Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has been nominated as one of the top three women leaders who tackled the Covid-19 crisis well. While her efforts to bring Bangladesh into the limelight has been highly appreciated, addressing gender gaps remains a challenge that needs attention, not only through policy adjustments but also by getting down to the nitty-gritty where real challenges lie for ordinary women.

When the Bangladesh Government decided to shut down all its educational and training institutions back in March 2020, many students wanted to venture into the online space for education, which seemed like a plausible way forward. Due to the economic recession during Covid-19, it became evident that many parents could also not buy devices or afford connectivity, given the uncertainty of household incomes. As such, 69.5 percent of students did not participate in distance learning as per the Education Watch Survey released in January 2021. While all youth suffered due to this shift, the challenges were higher for women and girls. A few immediate challenges became clear during a qualitative research study for the BRAC Skills Development Programme's online training initiative called Strong (strongproject.brac.net), which aims to reduce the current digital divide and guide the nation's disadvantaged youth to employment opportunities during the pandemic by offering courses at discounted prices.

Mohima, the main caregiver of the family, has no time for training

Mohima (pseudonym), 34, a housewife and part-time baker, was interested in pursuing online training on business communications as she wanted to have additional income of her own from a small bakery she started during the pandemic. However, she also had to solely manage her family and take care of her child, even though she lives in a joint family with her husband and in-laws. While they supported her intention, none of them were ready to share the daily care work with Mohima. Ultimately, she did not have enough time and decided to drop out from the course despite having interest, family support and financial means. 

Cases like this are common in our society. The responsibility of taking care of the family and children takes precedence over everything else for women; they are unable to think about anything else, let alone avail a training opportunity. However, men from a similar age group did not face this issue, which implies that time constraints due to the unequal burden of care work may be a significant deterrent for women accessing training opportunities. 

Akila's husband is unhappy that she wants to work

Akila, 22, wanted to pursue skills training as she wanted to be a freelancer. She has been married for a year but spends a lot of free time at home as her husband works away from the city. After enrolment, her husband came to know of this and told her to drop the course, as he thought that earning should not be a priority for her. Akila was sad but did not want to start a fight with her husband, so she dropped out of the programme.

Cases like Akila are rampant, whereby four out of 10 female respondents in the in-depth interviews (IDI) conducted by our online training programmes' colleagues told us that they were discouraged by family members, despite availing the training from the safety and comfort of their homes. This insight tells us that the negative perception towards women availing skills training is a crucial factor, along with other traditional constraints, in preventing the empowerment and economic independence of women in our country.

Ayesha has interest and vigour but no access to connectivity

A qualitative study done by the Brac Institute of Governance and Development mentions that about 49 percent of households have no access to a computer and 54 percent do not have access to the internet. Other studies also highlight that while women have access to internet devices to some degree, this accessibility is not enough to pursue education or training (GSMA Intelligence, 2019). This phenomenon was also reflected in our work, as eight out of 23 females in our IDI did not have access to personal devices. This insight indicates that while the female respondents in our sample showed interest in pursuing skills training, independent digital access is still a problem.

One such example is Ayesha.

Ayesha, 18, has one computer in her home; but her parents do not want her to use it for receiving training. The computer is mostly used by her brother, who studies in university. Upon further probing, we realised that her parents think that she might use it for entertainment purposes, and it might not be wise for someone of her age to use an internet device. Her brother, however, is allowed to use the computer all day, for both education and entertainment purposes.

Ayesha's case contradicts the general notion that families would be much more welcoming to online training for women, as this modality's safety and security would outnumber the offline trainings. Clearly, there are insecurities around women accessing online spaces as well. 

While women like Ayesha have internet devices in their home, they did not have regular access to those devices to pursue learning, which shows that women still have problems accessing essential resources within their households.

Israt did not know online skills training exists

Israt, aged 21, did not know anything about skills training prior to the start of this programme. Only after she was approached and consulted by a representative of the programme did she learn about this new opportunity. She is still a bit sceptical about skills training and the opportunities it provides.

We found that 12 out of 23 female interviewees did not know about the prevalence of online skills training, despite online being a prevalent educational pathway in the country. For men, only six out of 18 interviewees were unaware of skills training. This evidence suggests that there might be gender asymmetries when it comes to information regarding educational and training opportunities. Limited access to information plays a crucial part in halting the marginalised population's progress, which is especially true for women and girls.

These multiple obstacles are playing roles in excluding women from accessing economic opportunities. While there are many advantages in online training and education for women such as safety, security and convenience, many traditional barriers may be amplified in the online paradigm, as seen from our research. In such cases, specific batches targeted for only women and girls with relaxed timings and free device support according to women's need, can be part of the solutions. Thus, customised services catered towards women's need can be a way forward for online training and education.

In the long run, increased awareness for this alternative learning method, creating a better environment for women and girls from learning to work transition, gender-sensitive support from private organisations to hire more women and to be able to reach them, can be a few long term targets that the government and civil society can advocate while working towards an equitable workplace.

Saadman Faisal is officer, Programme Coordination and Tasmiah T Rahman is in-charge at the BRAC Skills Development Programme. The qualitative research study for BRAC Skills Development Programme's online training initiative mentioned here was conducted by Saadman Faisal and Navid Chowdhury for their graduate-level study at North South University, Bangladesh.