While unemployment seems to be a perennial issue in the country, attached to this is another worry: more women are jobless when compared with unemployed men. Such inequality has far-reaching consequences, because for our nation to prosper economically and socially, so must our women. Therefore, it is imperative to ask where the system has faltered and find ways to tackle this growing crisis.

According to the quarterly survey of Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, between October and December last year, the number of unemployed male workers decreased by 80,000, to 15.7 lakh, while unemployed female workers increased by 1.2 lakh, to 7.8 lakh. This begs the question: why are men getting recruited to the point that their unemployment rate has actually gone down, while women are finding it increasingly harder to get a job?

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When women are left behind, progress becomes stunted

Women comprise 57 percent of the garment sector workforce, but this rate is gradually decreasing, as they are losing jobs to rising levels of automation, says an expert. To put matters into perspective, the rate was 80 percent earlier, meaning women have heavily relied on this sector for long. Mechanisation is eating into jobs in the agriculture sector as well, which means women who return to villages, and do not have the necessary skills to operate machinery, are finding it harder to get employed.

Meanwhile, despite the rising number of women graduating from universities, they continue to have the highest unemployment rate among graduates. In 2022, the unemployment rate among female graduates was 18.88 percent, higher than the overall rate of 12 percent. Experts have pointed to inadequate job opportunities, an unconducive work environment, and adverse social attitudes for this situation.

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Why is workplace safety for women such a big ask?

It is apparent that we, as a nation, are failing to ensure enough, and appropriate, jobs for women. While automation cannot be stopped, the government must see to it that there are alternative opportunities for those who are falling behind. The authorities must ensure relevant education and training with the aim to upskill women workers. Moreover, workplaces must cater to the needs of female employees, and social awareness is imperative to eliminate stigmas. We must remember that a nation cannot prosper if half of it is left behind.

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