangladesh was twice the South Asian average, with the highest corruption reported when trying to obtain an import license (World Bank 2019b).These hurdles are greater for women as they have less access to information, less time in the day due to their many domestic responsibilities on top of their income-generating ones, and as spending time visiting government offices is seen negatively by society. Governance initiatives at the city and municipal corporation levels have streamlined some trade license-related paperwork and payments, allowing them to be made faster and online. Yet field visits to Jessore and Jhenaidah find that most female entrepreneurs continue not to obtain import-export licenses as they require travel to larger towns, which is difficult for women. There is furthermore limited knowledge of World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations and international trade agreements (see Annex C) and how to leverage them for the benefit of the country as a whole, let alone its less privileged or experienced producers, including women.

Women’s access to institutions that support trade and entrepreneurship is low despite a number of government institutions particularly catering to women entrepreneurs. Singh et al. (2016) found that 76 percent of women entrepreneurs surveyed did not know and did not avail of existing schemes to support their businesses. Solotaroff et al. (2019), for instance, find that many female entrepreneurs are unaware of government policies and schemes designed to serve them – including the lower 10 percent interest rate mandated by Ban-gladesh Bank for female entrepreneurs (2016) – and thus fail to take advantage of them. Furthermore, despite need, women’s utilization of business products and services is low, likely in part due to many institutions failing to target their support to women-only groups and providing support in challenging locations or at difficult times for women (Huq and Moyeen 2008).

A number of women entrepreneurs’ chambers of commerce and associations11 have been established in Bangladesh since 1990 and women’s membership is increasing. Field visits highlighted the importance of these associations, which ensure that the needs and priorities of female entrepreneurs are heard, that their members have access to training and banks, and that these serve as lobby and advocacy groups to increase government resources to female entrepreneurs. Membership in business and trade associations is critical for women entrepreneurs as it helps them to establish business relationships, promote products and services, strengthen their voice in trade policy circles, and access training, finance, and information on trade regulations (Livani and Solotaroff 2019). Interviewed women in Jessore and Jhenaidah mentioned that various trainings as well as the advice and assistance received from BWCCI in contacting and negotiating with banks gave them confidence and strength. Most district-based chambers of commerce, however, lack specific objectives or activities to promote women entrepreneurs and traders. This appears to be changing though as women’s chambers were formed in several districts during this study. As the current trade regime requires all importers and exporters to be members of “recognized trade organizations,” it is important for chambers and trade bodies to extend their membership to small businesses, especially women-owned ones.

Women continue to remain largely excluded from mainstream sectoral business and trade associations and networks and face difficulties in establishing contacts with potential buyers (Asia Foundation (2017); ICRIER (2018); IFC (2011)). Women’s membership in mainstream business associations such as the Bangladesh Agro Processors Association and the Bangladesh Leather Manufacturers Association is low. Since registered trade

10 The Graft Index measures the proportion of instances in which firms were either expected or requested to pay a gift or informal payment when applying for six different public services.

11 The Jatiya Mahila Sangstha (National Women’s Association) is a government body and is not strictly a business association but supports women entrepreneurs. The Women’s Entrepreneurs’ Association (WEA) is the oldest body followed by the Women Entrepreneurs Association of Bangladesh (WEAB); Bangladesh Federation of Women Entrepreneurs (BFWE); the Bangladesh Women’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BWCCI); and regional associations such as the Chittagong Women Chamber of Commerce & Industry (CWCCI).


associations12 play an important role in the formulation and negotiation of trade policies, women’s participation at decision-making levels of these institutions is critical and should be supported. Existing programs to build member capacity are currently inadequate in terms of their female focus. Additionally, Bangladeshi women entrepreneurs have limited access to business networks (L. B. Jahan 2017). Although women do participate in trade fairs, social and family constraints appear to restrict their effectiveness in marketing and promoting their goods in international settings. Some interviewed women mentioned that they were able to tap into the networks of their male family members (e.g. father or husband) to make some initial contacts.

Households

Gender norms casting men as “breadwinners” and women as “caretakers” shape the divi-sion of labor in families and impact women’s ability to participate in paid productive work outside the home. In urban areas, marriage is highly correlated with lower female economic

activity rates and having young children dramatically reduces the likelihood of women participating in the labor force (Solotaroff, et al. 2019). Time use data show that women spend on average 26 hours a week on household chores compared to only 8 hours for men (Bangladesh Jobs Diagnostic based on data from BBS), limiting wom-en’s mobility. Purdah practices also significantly restrict women’s access to employment outside the home, often restricting women’s work to household enterprises and family farms, usually as unpaid, contributing-family labor. Mobility restrictions and cultural barriers to visiting financial agents located in male-dominated markets further constrain women’s access to finance.

Workplace and market-based entrepreneurial activities are considered to be ‘male domains.’ Local markets in upazilas, or local haat bazaars, have a dedicated committee for promoting women’s business and are supposed to ensure women-friendly corners in markets reserved for female vendors. These committees often lie inactive, however, women-friendly corners are often overtaken by men’s businesses, and lack of critical infrastructure such as women’s bathrooms further constrict women’s opportunities for entrepreneurship and trade.13 Employer-based biases against women’s work reveal that employers think women “disrupt the work environment” (Solotaroff, et al. 2019). Economic necessity thus often dictates whether a woman works: poor and landless women are more likely to engage in paid work than non-poor women (ADB and ILO 2016).

Gender-based violence is a pressing issue for Bangladeshi women affecting their employment deci-sions. A UNDP study found that 90 percent of female entrepreneurs in the textile and apparel sector and 65 percent of those in the agro-food industry report having faced sexual harassment at their workplace (Raihan, Khondker, et al. 2016). Yet these data likely underreport the prevalence of violence since such incidents usually remain unreported. With an increasing presence of women in the public sphere, the incidence of gender-based violence in public has also increased according to BBS statistics and police records (Bangladesh Bureau of Statis-tics 2015b). Safety concerns lead women to often seek out female-dominated fields, which further exacerbates occupational sex segregation (Solotaroff, et al. 2019). Trafficking of women and girls is also a concern. Bangla-desh has been reported as primarily being a source and, to a lesser extent, a transit and destination country for men, women, and children subjected to forced labor and sex trafficking.

12 In particular the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI), the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI), the Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI), and trade associations for key export industries such as BGMEA, BKMEA, Bangladesh Agro-processors Association (BAPA), BASIS (for software developers), etc.

13 This finding comes from the World Bank’s 2012 “Gender, Social Protection, and Human Rights Project in Bangladesh,” which was funded by the Nordic Trust Fund (NTF) and piloted various activities in 9 villages in Dinajpur and Rangpur to complement existing efforts towards local women’s economic empowerment.


3. Opportunities for Bangladeshi Women in Trade

This study began with an examination of 22 sectors, which quantitative data analysis identified as both important for Bangladesh’s regional trade due to significant exports to SAR over 2010–16 as well as having more than 10 percent female employment in at least one employment category (see Annex

A for detailed methodology). Field-level findings and observations from interviews, consultations, and work-shops then helped further narrow down these 22 industries to the seven with the most significant potential for promoting women’s participation at different levels of the value chain. This section provides a summary of the opportunities to strengthen women’s entrepreneurship and promote greater engagement in regional trade in fisheries, agricultural products, agro-processing, medicaments and medicinal plants, jute and jute products, footwear/leather goods, and IT services.


Fisheries

Bangladesh ranks fifth in world aquaculture and third in inland fisheries production (FAO 2017). The Department of Fisheries reported production of 3.88 million metric tons (MT) of fish and fisheries products in 2015-16 (Fisheries Resources Survey System (FRSS) 2017). The fisheries sector

constitutes 3.65 percent of Bangladesh’s national GDP and 23.81 percent of its agricultural GDP (Fisheries Resources Survey System (FRSS) 2017). More than 11 percent of Bangladesh’s population is employed either part- or full-time in the fisheries sector (Bangladesh Foreign Trade Institute 2016). Aquaculture constitutes 52.5 percent of Bangladesh’s total fisheries sector production, inland capture fisheries 29 percent, and marine and coastal capture fisheries 18.5 percent. Major export items are frozen shrimp and prawn, frozen fish, fresh and chilled fish, fattened mud crab, salted and dehydrated fish, dry fish, and value-added shrimp and fish products. The second largest export industry in Bangladesh after RMG is prawn and shrimp, which contributed USD 438.7 million in 2015-16 (BFTI 2016).

Women are concentrated in processing jobs in the fisheries sector, with only limited involvement in trad-ing across all industries of inland aquaculture, inland capture, and coastal fisheries. Women hold about 1.4 million of the 17.8 million jobs in Bangladesh’s aquaculture and fisheries sector (Bangladesh Department of Fisheries 2016), and their involvement is very localized (Rahman et al. (2011); Huq (2015)). According to Bangla-desh’s Survey of Manufacturing Industries (SMI) 2012, women constitute about 39 percent of those employed in the processing and preserving of fish, crustaceans, and mollusks (Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics 2013b). Women make up 64 percent of temporary workers in the fish production and export sector and only 18 percent of working owners (Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics 2013b). Women comprise about 88 percent of the over 1 million factory workers in the shrimp processing sector. Processing (e.g. salting and drying) is a popular area of engagement for women because of the low requirements in terms of investment, technology, and physical strength or skills. Women’s involvement in trading, however, is low, with women not engaged in the aggregation, transportation, or marketing of fish. Kruijssen et al. (2016) reveal that women make up only one percent of actors involved in fisheries trading and retail in southwest Bangladesh. The few women involved in trading are more vulnerable than their male counterparts due to their relative lack of market information and frequent exploitation and unfair treatment by other businessmen and traders (Nuruzzaman (2012); Shirajee et al. (2010)).

Aquaculture is a vibrant, growing sector in Bangladesh with potential to enhance women’s economic and social empowerment. A number of actions have been taken to enable women’s work in the high export shrimp and prawn industry; this includes addressing some of the socio-cultural and security concerns of work outside the home by allowing women to work in groups, the installment of CCTV cameras, and the provision of separate women’s dining rooms (Choudhury, et al. 2017). Despite limited potential for women’s trade of shrimp, there is greater potential for their involvement in finfish and crab trade. Fresh finfish and dried fish are in high demand in India, especially in the northeast, and in the rest of the region. Salinization of Bangladesh’s coastal areas – especially in the southwestern districts of Satkhira, Khulna, Bagerhat, and Chittagong – is conducive to crab fattening and can be a potential source of livelihood for Bangladeshi women.

Women are already involved in all stages of aquaculture of finfish either directly or indirectly. With finfish production being predominantly home-based, it is particularly conducive to women’s participation. Roughly 4.27 million households in Bangladesh, or 20 percent of all rural households, run at least one homestead pond (Belton and Azad, The characteristics and status of pond aquaculture in Bangladesh 2012); some women benefit from managing these ponds while men are away earning from other livelihood opportunities (Choudhury, et al. 2017). In Khulna, where finfish production is the highest, there are ample water bodies – ponds, seasonal water bodies and baors (ox-bow lakes) – that women could access to become major finfish producers. While finfish in Khulna is sold mostly frozen or chilled, there is great potential for women in the area to also engage


in dried and salted finfish, which are in high demand in India and the rest of the region. Drying and salting fish does not require technology-intensive investment and can therefore easily be promoted in the southwestern districts. Processing is currently concentrated in Chittagong and Cox’s Bazar in the southeast for marine fish and in Sylhet and Sunamganj in the northeast for freshwater fish. Belton et al. (2017) find that many women involved in processing use every part of the fish (including the fish heads, entrails, swim bladders, and oils extracted), and thus play a crucial role in adding value to the product. These women go through multiple middlemen who sell to traders who come to the village and are usually paid in kind. Since three of Khulna’s leading districts in fish production (Jessore, Satkhira, and Bagerhat) border West Bengal in India, there is great potential for area women to move up the value chain to engage directly in trade.

Agricultural Products

Export shares of Bangladesh’s agricultural products are small and growth trends are un-even across products. Bangladesh has seen a shift in the composition of its agriculture sector with a gradual decline in the share of crop agriculture and an increase in the share of non-crop

agriculture. Farmers are growing larger volumes of vegetables that they sell domestically and internationally. Bangladesh earned USD 208.16 million in 2016-17 from agricultural product exports to 82 countries (Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics). This section highlights four agricultural products in Bangladesh – potatoes, maize, mangoes and cut flowers – that are either exported or have export potential, and in which women’s involvement as producers and entrepreneurs can be scaled up.

The main challenges in this sector are not gender specific, but rather affect both men and women engaged in the sector. One important challenge to exporting Bangladeshi agricultural products is meeting international phytosanitary standards in production and processing. The transportation of goods remains quite difficult, with limited air transportation. Information about export markets in the region is also limited and these markets remain largely closed to potential exporters. Finally, Bangladesh lacks central and regional post-harvest and packaging centers for high-value fruits and vegetables as exist in Thailand, India, and Pakistan. Current facilities for washing, grading, storing, weighing, quality testing, and packaging are inadequate for meeting international standards for export.

Dissemination of information on new technologies and products as well as efforts to promote women’s entrepreneurship are enabling involvement in the production of agricultural products – such efforts need to be strengthened. Women and men are increasingly familiar with new seeds, technologies, processes, and improved cropping patterns. Awareness is being raised through NGOs, the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), TV programs (such as the famous “Mati o Manush”), seed production agents, and fertilizer companies. These initiatives should be sustained, but also improved so that training and services target women agricultural producers.

PotatoesBangladesh is the sixth largest potato producer in the world (FAO 2018d) and women are involved in this sector in a limited capacity. Potato production increased from about 7.93 mil-lion metric tons (MT) in 2009-10 to about 11.34 million MT in 2016–17 (Export Promotion Bureau

n.d.). Bangladeshi potatoes accounted for about 0.56 million USD in export value in 2015-16 (Export Promotion Bureau n.d.), and are primarily exported to Malaysia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Brunei, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. Women are currently involved in potato production in a limited way.


There are a number of problems in the potato export market, including low export earnings and price volatility; however, there is an opportunity to increase women’s involvement in processing. While there is low export demand for Bangladeshi potato varieties, potato products such as potato flakes and starch have high export value. Increasing women’s engagement in the production of these goods will require training, sup-port for market access (including through the use of ICT), and the provision of adequate processing facilities, among other things.

MaizeProduction of maize has increased considerably in Bangladesh, with women playing a vital role in its cultivation. Maize production increased from 0.73 million MT in 2009 to 3.29 million MT in 2018 (FAO 2018a). Maize is now the most important cereal crop in Bangladesh following rice,

serving the domestic market as livestock feed and more recently being exported abroad. The role of women in Bangladesh’s maize industry is critical, but mostly limited to production and on-farm activities. Women contrib-ute to approximately 80 percent of maize plucking, 20 percent of irrigation, 90 percent of shelling maize kernels from the cobs, and 80 percent of drying and cleansing activities (Oxfam International 2013). Women are often absent from the higher segments of the maize value chain as aggregators, processors, or traders.

The limited inputs required by maize production creates potential for further engaging poor and mar-ginalized women farmers in the industry. Since maize requires comparatively less inputs than rice or wheat, agriculture specialists highlight it as more profitable than other cereals. There is scope to expand women’s en-gagement in production as well as other parts of the maize value chain like milling and trade. Diversifying maize products to include sweet and baby corn could also expand opportunities for women.

MangoesBangladesh is the ninth largest mango-producing country in the world (FAO 2018c). The Food and Agricultural Organization’s (FAO) FAOSTAT database shows that while Bangladesh’s man-go production was very steady around 0.18 million metric tons (MT) between 1990 and 2002, it

has been rising since, reaching 0.8 million MT in 2008 and 1.4 million MT in 2018 (FAO 2018c). Bangladesh only started exporting mangoes in 2015 (The Financial Express 2019). The Cottage Industry Survey 2011 (Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics 2013a) estimates that about 38 percent of those engaged in the industry are women.

Women face various constraints throughout the mango value chain. Despite their high levels of partici-pation in the mango industry, Bangladeshi women are mostly localized in mango production, harvesting, and small-scale processing (making pickles and chutneys), while remaining largely absent from the monetization stage of the value chain. Barriers to women’s broader participation in the value chain include their lack of knowl-edge of orchard management, post-harvest management, and marketing. Women also have little to no market access given mobility restrictions and the absence of nearby markets and/or bulk storage facilities. Limited collateral and procedural knowledge also restrict women’s financial access to start their own mango businesses.

Cut flowersBangladesh is a new and small player in flower cultivation, but cut flowers is a booming industry in southwestern Khulna Division, mainly in Jessore district. Production of cut flowers in Bangladesh rose sharply between 2009-10 and 2015-16 from 4,000 MT to 29,000 MT

(Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics 2016c). Bangladesh exports flowers to India, Pakistan, Italy, Portugal, Saudi Ara-bia, the United States, South Korea, the Philippines, Singapore, Japan, Germany, Britain, Denmark, and France


(Export Promotion Bureau n.d.). There is no national data on women’s employment share in the Bangladeshi cut flowers sector. USAID’s Agricultural Value Chain Project, however, finds that women are involved in flower cultivation, cutting, and sending flowers on to wholesale markets but tend not to be involved higher up the cut flower value chain.

There is potential for women farmers and traders in southwestern and central Bangladesh to be more involved in the cut flower sector. Production of exotic flowers has been considerable in these areas of the country. Interviews conducted with program management of Oxfam, DAI, and SDC highlighted that the Middle East and India have a market for these products, to which Bangladesh could increase cross-border exports during high-demand festival seasons. Despite women’s lack of involvement in higher levels of the cut flower value chain, there are opportunities in production, storage, and marketing of quality seed and packaging mate-rial; direct/business-to-business marketing of flowers to customers; and production and niche marketing of new products such as flower ornaments, decorative bouquets, bio-fertilizer, and bio-pesticide.14

14 Final report on women in value chains, USAID, AVC Project, 2016: 6.


Agro-processing

Agro-processing is a growing sector in Bangladesh. The sector experienced an average annual growth of 7.7 percent between fiscal years 2004-05 and 2010-11, and currently stands at USD 2.2 billion. Export of agro-processed products from Bangladesh increased rapidly from USD 60 million

to USD 224 million between 2010-2011 and 2014–15. Despite some fluctuations in agro-processing exports due to sanitary and phytosanitary measures, the sector is expected to continue to grow (Innovision Consulting Private Limited 2016).

The majority of workers in the agro-processing sector are women. The agro-processing sector employs about 20 percent of Bangladesh’s labor force and accounts for about 22 percent of the country’s manufacturing production (Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics 2016b). Most agro-processing workers are reportedly women, and the SME Women Enterprise Directory 2015 reports that 10.3 percent of Bangladesh’s women’s enterprises in 2015 were in the sector (Ahmed, Hossain and Hossain 2018). In 2012, women constituted about 21 percent of Ban-gladesh’s total employment in the processing and preserving of fruit and vegetables, 16 percent of production workers, and 44 percent of temporary workers (Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics 2013b). Major agro-processing companies like PRAN and Square also have large agro-processing facilities in which women are the majority of workers.

Production data of agro-processed items are not easily available since food production companies do not com-pile or share their information.15 The five products discussed below account for a very small percentage of total Bangladeshi exports. However, their export to the region is growing.

n Flour, meal, powder, flakes, granules and pellets of potatoes accounted for about 0.11 percent of total exports to South Asia (mainly to Nepal) over 2010-16, for an export value of USD 1.95 million up from almost nil in 2012-13. Women comprise approximately a 6 percent share of total employment in the manufacture of grain mill products (other than rice milling)16, constituting about 8 percent of production workers and less than one percent of firm owners (Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics 2013b). Similarly, the Cottage Industry Survey 2011 (Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics 2013a) finds that about 26 percent of those engaged in the manufacture of grain mill products are women, while only 1.75 percent of the cottage estab-lishments in the sector are women-owned.

n Sugar confectionery not containing cocoa accounted for about 0.53 percent of total exports to the region (mainly to Nepal) over 2010-16. The export value increased in a fluctuating manner from USD 0.13 million to USD 6.24 million between 2010-11 and 2015-16 (Export Promotion Bureau n.d.). Women account for 2.43 percent of total employment in the manufacture of cocoa, chocolate, and sugar confectionery,17 constituting about 3.5 percent of production workers and 3.9 percent of tempo-rary workers (Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics 2013b). The Cottage Industry Survey 2011 finds that only about 1.2 percent of sugar confectionary cottage industries are owned by women (Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics 2013a).

n Prepared foods accounted for about 0.39 percent of total exports to the region (mainly to Bhutan and Myanmar) over 2010-16. Its export value increased in a fluctuating manner from USD 0.54 million to USD 2.83 million between 2010-11 and 2015-16 (Export Promotion Bureau n.d.). The Cottage Industry

15 Consultation with BAPA on November 27, 2017.16 BSIC four-digit code: (1061) Manufacture of grain mill products except rice milling. 17 BSIC four-digit code: (1073) Manufacture of cocoa, chocolate and sugar confectionery.


Survey 2011 finds that while 34 percent of Bangladeshis engaged in manufacturing “other food products”18 are women, only 1.2 percent of cottage establishments in the industry are owned by women (Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics 2013a).

n Baked goods are a growing industry in Bangladesh, with the export value having increased sharply from USD 0.61 million to USD 2.90 million between 2013 and 2016 (Export Promotion Bureau n.d.). Women account for about 16 percent of total employment in baked product manufacturing in Bangladesh,19 constituting 15 percent of production workers and 35 percent of temporary workers (Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics 2013b). The Cottage Industry Survey 2011 finds that 7 percent of cottage industries manufacturing baked goods are owned by women (Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics 2013a).

n Bangladeshi exports of farinaceous products to the region have fluctuated while the domestic market is reportedly expanding. The value of regional exports of farinaceous products – such as pasta (regardless of whether it is cooked, stuffed, or otherwise prepared) and couscous – spiked from USD 0.01 in 2013-14 to USD 0.24 million in 2014-15, before dropping drastically again to USD 0.02 million in 2015-16 (Export Promotion Bureau n.d.). About 14 percent of Bangladesh’s total employment in farinaceous product20 manufacturing is comprised of women, with women making up about 18 percent of production workers and 8.5 percent of temporary workers (Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics 2013b). Furthermore, about 21 percent of Bangladeshi cottage industries that manufacture farinaceous products are owned by women (Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics 2013a).

While the government recognizes that the agro-processing sector has considerable export potential, there is currently inadequate support for its growth and expanding women’s opportunity. There are, for instance, concerns regarding the maintenance of technology and non-tariff measures in exports – such as quality standards and certification – that need to be tackled. Quality control and other standards introduced to comply with importing country requirements can be costly and burdensome for small businesses. Therefore, the government should engage with representatives of small business, including women-owned businesses, in the future development of national standards and certification systems.

Women can be further engaged in the agro-processing sector and enabled to produce and process export products for the region. While many women are engaged in the prepared foods sector, especially in cities, they are mostly engaged in the lower tier of the production value chain as production workers rather than as managers. Given women’s current involvement in the sector along with the considerable market for Bangla-deshi agro-processed goods in India, there is scope to further increase women’s participation in the sector. This includes expanding women’s presence and roles in the grain milling industry, in export of baked goods, and in domestic trade of farinaceous products. There is a need for better understanding on how to engage women in higher tiers of the agro-processing supply chain.

18 BSIC three-digit code: (1076) Manufacture of other food products. Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) and Cottage Industry Survey (CIS) use different terms – prepared foods and other food products – to indicate preparation of food by women in small-scale businesses; these terms are taken to mean the same thing in an attempt to analyze export and industry data together.

19 BSIC four-digit code: (1071) Manufacture of bakery products; BSIC three-digit code: (107) Manufacture of other food products.20 BSIC four-digit code: (1074) Manufacture of macaroni, noodles, couscous and similar farinaceous products; BSIC three-digit code: (107) Manufacture of other food products.


Medicaments and Medicinal Plants

Even though Bangladesh only started participating in the global export market for medic-inal herbs in 2013, it has seen a steady increase in the export of herbal medicaments (BFTI 2016). The production of medicinal plants in Bangladesh is not well recorded, despite their popu-

larity in alternative medicine. According to the World Health Organization (WHO n.d.), herbal medicines include herbs, herbal materials, herbal preparations, and finished herbal products that contain as active ingredients parts of plants, other plant materials, or combinations. Bangladesh has about 550 medicinal plants that mostly grow in Dhaka, Rajshahi, Sylhet, and Chittagong Divisions – 300 of which are used commonly in the preparation of traditional ayurvedic and unani medicine (I. Jahan 2016). Herbal medicine21 is very popular in South Asia; exports from Bangladesh to the region more than doubled between 2010 and 2016, rising from USD 10.26 to USD 23.49 million (Export Promotion Bureau n.d.). Large firms such as Square Herbal and Nutraceuticals Ltd. and ACME Laboratories source raw materials through contract farming and about 400 government nurseries are involved in planting to improve production.

The role of women in medicinal plants is concentrated in the lower tiers of production and harvesting, as is the case for most agricultural products. Women constitute about 15 percent of total employment in the manufacturing of allopathic pharmaceuticals, medicinal chemicals, and botanical products,22 making up about 20 percent of production workers, 27 percent of temporary workers, and 10 percent of business owners (Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics 2013b). The share of female owners/proprietors/partners is much higher in the manufacturing of unani medicine23 and ayurvedic medicine,24 at 34 and 38 percent, respectively (Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics 2013b). The Cottage Industry Survey 2011 finds higher female engagement in small cottage establishments, with women constituting about 37 percent of those engaged in manu-facturing allopathic pharmaceuticals, medicinal chemicals, and botanical products25 (Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics 2013a). Among cottage industries manufacturing ayurvedic medicine,26 women account for seven percent of owners.

Herbal plant production and herbal medicine manufacturing are areas in which women’s en-gagement can be scaled up. BFTI (2016) flags a number of issues including lack of good cultivation and harvesting practices for medicinal plants as well as a dearth of proper storage facilities. Facilitating greater participation and growth of women-owned enterprises in this sector will require improvements in manufacturing, quality control, quality assurance, and quality distribution practices. Furthermore, there is a need to improve contacts with international buyers, information asymmetry regarding market trends and demand and supply conditions in the international market, and marketing facilities and sales promotion practices.

Jute and Jute Products

Bangladesh is the second largest producer of jute in the world after India (FAO 2018b), and the leading exporter of jute and jute products (Surabian and Konishi 2016). The major export

21 Herbal medicaments fall under the HS code for pharmaceuticals and toiletries – 30. 22 BSIC two-digit code: (21) Manufacture of pharmaceuticals, medicinal chemical and botanical products.23 BSIC code 2101.24 BSIC code 2102.25 BSIC three-digit code: (210) Manufacture of pharmaceuticals, medicinal chemical and botanical products (allopathic).26 BSIC four-digit code: (2102) Manufacture of ayurvedic medicine.


categories of jute are raw jute, traditional products of hessian cloth, gunny sacks and carpet backing cloth, and diversified (non-traditional) jute products (DJP).27 Bangladesh experienced increased regional export of jute yarn and fabrics between 2010 and 2016. The export value of yarn of jute or other textile bast fibers (mainly exported to India, Sri Lanka, and Myanmar) increased from USD 33.9 million to USD 88.7 million over 2010-16, accounting for about 8.3 percent of total exports to the region. The export value of woven fabrics of jute or other textile bast fibers (mainly exported to India and Sri Lanka) increased from USD 9.9 million to USD 19.7 million during this same period, accounting for about 2.13 percent of total exports to South Asia. In the absence of a harmonized system code (HS code) for jute goods, export data for DJPs is limited.

Women constitute about one-fifth of Bangladesh’s jute sector workforce, and women’s ownership of jute cottage industries is very high in the country’s rural areas. Bangladeshi women are considerably in-volved as producers and workers in the jute sector as well as in processing and manufacturing of jute products. Women are traditionally involved in post-harvest management and production of jute-based products, mostly hand-crafted functional and decorative items. Women constitute about 20 percent of total employment in the pressing and belling of jute and other fibers, making up 20 percent of production workers, 86 percent of temporary workers, 50 percent of family helpers, yet only 6 percent of working owners/proprietors/partners. However, women own about 98 percent of rural (4.4 percent of all) cottage industries pressing and belling

27 DJPs include specialty yarns and fabrics, various types of bags (the largest export segment), handicrafts, rags, espadrilles, fashion clothing, and some jewelry. There are reportedly 133 DJPs and approximately 400 DJP producers in Bangladesh who operate on a sub-contract basis in the export market.


jute and other fibers (Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics 2013a). Similarly, women account for about 22 percent of total employment in the manufacturing of jute textile, accounting for 24 percent of production workers, 18 percent of temporary workers, and 33 percent of family helpers, and 8 percent of working owners/proprietors/partners. Women own about 42 percent of rural (23 percent of all) cottage industries manufacturing jute textile (Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics 2013a).

Women are currently concentrated in lower tiers of jute production. Women’s participation in the jute sector remains weak in a number of ways. USAID finds that women in Bangladesh are largely not involved in jute production (de Brauw, et al. 2018), nor in the research and experimentation on improving production. Jute de-signs that women produce are not well oriented to the market, quality is not ensured, and production processes are inefficient with little technological input.28 Moreover, women’s involvement in the marketing of the jute goods that they produce is limited as they largely limit their goods to local markets and fail to leverage modern marketing technologies such as e-commerce or social media. Barriers in access to finance stem women’s ability to establish and grow their own jute businesses as well as engage in trade.

Women can benefit significantly from an expansion in jute/jute product exports given their significant employment in the jute sector. Jute is a sector where Bangladeshi women’s engagement can be scaled up as well as potentially moved up the value chain. While a large share of jute cottage businesses in rural areas are owned by women, there is potential to increase women’s ownership of slightly larger jute businesses. Assistant Secretary of Research and Development at the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce & Industry (DCCI) notes that DJPs are produced mostly by SMEs (Islam 2019). Since women are more likely to own small and medium enterprises (SMEs) than larger enterprises, there is potential to expand the number and share of women entrepreneurs owning DJP businesses.

Footwear/Leather Goods

Bangladesh is a top producer and exporter of footwear globally but its footwear exports to the region represent a small percentage of its total regional trade. Bangladeshi footwear exports have increased more than 16-fold since 2001, accounting for a growing share of manufac-

turing. As the second largest export item in the country after RMG, leather goods currently make up 3.5 percent of total annual exports (Hong 2018). Bangladesh annually exports about USD 1.16 billion in footwear and leather goods (LFMEAB 2016). Asia is the largest consumer in the global footwear market and Bangladesh among the top Asian producers (Kathuria and Malouche 2016). Bangladesh, for instance, reportedly produces 90 percent of the world’s non-leather espadrilles (Kathuria and Malouche 2016). Rubber and plastic footwear are also an important segment of production in Bangladesh and athletic footwear is well-suited for mass production. De-spite a steady increase in footwear exports to South Asia from USD 0.01 million in 2010 to USD 11.91 million in 2016, footwear accounted for only about 0.75 percent of all Bangladeshi exports to South Asia during this period (Export Promotion Bureau n.d.). Top footwear export destinations are Italy, New Zealand, Poland, UK, Belgium, France, Germany, the US, Canada, and Spain.

Bangladeshi women make up a greater share of employees in footwear/leather goods than most other sectors, and are employed in a diverse set of roles, including as owners. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) reports that women account for about 70 percent of employees in Bangladesh’s footwear firms (Hong 2018). In an interview, the Leather Goods and Footwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association of Bangladesh

28 Final report on women in value chains, USAID, AVC Project, 2016: 9


(LFMEAB) presented similar data, estimating that about 65 percent of workers in their members’ export-oriented factories are women. LFMEAB also noted that women are increasingly represented in footwear/leather goods management and ownership positions, including on company boards.

A number of challenges in the footwear/leather goods sector have been recognized by both the Government of Bangladesh and private sector. These include the currently narrow product range, limited technical and specialized skills at higher levels, delays in responding to evolving fashion trends, unsustainable policy support, and inadequate trade facilitation measures. LFMEAB furthermore stresses the need to go beyond the traditional goal of being low-cost and instead prioritize a move towards value-added products and product variation (LFMEAB 2010). Value chain analysis for different kinds of leather products and footwear is necessary to better understand where to concentrate efforts to integrate and support women at different levels, whether as designers, producers, workers, entrepreneurs, marketers, or traders.

There is potential to enhance women’s engagement in international and regional trade in the footwear/leather goods sector. Since footwear/leather goods exports are steadily increasing and women are employed in high numbers, women are likely to gain from an overall expansion of the sector. Regional markets need to be further explored, however. Footwear accessories, for instance, are presently imported from China and India. There is thus scope for Bangladeshi firms to produce footwear accessories and for women to engage in trade in this area, either in imports from or exports to SAR. Japan and Australia have also emerged as potential importers of these Bangladeshi goods.

Information Technology (IT) Services

IT services is a growing sector in Bangladesh. Neither the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) nor Bangladesh Bank maintain data on the export or import value of IT services. However, the Ban-gladesh Association of Software and Information Services (BASIS) estimates that Bangladesh’s IT

industry earned USD 1.54 billion in 2016 from local and international markets, up from USD 0.56 billion in 2014 (BASIS 2017). The industry employs around 70,000 people and generates about USD 400 million per year through its 1,000 registered software and information technology enabled services (ITES) companies (BASIS 2017). A few hundred unregistered companies additionally provide software and ITES business process outsourcing services (ITES-BPO) for local and export markets, and about 5,000 more people work as freelancers in the sector (Kathuria and Malouche 2015). Of Bangladesh’s IT firms, 47 percent are engaged in software development, 34 percent in multifunction, 11 percent in ITES, 5 percent in business process outsourcing services (BPO), and 3 percent in e-commerce (BASIS 2017).

There has been very high growth in export of Bangladeshi IT products and services. IT firms surveyed by BASIS reported 85 percent growth in clients from Bangladesh between 2015-16 – the largest domestic client being the Government of Bangladesh – compared to a 615 percent growth in clients from foreign markets over this same period (BASIS 2017). About 160 IT and ITES-BPO companies are estimated to be involved in export (BASIS 2017). Export earnings per IT firm increased from USD 296,200 to USD 653,042 between 2014 and 2016 while local market earnings per IT firm increased from USD 1,159,471 to USD 2,405,639 during this same period (BASIS 2017). The freelancer outsourcing community in Bangladesh supplemented IT exports by earning close to USD 7 million in 2010, and consistently appears in top freelance work locations such as oDesk and eLance. Over one-third of IT services exports are to the United States, 13 percent to India and the United Kingdom, and less to several other countries, including Bhutan (2 percent) and Myanmar (3 percent).


The share of women in the IT sector remains low and there are very few women in lead management positions or as owners. In 2017, 20,128 women were employed in the IT sector, making up 19.6 percent of all IT sector employees (BASIS 2017). Vice President of BASIS estimates that about two to three percent of women entrepreneurs and 12 percent of professionals in the sector are women.29 Significantly fewer women at IT firms are found in top positions (14.4 percent) whereas they constitute a greater share of employees in entry (23.3 percent) and mid-level (18.5 percent) positions (BASIS 2017).

The IT sector is bolstered by the government’s implementation of plans and policies to encourage a dig-ital Bangladesh and to subsidize rates of technological use. Various policy measures aim to promote the IT sector, such as Vision 2021 (also known as Digital Bangladesh) and the National ICT Policy 2015. The government has also committed to a second or third submarine cable connection as well as initiatives to reduce the cost of bandwidth. The sector is aided by a number of preferential policies whereby IT and ITES firms are exempted from income tax and enjoy value-added tax (VAT) exemptions from various imported hardware, software, and service purchases. The IT sector also benefits from the Equity Entrepreneurship Fund, a venture capital fund managed by Bangladesh Bank that offers equity support.

There is great potential for women to capitalize upon expanding IT sector opportunities, including through public training programs. UNESCAP’s Women ICT Frontier Initiative (WIFI) has developed information and communications technology (ICT) training modules for women that are being translated into Bangla and expected to reach 25,000 women. BASIS’ Women’s Forum on Women in IT is helping to develop the professional capacity of women working in the IT sector and those heading IT firms. Furthermore, with the support of the British Council, IT work for international markets is being supported through the establishment of 100 English resource centers helping to improve language skills.

Given the high unemployment rate for young people, household responsibilities of young women, and socio-cultural expectations regarding their mobility, IT freelancing is enhancing women’s opportunity. Increased use of mobile phones and the internet is driving income-earning opportunities for women and men through home-based work. While an enormous gender gap exists in Bangladesh’s IT freelance community, it is allowing women to earn more, and online work is providing them with greater flexibility and opportunity to succeed in technology-based careers over traditional onsite or full-time work. The government is enabling freelancing through various projects providing training to men and women for home-based IT work. With the support of the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs (MoWCA), the SME Foundation, BWIT, and a2i are, for instance, working to develop 3,000 women from the most remote and under-privileged areas around the country as ICT entrepreneurs, freelancers, skilled manpower, and ICT trainers. The Women ICT Freelancer and Entrepreneur Development Program also seeks to integrate women with a minimum requirement of Secondary School Certificate and basic computer literacy into the ICT supply chain through home-based income-gener-ating activities.

29 Estimate by Farhana Rahman, Vice President BASIS, given at BIDS seminar on “Bangladesh Journey: Accelerating Transformation”, 23-24 April 2017.


4. Recommendations

Despite women’s changing roles in the economic sphere, increasing and improving their engagement in regional trade – as business owners and workers – will require greater support for women’s entrepre-neurship and skills development. Various programs and donors have adopted a market-led approach

in Bangladesh in recent years to strengthen inclusion and outreach to vulnerable groups, including women. Household dynamics also appear to be changing, with women’s work outside of the home increasingly viewed as acceptable and beneficial. Yet, Bangladeshi women remain less integrated in markets compared to men and oftentimes trade on less advantageous terms.


A number of trade-related policy, asset, and capacity building measures as well as ones not directly related to trade are critically important for both women and men — and the Bangladeshi economy as a whole — to ad-dress existing barriers and reap the full benefits of trade expansion. The broader and sector-specific challenges outlined in sections 2 and 3 need to be tackled in order to promote inclusive regional trade and employment opportunities that benefit both men and women in Bangladesh. At the same time, it is critical to recognize and build on existing opportunities. Emerging from the analysis of key challenges and opportunities as well as from the qualitative work and interviews undertaken, a set of recommendations to strengthen women’s participation in and their benefits from expanded regional trade is presented in this section. Given the range of stakeholders engaged in trade and with women entrepreneurs and workers, the recommendations are not geared to a par-ticular stakeholder, but rather present ways of addressing critical issues and closing pressing gender gaps.

Integrating gender focus in trade policies A more inclusive trade strategy should be developed for Bangladesh with specific issues and needs of women entrepreneurs/traders mainstreamed into the design, implementation, and assessment of trade policy.

n Collect gender-disaggregated trade data through value chain analysis, poverty and social impact assess-ments, diagnostic trade integration studies, sector analysis, and export development analysis.

n Agencies and consultative groups engaged in shaping trade policies – such as the Inter-ministerial National Trade and Transport Facilitation Committee’s (NTTFC) Working Group for Women Traders and Entrepreneurs – should ensure adequate participation of women entrepreneurs, especially those with micro- and small enterprises.

n Increase women’s voice in technical and policy consultations to enable equitable benefits to women and men from trade while protecting them from adverse effects of trade expansion. In particular, involve women from business associations, chambers of commerce and industries in trade negotiations and on the WTO committee and, reflect the realities of women in trade by including gender-sensitive activities in a costed action plan, as in the 2012-17 Rwanda National Cross-Border Trade Strategy.

Learning opportunities should be provided to women entrepreneurs and traders on government poli-cies and procedures to address their limited access to information and resulting knowledge gap.

n Develop courses targeting women entrepreneurs at institutions like the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) to raise awareness of trade policies and procedures.

n Establish working groups for women entrepreneurs and traders orienting participants on government pro-cedures, facilities, and financing opportunities.

Closing asset and infrastructure gaps Parallel efforts should be undertaken at the policy, institutional, and programmatic levels to improve women entrepreneurs’ access to finance.

n Mainstream gender into the National Financial Inclusion Strategy Policy and other relevant policy documents.

n With women’s chambers and associations, revise national policies and Bangladesh Bank initiatives to provide special financing for women entrepreneurs and ensure proper implementation.


n Develop financial incentives for women exporters in collaboration with Bangladesh Bank.

n Train MFIs and rural banks on gender-sensitive financial inclusion and help establish gender-sensitive finan-cial products or credit lines.

n Provide financial literacy training to associations of women entrepreneurs to raise awareness of women’s rights to bank loans and services and improve their ability to present their case to banks, meet documenta-tion requirements, understand bank terms and conditions, handle bank loans.

n Promote fairs where banks learn about key production items in their region, present their financial products, and advise women on how to access loans.

Technological access should be expanded to increase female producers’ and entrepreneurs’ participa-tion in export.

n Connect women producers and traders with mobile technology and online outlets for accessing market information, breaking into new markets without relying on male-dominated networks, and directly selling their products to a wider customer base.

n Provide women entrepreneurs with new technology support through a cluster approach to help with mar-keting, exports, and negotiations as done by the Self-Employed Women’s Association.

n Build the IT skills of women, including in graphic design, data entry, and processing.

n Develop internship programs linking female students to IT companies.

Infrastructure investments should be made in border areas to create conducive and safe work environ-ments for women’s cross-border trade.

n Provide business infrastructure for small women traders in border areas like market stalls, storage space, and refrigerating rooms, depending on what value chains are most important in the area.

n Ensure adequate security for women at cross-border facilities through improved lighting, safe and hygienic women’s restrooms, private inspection rooms, women’s-only waiting areas and help desks, pedestrian lanes, and CCTV cameras.

n Provide critical support infrastructure for women traders, including separate and secure meal rooms, private nursing areas, childcare facilities, and education and health facilities.

Trade-related processes should be improved to better enable women’s trade.

n Require that border haats have a number of permits reserved for women.

n Establish simple, single window system for cross-border trade with a special desk/portal allowing women traders to submit required documents online to reduce time, travel costs, and corruption.

n Develop information campaigns on service standards as well as trade regulations and procedures targeting women entrepreneurs and traders.


n Conduct gender-sensitization training of customs and border security officials.

n Recruit and increase visibility of women staff in border agencies and service counters, for instance requiring that 10 percent of Clearing and Forwarding Agent licenses be granted to women.

n Formulate Operational Guidelines30 to raise awareness among customs broker and forwarding agents of what is expected of them to make border activities and areas safe for women, such as: requiring staff to welcome women to work and trade there; requiring that female officers be assigned at border posts; and, clarifying that physical (i.e. body) checks carried out on women crossing the border always be carried out by female customs officials or substitute female officials.

n Encourage private agencies working in border areas to follow government policies and laws regarding gen-der equality, discrimination, sexual harassment, and violence against women.

n Establish safe and confidential mechanisms to report wrongdoing at the border.

Improve women’s capacity and livelihoods Women should be provided opportunities to enhance their technical skills in key export-oriented sec-tors and their knowledge of sector-specific industry standards and certification requirements.

n Conduct a review of existing government, NGO, and private sector training programs and materials as well as consultations held with women trade associations and chambers of commerce to assess outreach, content, and financial support.

n Design standard operating procedures for business incubator programs training female workers in export-ori-ented manufacturing sectors to ensure that they do not fall behind as production shifts to more high-skilled and capital-intensive forms.

n Target women entrepreneurs and traders with training on sector-specific industry standards and certification requirements to support their entry and movement up trade value chains.

Business development training should also be provided to women entrepreneurs to strengthen their position in trade.

n Conduct a training needs assessment for the Women Entrepreneur Association of Bangladesh (WEAB), Cham-bers of Commerce, and SME Foundation to better target capacity building for aspiring women entrepreneurs, women-led SMEs, and exporters.

n Build women entrepreneurs’ and exporters’ skills on leadership, communication, marketing, bargaining and negotiations, time management, business proposal development, rules and regulations for setting up en-terprises, women’s rights in access to public training establishments, and obtaining support from business chambers.

n Encourage women’s chambers and associations to mentor women-owned firms with potential to engage in regional export and provide them with one-on-one management training, marketing support, access to some form of financing, affordable space, and shared offices.

30 As suggested by the Joint Secretary, GoI, at the Practitioner’s Workshop: Trade Facilitation Measures that Support Cross-border Trade by Women in BBIN (27-28 April 2017, New Delhi).


n Establish business development centers for women entrepreneurs at the district level and in border areas to facilitate linkages with processors and distributors to: provide support in preparing loan applications; facilitate linkages with larger processors and distributors; and, provide access to ICT, business development training courses, and trade-related information (e.g. export requirements, health and safety documentary requirements).

n Mobilize districts, women’s chambers of commerce, and entrepreneurs’ associations to facilitate women exporters’ participation in special economic zones (SEZs).

To maximize the economic returns of women producers and traders, efforts should be made to more effectively link them to existing information networks and value chains.

n Establish links between women producers and retailers to facilitate access to technical and market informa-tion, and between producers and private sector firms engaged in marketing and export.

n Based on value chains identified and researched, link women farmer groups in border districts with well-es-tablished border posts to agribusiness companies selling to local and export markets.

n Disseminate trade information, including from the Government of Bangladesh’s Digital Bangladesh flagship a2i Project, to women through local government bodies.

n Change chambers of commerce and trade associations’ membership norms and rules of inclusion to facilitate women’s entry to help promote products and services, strengthen voice in trade policy, and access training, finance, and information on trade regulations.

n Assist sectoral trade associations in undertaking research on present and potential involvement of women in their sectors; document best practices to represent, advocate for, and provide support to women producers and exporters; share across women’s chambers and associations.

n Support female entrepreneurs’ participation in trade fairs and exhibitions, regional networking opportunities, and exposure visits.

Sector-specific recommendationsWhile women’s involvement in traditional sectors such as dairy and agro-processing should be supported, their growth in other promising sectors should also be promoted. Table 4.1 summarizes the gaps and recommended actions that emerge from the analysis of the seven sectors described in section 3.


Table 4.1 Key gender gaps and recommended actions in promising sectors for women’s trade

Sector Key Gender Gaps Recommended Actions

Fisheries Women concentrated in processing jobs with limited involvement in production

Encourage women in Khulna to manage homestead finfish ponds in area waterbodies to become major home-based finfish producers

Encourage women’s work in growing crab fattening industry

Introduce affordable, effective, simple technology for women (e.g. fishing nets, mechanized ways to clean and gut fish, prepare fish-based food products)

Build awareness of phytosanitary standards for women-owned businesses and female workers

Low women's participation in shrimp production due to socio-cultural and security concerns of work outside the home

Assess worker conditions, benefits in shrimp factories (wages, hours, leave, harassment)

Encourage shrimp farms/factories to allow women to work in groups, install CCTV cameras, provide separate women’s dining rooms

Fish processing concentrated in southeast and northeast

Encourage women in southwest to create dried and salted finfish

Limited women's involvement in trading across all fisheries industries

Instead of using middlemen, encourage women in Jessore, Satkhira, and Bagerhat to engage directly in fish trade across West Bengal border

Improve branding of products to get special premiums and other benefits

Disseminate market information to women in southwest Bangladesh whose involvement in fisheries retail and trading is particularly limited

Improve women businesses’ and female workers’ awareness of fisheries product quality standards and phytosanitary standards

Agricultural products

Lack of women's involvement in higher levels of agricultural products value chains

Increase women’s involvement in processing to create high-value products such as potato flakes and starch

Expand women’s engagement in maize production, milling, and trade, and diversify maize products to include sweet and baby corn

Provide training opportunities for women on orchard management, post-harvest manage-ment, production (including production of new products), storage, and marketing

Build awareness of phytosanitary standards for women-owned businesses and female workers


Sector Key Gender Gaps Recommended Actions

Agro-processing Women concentrated in lower tiers of production value chains

Systematically collect gender-disaggregated data on employment in agro-processing

Conduct gender-sensitive analysis of sector value chains to inform policies, design interventions to support women’s economic participation

Engage with representatives of women-owned businesses on future development of national standards and certification systems

Conduct research, analysis on how to engage women in higher tiers of agro-processing supply chains

Expand women’s presence, roles in grain milling, export of baked goods, and domestic trade of farinaceous products

Medicaments & medicinal plants

Women concentrated in lower tiers of medicinal plant production, harvesting

Conduct detailed gendered analysis of ayurvedic, unani, and homoeopathic medicine value chains

Target women producers in good cultivation, harvesting practices and awareness campaigns

Develop linkages between female growers and potential buyers

Jute Inefficient female production of jute designs due to limited use of technology

Provide training opportunities for women on how to use various technology to produce DJPs

Small share of non-cottage sized jute businesses in rural areas owned by women

Encourage women’s ownership of slightly larger jute businesses as DJPs are mostly produced by SMEs

Women-produced jute goods largely limited to local markets

Conduct detailed analysis on women’s involvement in jute and jute product trade

Provide training opportunities for women to use modern technologies to expand customer base (e.g. using e-commerce, social media)

Footwear & leather goods

Limited technical skills at higher levels of the value chain

Conduct value chain analysis for footwear, leather products to best concentrate efforts to integrate, support women at different levels

Provide training opportunities for women to expand their technical and specialized skills in footwear and leather goods production

IT services Time-consuming household duties, socio-cultural mobility restrictions inhibit women's ability to take on full-time and traditional onsite work

Expand public training opportunities for women in IT that enable more flexible, part-time and home-based freelancing work


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Annex A. Methodology

The study adopted a mixed-methods approach that included literature reviews, quantitative analysis of employ-ment and trade data, key informant interviews and consultations, as well as field visits.

In the first stage, to identify the key export sectors important for Bangladesh’s regional trade31 that also have more than 10 percent female employment in at least one employment category, quantitative data from the Export Promotion Bureau, or EPB (Export Promotion Bureau n.d.), Survey of the Manufacturing Industries 2012 (Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics 2013b), and Cottage Industry Survey 2011 (Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics 2013a) were analyzed.32 Efforts were made to compare data for industries that are defined and classified some-what differently between the EPB on the one hand and the Survey of Manufacturing Industries 2012 and the Cottage Industry Survey 2011 on the other hand. EPB uses the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System, or Harmonized System (HS), an international product nomenclature developed by the World Customs Organization to classify industries. The Survey of Manufacturing Industries 2012 and the Cottage Industry Survey 2011 use Bangladesh Standard Industrial Classification (BSIC) codes based on the Interna-tional Standard Classification (ISIC). This study established an equivalence between HS and BISC codes based on similarity of products produced in the industry and the type of goods exported. A total of 22 industries were thus identified in Bangladesh with both leading exports to SAR over 2010–16 as well as notable female participation (Figure A.1).

In the second stage, field-level findings and observations were used to further narrow down these 22 key export industries with women’s participation to the seven with the most significant potential for promoting wom-en’s participation at different levels of the value chain. These seven industries are: (i) fisheries; (ii) agricultural products; (ii) agro-processing; (iv) medicaments and medicinal plants; (v) jute and jute products; (vi) footwear/leather goods; and (vii) IT services. The analysis in this paper is based on this narrowed-down list of export sectors and major industry divisions. Other research surveys such as MIDAS/SME Foundation survey on women entrepreneurs of 2009, BWCCI survey of 2008, and SANEM survey of 2014 were also used given the absence of more up-to-date large-scale data.

31 In the context of this study, the countries include Bhutan, India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka in the South Asia Region, as well as Myanmar. 32 Employment categories include: administrative and managerial; clerical and sales; production and related worker; working owner/proprietor/partner; temporary worker; and

family helper.


Figure A.1 Exports to the region over 2010–16 by export categories with significant women’s participation, billion USD

0 175000000 350000000

Diodes, transistors and similar semi-conductor devices; photosensitive semi-conductor devices

Electric accumulators

Table, kitchen or other household articles and parts thereof, of aluminium

Copper waste and scrap.

Footwear

Knitted or crocheted fabrics

Woven fabrics of jute or of other textile bast fibres

Yarn of jute or of other textile bast fibres

Woven fabrics of cotton

Tableware, kitchenware, other household articles and hygienic or toilet articles, of plastics

Soap

Medicaments

Milk and cream, concentrated or containing added sugar or other sweetening matter.

Bread, pastry, cakes, biscuits and other bakers' wares

Prepared foods obtained by the swelling or roasting of cereals or cereal products

Sugar confectionery (including white chocolate), not containing cocoa.

Flour, meal, powder, flakes, granules and pellets of potatoes.

Other nuts, fresh or dried

Potatoes, fresh or chilled.

Fish, dried, salted or in brine

Fish, frozen

Fish, fresh or chilled

Note: Export values for each export sector represent export to region over 2010–16 in million USD.Source: Compiled using data from Export Promotion Bureau (n.d.).


Annex B. List of Interview and Consultation Participants

Individuals and Associations/Organizations Interviewed

Name and Designation Organization/Location Date

Ferdousi Sultana Begum, former Social Development Advisor ADB April 6, 2017

Parvez Mohammad Asheque, Director, Private Sector Engagement, CARE BangladeshNurul Amin Siddiquee, Technical Advisor, Sustainable Agriculture, CARE USA

CARE Bangladesh April 23, 2017

Amita Dey, Agricultural Value Chains Project, Bangladesh Development Alternatives, Inc., DAI

April 24, 2017

Omar Farooque, National Program OfficerShakil Mansoor, National Program OfficerMashabil Mokarabbin, IT Associate

International Organization for Migration – IOM Dhaka

May 2, 2017

Sabah Moyeen, Senior Social Development Specialist World Bank, Dhaka Office May 2, 2017

Anju Sarkar (Phul Bowdi) Flower trader, Jessore May 7, 2017

Women flower group, Panshiara village, Panshiara Union, Post office Godkhali, Jessore.

Women flower group, Jessore May 7, 2017

Dipa Majumdar, Ankur Mahila Unnayun Sangstha, BWCCI memberSahina Zaman, Kalmilata Mahila Unnayan Sangstha, BWCCI memberSufia Khatun, Member Mahila Parishad, BWCCI memberRaiza Khatun, Rafiq Handicrafts, BWCCI memberJosna Aalim, Ghorni, BWCCI memberArchana Biswas, ED, Joyoti Foundation , BWCCI memberLaila Hasan, Mim Three Piece House, BWCCI memberRokeya, Keya Handicrafts, BWCCI member

Women entrepreneurs at Joyeeti Foundation (members of Bangladesh Women Chamber of Commerce and Industries)

May 7, 2017

Janntul Firdous Lucky, Ashtha TradersRasheda Khatun, WE, flower traderLipi Ara, Three L Block and Boutik FashionAleya Fedousi WEShyamoli Basu, WE, flower trader

Women entrepreneurs in Jhenaidah (members of Bangladesh Women Chamber of Commerce and Industries)

May 8, 2017

Mir Nasir Uddin, PresidentKh Sakawat Hossain, Director, Chamber of Commerce Abu Zafar Firoz, Retired US diplomat Ziaul Huq Firoz, Jr Vice President Mahbub Ali Mridha, Manager DBBLLucky, General Member

Jessore Chamber of Commerce May 8, 2017


Name and Designation Organization/Location Date

Parveen Aziz, Seed Retailer Jhenaidah May 8, 2017

ASM Humayun Kabir Kobu, ED Queen’s Hospital and former Director, JCCIMizanur Rahman, ex-Director, JCCI –imports and exports motorbikesAhsan Habib Choudhury, ex-Director, JCCIMd. Abdul Malek, ex-Director, JCCI, President Brick Fields Owners AssociationMujibur Rahman, ex-Director, JCCI and General Body member FBCCIArchana Biswas, Joyoti Society

Jessore Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Jessore

May 8, 2017

Meeting with Md. Abdur Rahim, President, Bangladesh Flower Society (BFS) Bangladesh Flower Society (BFS), Godkhali, Jessore

May 9, 2017

Md. Sakawat Hossain, Commissioner of Customs Bangladesh Customs May 9, 2017

Rafiqul Islam, Secretary Benapole Municipal Corporation May 9, 2017

Sohail Ibn Ali, Senior Program Manager, Economic Governance Swiss Development Corporation May 10, 2017

Md. Anisur Rahman Chowdhury – Livelihood and Private Sector CoordinatorShafiqur Rahman Khan – Enterprise Development Project Manager

Oxfam May 11, 2017

Mahmuda Rahman Khan, Senior Program Development Specialist Gender, Donor Coordination and GOB Liaison Program Office

USAID, Bangladesh May 23, 2017

Gupta Bahadur Banjara, General Manager Katalyst June 1, 2017

Nasreen Awal Mintoo, Founder and President Md. Saiduzzaman Sunny, Executive Officer

Women Entrepreneurs Associa-tion of Bangladesh

June 4, 2017

A F M Fakrul Islam Munshi, President Bangladesh Agro Processors Association

June 8, 2017

Amitava Chakrabarty, Director (Program, Research and Policy Advocacy)Tapas Chandra Banik, Research Associate Nahrin Rahman Swarna, Junior Research Associate

Bangladesh Foreign Trade Institute

June 8, 2017

Luna Shamsuddoha, Chairman, Dohatec New Media & President of Bangladesh Women In Technology (BWIT)

Dohatec New MediaBangladesh Women In Technol-ogy (BWIT)

June 10, 2017

Kazi Roushon Ara (Shumi), Executive Director Leathergoods and Footwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association of Bangladesh

October 3, 2017

Mustain Billah, Head of Policy and Resources Leathergoods and Footwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association of Bangladesh

October 3, 2017

Hemayet Uddin, Joint Secretary and Project Director BRTP, Ministry of Commerce October 5, 2017

Md. Khalilur Rahman, Deputy Director WTO Cell, Ministry of Commerce October 5, 2017

Md. Ziaul Huq, Director WTO Cell, Ministry of Commerce October 5, 2017

Farhana, Vice President BASIS October 9, 2017


November 1, 2017 Morning Session Consultation Participants

Women’s Associations

No. Name & Designation Organization

1 Nahrin Rahman Swarna BFTI

2 Jesmin Akhter, Senior Vice President Chittagong Women CCI

3 Sal Sabila Mahbub Kanta, Associate member Sylhet Women CCI

4 Shamsun Nahar, Womens Chamber Director Sylhet Women CCI

8 Mahmuda Khatun, Coordinator (Training and Development) Women Entrepreneur Association of Bangladesh

5 Safayat Ahmed (Rika), Jr. officer WEAB

6 Md. Hemayet Uddin, Project Director (J/S) BRCP, MOC

7 Farzana Khan, DGM SME Foundation

9 Tapas Chandra Barik, Research Associate BFTI

November 1, 2017 Afternoon Session Consultation Participants

Trade Bodies and Chambers of Commerce and Industries


1 Md. Kamruzzaman Mridhu, President Bangladesh Organic Products Manufacturers Association

2 Md. Mizanur Rahman, General Secretary Bangladesh Organic Products Manufacturers Association

3 Md. Rafiqul Islam, Ex. DG DoF Bangladesh Shrimp and Fish Foundation

4 Hiranmony Bhattacharjee, Senior Aquaculture Expert Bangladesh Shrimp and Fish Foundation

8 Nur-E-Ferdous, Coordinator SEIP-Bangladesh Agro Processors Association

5 Evance Rozario, Executive Marketing Bangladesh Agro Processors Association

6 Tapas Chandra Barik, Research Associate BFTI


9 Moammir Hussain Chowdhury Sylhet Metropolitan CCI

10 Shohag Chandra Das, Asst. Project Manager Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services

11 Mustain Billah, Head of Policy and Resource Leathergoods And Footwear Manufacturers & Exporters Association of Bangladesh

12 Hosna Ferdous, Private Sector Specialist WB

13 Zahin Uddin Md. Babor Bangladesh Flower Society

14 Rubaba Dowla Bangladesh Women in Technology


November 2, 2017 Consultation Participants

INGOs and Donors


1 Nurul Siddiquee, COP ACDI/VOCA

2 Humaira Aziz CARE

3 Madhab Chandra Das HELVETAS

4 Zohora Farzana Ahmed Bipasha Winrock International

8 Sawarendra Nath Choudhury Winrock International

5 Selim Reza Hasan Solidaridad

6 Amita Dey USAID AVC Project/DAI

7 Shahswatee Biplop, Sr. Program Manager DFAT, Australian High Commission

9 Priyanka Chowdhury, Economic Research Officer DFAT, Australian High Commission

10 Jannat Adib Chowdhury, Manager, Capitalization & External Relations Swisscontact, Katalyst

11 Malcolm Dickson, Country Director WorldFish

12 Md. Anisur Rahman Chowdhury Oxfam

13 B.N. Naher, Gender Focal Point FAO

14 Md. Hemayet Uddin BRCP MoC

15 Dr. Arun Kumar Saha, Consultant World Bank

16 Tapas Chandra Barik BFTI


18 Mahmuda Rahman Khan, Gender Advisor USAID


November 8, 2017 Consultation Participants

No. Name of Participant Institution

1 Mr. Md. Manzurul Hannan HORTEX

2 AFM Fakhrul Islam Munshi Bangladesh Agro-Processing Association (BAPA)

3 Md. Nurul Islam Bangladesh Agro-Processing Association (BAPA)

4 Evance Rozario Bangladesh Agro-Processing Association (BAPA)

5 MR. AZM Sakhawat Hossain Social Development Foundation (SDF)

6 Mr. Lutfor Rahman SDF

7 Mr. S.R Kadir SDF

8 Dr. Ratan Chandra Dey PIU- DAE (NATP-II)

9 Mr. Hemayet Uddin WTO Cell, Ministry of Commerce

10 Md. Khalilur Rahman WTO Cell, Ministry of Commerce

11 Mr. Ali Ahmed Bangladesh Foreign Trade Institute (BFTI)

12 Mr. Amitava Chakraborty Bangladesh Foreign Trade Institute (BFTI)

13 Ms. Nahrin Rahman Swarna Bangladesh Foreign Trade Institute (BFTI)

14 Mr. Md. Mahmud Ur Rahman Federation of Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry

15 Farzana Khan SME Foundation

16 Manievel Sene World Bank

17 Md. Abubaker Siddique Ministry of Agriculture

18 Akram Ali CARE

19 Mr. Mohammad Naveed Akbar BRAC

20 Mr. Nour-e-Alom BRAC

21 Mr. A.Q.M Shafiqur Rouf BRAC

22 Ms. Tamara Hasan Abed BRAC

23 Mr. M. Kabir Ikramul Haque PIU-BARC (NATP-II)

24 Dr. Shah Md. Monir Hossain PIU-BARC (NATP-II)

25 Mr. Md. Golam Rabbani Dairy Revolution and Meat Production (DRMP)

26 Mr. AHM Rezaul Kabir Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI)

27 Mr. ANM Golam Mohiuddin PIU-DLS(NATP II)

28 Dr. AKM Aminullah Bhuyan PIU-DOF (NATP II)

29 Ms. Munmun Rahman Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry

30 Ms. Mina Parveen Jatiya Mahila Sangstha


Annex C. International Trade Agreements

While WTO negotiations and international trade agreements have implications for all exporters, in Bangladesh there is limited knowledge about the agreements and expertise in exploiting them to the advantage of the country and its less privileged or experienced producers, including women.

Some key agreements are presented below.

Agreements on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) and Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT)

These agreements protect WTO members from unreasonable imposition of sanitary and other standards by importing countries. These agreements present particular challenges for small businesses, including agro-pro-cessors and artisans. Small businesses and women-owned ones are less likely to have a voice or representation in producer associations to influence the development of national standards. They are also less likely to have the technical and financial capacity to implement these standards.

Agreements on Antidumping, Safeguards, Subsidies and Countervailing Measures (SCM)

USAID (2006) has highlighted that the flexibility provided to LDCs under the SCM Agreement to provide sub-sidies has left space for Bangladesh to provide financial and other assistance to women-owned businesses engaged in exports.

Agreements on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS)

TRIPs have a number of gender and poverty impacts in Bangladesh. Women farmers’ traditional practices related to saving seeds could, for instance, be undermined depending on the type of plant variety protection that Bangladesh adopts. Moreover, introduction of legal protection for “geographical indications” could benefit small producers of handicrafts (such as jamdani or Nakshi kantha) in particular geographical areas, the majority of which are women.

Women's Participation, Constraints, and Opportunities for ...

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