Cultural norms, economic incentives and women’s labour market behaviour: empirical insights from Bangladesh

Abstract

There is a considerable body of evidence from the country pointing to the positive impact of paid work on women's position within family and community. Yet, according to official statistics, not only has women's labour force participation risen very slowly over the years, but also a sizeable majority of women in the labour force are in unpaid family labour. We draw on an original survey of over 5000 women from eight different districts in Bangladesh to explore some of the factors that lead to women's selection into the labour force, and into different categories of labour market activity, with a view to gaining a better understanding of the combination of cultural norms and economic considerations that explain these findings.

Women’s empowerment and crop diversification in Bangladesh: A possible pathway to climate change adaptation and better nutrition

“…One possible explanation for these contradictory findings relates to women's preferences for different livelihood activities based on their wealth (as represented by their asset holdings in this case). The literature suggests that the poorest women are more likely to seek less socially acceptable forms of work, such as in garment factories or agricultural wage work (Heintz, Kabeer, and Mahmud 2018). Women with fewer assets may also be more heavily engaged in agricultural production activities and may influence land allocation towards 4 To better understand how this is possible it is useful to go through a hypothetical situation.…”

“…Such norms act to largely limit women's economic and agricultural activities to those tasks that can be carried out within the homestead, most often subsistence farming or post-harvest processing, for which they receive no remuneration. Heintz et al (2018) estimate that roughly 47 percent of women's total labor participation in Bangladesh is in home-based economic activities.…”

Marriage, work, and migration: The role of infrastructure development and gender norms

“…Surveys conducted almost two decades later also confirm considerable restrictions on female mobility outside the home and the persistence of traditional attitudes towards women. Heintz et al (2018) note that more than 85 per cent of the women in their study either were engaged in a home-based economic activity or were economically inactive, which they attributed to cultural restrictions on women's outside mobility. According to research using WiLCAS 2014 data (the same data used in this study), at least part of the gender gap in paid work participation in rural Bangladesh can be explained by prevailing social norms regarding female mobility (Asadullah and Wahhaj 2017).…”

Analyzing Female Employment Trends in South Asia

“…In particular, they find that where males perceive that the community thinks badly of a husband whose wife works, the likelihood of wives working falls significantly. Evidence from Bangladesh and Pakistan also reflects the influence of traditional gender norms and cultural practices on female employment-related preferences and outcomes (see Heintz, Kabeer, and Mahmud, 2017;Bridges, Lawson, and Begum, 2011;and Luci, Jütting, and Morrisson, 2012). Field et.…”