Ensure that women have equal opportunities to participate in decision-making processes within institutions. Recently, “affirmative action” has gained popularity as a more effective term in gender equality discussions.
The literacy rate in Bangladesh is currently 74.66%, with women accounting for 72.82% and men for 76.56%. According to the Education Statistics 2021 by the Bangladesh Bureau of Education Information and Statistics (BANBAIS), the rates for females who have completed formal education are as follows: 54.67% in primary and secondary education, 50.37% in higher secondary education and above, 54.28% in postgraduate education, 27.13% in technical education, and 62.72% in other vocational education, including medicine, engineering, and agriculture.
The data indicates that women are now performing as well as men in the field of education, where they used to lag behind. Girls consistently achieve top results in the SSC and HSC exams every year. Whenever I read the newspaper, I come across reports of girls’ achievements in exams. Girls are more likely to succeed in pursuing higher education than boys. Many talented young women are entering the workforce after completing their studies. However, once they start working, they fall behind.
Women often face obstacles in advancing their careers, even when they are well-qualified and skilled. Some organizations believe that they can only appoint or promote women to top positions if there are qualified women available. It’s puzzling why talented and highly educated women are falling behind men in the workplace despite having similar qualifications. What specific skills do male workers possess that give them a significant advantage over female workers? It seems that institutions influenced by toxic masculinity are unwilling to acknowledge and appreciate the skills and capabilities of women. Addressing this concern is imperative.
The underrepresentation of women in senior decision-making roles in the workplace is not due to their incompetence; rather, it is a result of unfair leadership within organisations and discriminatory behaviour from male-dominated management. This hinders the progress of women in the workforce. Research and polls have shown that organisations are more inclined to hire women for lower-ranking positions, leading to an increase in the overall number of female employees. However, there is often a lack of investment in the development and advancement of these female workers. Consequently, despite their contribution to improving gender balance within an organisation, female employees often lack equal opportunities to showcase their abilities and make qualitative contributions. This results in fewer opportunities for women to demonstrate their potential for promotion.
How do women manage to complete their tasks at their jobs? First, let’s shed some light on this issue. The issue of sexual and physical harassment of women in the workplace is receiving a lot of attention. To this day, sexual harassment is considered the most significant challenge that women face in the workplace. It is important to ensure that women have access to a safe and fair working environment. However, a 2022 survey by development-focused non-governmental organizations, Working Women and Care Bangladesh, reveals the opposite.
Based on their research findings, women are more likely to experience psychological harassment at work than sexual harassment. The study found that 73% of women are victims of psychological harassment in the workplace. Upon hiring, women face immediate criticism for their perceived ineffectiveness and incompetence, which can lead to the development of an inferiority complex. In some organisations, male coworkers may band together to exclude a competent female coworker from a position, creating an intolerable work environment for women. As a result of emotional harassment, many women leave their jobs or fall behind their male coworkers due to feelings of melancholy and discouragement. The attempt to disqualify female workers by stifling their intellectual development through psychological harassment is considered patriarchal. This behavior takes advantage of employed women.
The workplace still presents significant challenges for women’s advancement, primarily due to discriminatory practices dominated by men and harmful institutional barriers. We must eliminate these obstacles to ensure equal participation of women in all levels of organisational activity. To achieve gender equality, women should have the opportunity to acquire skills and participate in the workplace on an equal footing. Positive discrimination is necessary to address a fundamentally gendered social structure. The appointment of women to senior administrative positions in the country’s government infrastructure was a long-standing issue. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has advocated for positive discrimination to advance women’s status in government positions. These women have proven their qualifications and demonstrated that they do not require any form of discrimination.
In light of the Prime Minister’s initiative, we are keen to explore its impact on women officers in various fields. The proposal strongly recommends that for the next ten years, women must be eligible to fill fifty percent of senior administrative and management positions. This is crucial to demonstrate the significant value that women bring to the workforce. It’s essential to emphasise that women are not demanding reserved posts but rather a work environment free from discrimination and fair institutional practices. It is critical to recognize that women will not have access to a fair and healthy work environment without equal representation in decision-making. Despite numerous policy and strategy papers on women’s rights and development, women’s success is unlikely as long as institutional injustice and malpractice persist. Therefore, it is crucial to address these issues to ensure that women no longer face discrimination and unfair treatment in the workplace.
[Source: Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics website; Ministry of Education website; media reports]