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Women in Bangladesh earn, on average, 22% to 25% less than men for work in the same labour market, according to a recent report by the International Labour Organization (ILO). This means that if a man earns Tk1,000 a month for similar work, a woman earns an average of Tk750 to Tk780. The report found no reasonable explanation for the wage gap even after accounting for education, age, occupation and type of work.
The report, titled “The Gender Pay Gap in Bangladesh: Trends, Causes and Policy Options”, analysed data from the 2023 Labour Force Survey and was recently published by the ILO.
One of its key observations is that direct or indirect discrimination may play a role in the gender pay gap.
Women lag behind in employment
According to the ILO, the employment rate in Bangladesh in 2023 was 77.9% for men and 40.2% for women, creating a gap of 37.7 percentage points. Only 19% of employed women were wage earners, compared with 48% of employed men.
The report also highlights a major disparity in education and employment. Women account for around 35% of Bangladesh’s highly educated population, but only 5% of highly educated women are engaged in paid work or other income-generating activities.
Women concentrated in lower-paid jobs
Women are more likely to work in relatively low-paid occupations. Manufacturing accounts for 41% of women’s wage employment, compared to h 23% for men. Another 19% of women work in domestic services, while 12% are employed in education.
Women’s representation in management positions is also very low. Only 6.2% of management positions in Bangladesh are held by women, compared with a South Asian average of 10.8% and a global average of 30%.
A large proportion of wage workers are also engaged in informal employment—91% of male wage workers and 87% of female wage workers, according to the report.
Unpaid household work affects wages
The ILO report noted that both men and women perform unpaid household work, but women shoulder a much larger share of it.
Women who are employed outside the home spend an average of 27.7 hours a week on household work, compared with just 7.7 hours for men.
At their workplaces, men work an average of 51.9 hours a week, while women work 46 hours. About 77% of working women put in at least 40 hours a week, compared with 90% of men.
The ILO said women’s greater burden of unpaid household work limits their ability to take higher-paying jobs and advance in their careers.
ILO findings on the gender pay gap
Bangladesh’s Constitution guarantees equal rights for men and women, while labour law provides for equal pay for work of equal nature. However, the ILO said implementation of the equal-pay provision remains limited.
The report also noted that minimum-wage-setting mechanisms do not cover all sectors equally. The current system does not clearly consider whether gender bias exists in the valuation of jobs in sectors where women are more heavily represented.
According to the ILO, the gender pay gap is not caused solely by women receiving lower wages than men for the same work. Weaknesses in wage-setting mechanisms, women’s concentration in low-paid occupations, their disproportionate burden of unpaid household work and the generally low-wage nature of the labour market all contribute to the gap.
The report therefore points to structural, institutional and social factors behind the persistent gender pay gap.
Recommendations
The ILO recommended enforcing equal pay for work of equal value, introducing gender-neutral job evaluation methods, taking gender disparities into account when setting minimum wages, reviewing maternity and paternity leave provisions, ensuring workplace safety and preventing harassment, and strengthening labour inspection and dispute-resolution mechanisms.
