Women's Work in Urban Bangladesh
Is there an Economic Rationale
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 3884113 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Simeen Mahmud (corresponding author) |
| Year | 1997 |
| Volume | 28 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 235-260 |
| Publication date | 1997-04-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Development and Change (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0012-155X • E-ISSN: 1467-7660 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/1467-7660.00042 |
| OpenAlex | W2148014929 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 6 |
The general phenomenon that women in Bangladesh engage less frequently in market work than men is commonly explained as the lack of response of female labour to economic imperatives due to the overarching influence of purdah. However, this emphasis on a cultural rationale for gender-differentiated work behaviour diverts attention away from the deep-rooted economic inequalities at the societal level. This article examines women's work in urban Bangladesh from a female labour supply and demand perspective that is rooted in the socio-economic institutional context. The study finds that, despite the strong gender segregation of economic roles, women's roles are more flexible and lend themselves to changing household strategies more easily compared to men's. The evidence indicates that female labour market participation is largely the outcome of the supply effect shaped by the pattern of gender roles and gender-specific access to human capital. Consequently, women are relegated to low-skill market activities and have lower earnings than men, even without any overt discrimination in labour demand. The covert discrimination that leads women to pursue a different pattern of labour use than men is the fundamental gender bias of socio-economic institutions that govern household allocational decisions and dictate gender-specific behaviour
Context (archaeology) · Covert · Earnings · Economic growth · Economics · Human capital · Labour economics · Labour supply · Work (physics) · Gender, Labor, and Family Dynamics · Taxation and Compliance Studies · Work-Family Balance Challenges
Health Issues of Female Garment Workers
The politics of gendered space
Labour Market Outcomes in Bangladesh
A Profile of Women’s Work Participation Among the Urban Poor of Dhaka
Socio-economic constraints in re-entering the labour market during Covid-19 and the resilience of female informal workers living in urban informal settlements
Economic Activity among UK Bangladeshi and Pakistani Women in the 1990s
| Citations per year | 0.26 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2003 - 2023 (21) |
| Highly cited | No |