Gender Equality in Bangladesh

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Impact of Gender Role on Societal and Organizational Culture POL104

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AbstractWomen, in custom and practice, remained subordinate to men in almost all aspects of their

lives; greater autonomy was the privilege of the rich or the necessity of the very poor. Mostwomen's lives remained centered on their traditional roles, and they had limited access to

markets, productive services, education, health care, and local government. This lack of

opportunities contributed to high fertility patterns, which diminished family well-being,

contributed to the malnourishment and generally poor health of children, and frustrated

educational and other national development goals. In fact, acute poverty at the margin

appeared to be hitting hardest at women. The last decade has witnessed an impressive rise of

women in the workforce in Bangladesh. The encouraging rate of growth has been reflected in

a variety of sectors. Being able to identify some women in high positions in the normally

male-driven corporate industry is certainly encouraging. With change comes a social pressure

for cultural shifts in perceptions. For example, today, the working women's future 'dreams'

are not just obtaining independence, but advancing in their respective careers. Such notions

of career advancement closely resemble the historical aspirations of men. However, women's

paths towards such dreams are vastly different from men and the reaction that such women

face from their peers and families continue to be problematic. Combined with the general

consequences of a patriarchal society, women in Bangladesh's corporate world are driven by

additional determinants. The economic contribution of women was substantial but largely

unacknowledged. Women in rural areas were responsible for most of the post-harvest work,

which was done in the chula, and for keeping livestock, poultry, and small gardens. Women

in cities relied on domestic and traditional jobs, but in the 1980s they increasingly worked in

manufacturing jobs, especially in the readymade garment industry. Those with more

education worked in government, health care, and teaching, but their numbers remained very

small. The gender roles of male and female still remain significantly distinctive, which makes

our society a masculine one. These roles have strong impact on the societal and

organizational culture and this paper discusses about it.


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Gender Equality in BangladeshBangladesh is a highly patriarchal society and gender discrimination is evident across all

levels. Women are dependent on men throughout their lives, from their fathers through tohusbands, brothers or sons. The Constitution affirms gender equality, but state legislation and

institutions frequently disregard womens rights. For example, women and young girls are

more disadvantaged than men in their access to education, health care and financial assets.

Traditionally, women were recognized mainly for their reproductive role, and were often

discouraged from participating in public life. Due to increased poverty and demand for labor,

female employment has risen since the mid-1980s. Most of the information below concerns

the Muslim majority, which makes up over 80 per cent of the population. Where available,

information regarding Bangladeshs Hindu and Christian populations is also included.

Family Code:

Women in Bangladesh have a relatively low level of protection in the family context. The

country has the highest rate of early marriage in Asia, and ranks among the highest

worldwide. A 2004 United Nations report estimated that 48 per cent of all girls between 15

and 19 years of age were married, divorced or widowed. Traditionally, parents marry their

daughters young to decrease the economic burden on the household. Increased use of

contraceptives and declining fertility rates provide more encouraging evidence that the role of

women in Bangladesh is changing.

Polygamy is legal in Bangladesh, but many consider the practice to be outdated. The

incidence of polygamy has decreased over the past 50 years (particularly in the cities); at

present, about 10 per cent of married men are in such unions. As reported by the IslamicRepublic News Agency, in 2006 the city of Rajshahi (the countrys fourth -largest city)

introduced a new law and a so-called polygamy tax; any man taking a second wife must

pay a one-time amount of BDT 10 000 (Bangladesh takas) (USD 125). The tax rises to BDT

30 000 (USD 375) for a third wife and BDT 40 000 (USD 500) for a fourth wife.

In Bangladesh, parental authority is closely linked to religion. Islamic Sharia law regards

women as custodians but not legal guardians of their children. In the event of divorce,

women can retain custody of sons until age seven and daughters until puberty. If a father dies,


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his children may be taken away by his family. Hindu law also views fathers as the natural,

legal guardians of children.

Inheritance practices also follow religious teachings. According to Islamic law, daughters

inherit half as much as sons. In the absence of a son, daughters can inherit only as a residuary

(that is, only after the settling of all debts and other obligations). In principle, wives are

entitled to half of the assets of a deceased husband. Under Hindu law, a widow (or all widows

in the case of a polygamous marriage) inherits the same share as a son. For Christians, the

Succession Act of 1925 provides equal inheritance between sons and daughters.

Physical Integrity:

Bangladeshi women have a low level of protection for their physical integrity. Violence

against women is quite common. A study released by the UN Population Fund in 2000

reported that 47 per cent of adult women surveyed had suffered physical abuse by their male

partners. Early marriage and dowry customs are major factors in the ongoing problem of

domestic violence.

As reported by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women

(CEDAW), the government has taken steps to address this problem by passing laws against

these practices. The Prevention of Women and Children Repression Act, adopted in 2000,

contains several important provisions. It identifies sexual harassment and repression as

punishable crimes, and establishes a death penalty for those found guilty of rape charges. It

also protects women by prohibiting newspapers from publishing photographs that identify the

victims of such crimes. However, these laws have proven difficult to enforce, especially in

rural areas where traditions and family customs tend to govern social life.

Gender-based violence outside the home includes sexual harassment in the workplace,

assaults and rape. Acid attacks are also quite common, and are usually undertaken as an act of

revenge by a rejected suitor or in response to land disputes. The government, the media and

womens rights organizations are working to raise awareness of the problem of general

violence against women. However, the lack of social infrastructure discourages women from

filing complaints. In the absence of sufficient shelters for victims of abuse, the government

must often resort to using prisons as holding places for women who file complaints and need


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safe housing. This situation frequently leads to further abuses. Female genital mutilation is

not believed to be practiced in Bangladesh.

Bangladesh is one of the very few countries in the world in which males outnumber females,

providing strong evidence to suggest that there is a problem of missing women. Census data

reported by Hudson and others show that more than 2.7 million Bangladeshi women were

missing in 2001. This is primarily the result of son preference, which leads to female sex-

selective abortions, relative neglect of girls (compared to boys) in early childhood and

abandonment.

Ownership Rights:

Tradition and social norms limit the ability of Bangladeshi women to achieve financial

independence. Despite their growing role in agriculture, social and customary practices

effectively exclude women from any hope of direct access to land. Similarly, although

national law accords men and women equal rights to access to property other than land,

women own very few assets. Their situation is further impaired by discriminatory inheritance

laws and cultural norms: Bangladeshi women are unlikely to claim their share of family

property unless it is offered to them.

In Bangladesh, womens access to bank loans and other forms of credit is often determined

by the demographic composition of their households. Lack of mobility, particularly in rural

areas, forces women to depend on male relatives for any entrepreneurial activities. Several

NGOs provide micro-credit to Bangladeshi women, but there is a growing concern as to

whether these women actually retain control over their loans.

Civil Liberties:

Women in Bangladesh face several restrictions in relation to civil liberties. Their freedom of

movement is usually restrained to the vicinity of their homes and local neighborhoods. The

Islamic practice of purdah may further limit their participation in activities outside the home,

such as education, employment and social engagements. The degree of these restrictions

depends very much on the traditions of individual families, but many women generally need

the permission of their husbands to engage in any such activities. Although there are no legal


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restrictions to womens freedom of dress, it is customary for most Bangladeshi women to

cover at least their hair.

Bangladesh, like most of South Asia, is described as being staunchly patriarchal.' Men are

valued largely for their ability to provide materially for a household (typically through

agricultural or non-agricultural manual labor or through some form of market work) and

women are valued largely for their ability to bear and rear their husband's children.' These

values are instilled from an early age, as are the roles they are to carry as adults (e.g., Cain

1977). The kind of 'partnership' that men and women form in Bangladeshi households is

based on highly specialized roles, sometimes involving only a husband, a wife, and their

children. Often this 'partnership' also involves related kin, such as the husband's parents or

siblings, and occasionally the wife's kin. Unlike some parts of South Asia, women are heavily

secluded and segregated, maintaining the tradition ofpurdah (e.g., Mandelbaum 1988, Dixon

1976, Jansen 1986, Abdullah and Zeidenstein 1982). They typically do not participate in

primary agricultural activities, but take responsibility-within the confines of their homestead

(bari)-fora large share of secondary agricultural activities, such as rice processing (e.g.,

Arens and van Beurden 1978, Dixon

1976). There are also strong norms that effectively discourage women from seeking work that

is outside the home (e.g., Abdullah and Zeidenstein 1982, Amin 1995). Men also have

primary responsibility for activities involving the market place or that occur outside of the

bari (including food shopping) while women have primary responsibility for the management

of the children and the home (including all food preparation). Major investment decisions

(such as, those concerning land or other asset acquisition or sales and those into the human

capital of children) are considered men's responsibilities. Although in any given household

these roles and responsibilities are not fixed, both men and women comply to a high degree

with these norms.


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CultureCulture is a kind of inter-related issue. Culture differs from society to society. This term

Culture build based on three key factors and these are excellent taste in fine arts, a

combined knowledge, behavior, belief, and finally a set of values, goals which practices by a

definite society. By definition culture is, learned and shared human patterns or models for

living; day to day. These patterns and models pervade all aspects of human social interaction.

Culture is mankinds primary adaptive mechanism.1

Culture is a kind of collective programming, where in a certain geographic area, all the

people believe, thinking and doing their work based on that program. Each society has its

own culture and this culture changes as time passes.

Societal Culture of Bangladesh:

In a certain geographic area, people follow almost same culture. Again, culture of one

country influences the culture of its neighbor countries culture. Bangladesh is placed in South

Asia. In numerous sectors, it has been seen that Bangladesh and other South Asian countries

have lots of similarities in their cultural aspects. From the culture of this geographic area, we

have found that people of these areas are in love with festive. Though this is one of the

poorest and populated sides of the world, but still people are mostly in delighted mood.

Relationship between families is a great issue for the South Asian people. The closeness

between the relatives and friends is still higher than any other region. The culture of South

Asia along with Bangladesh is rich with historic records.

Though the culture of Bangladesh and South Asia is has a big portion of bright part, but still

it has some black spots. A good number of people of these areas are still living under the dark

of prejudice. Women are still facing discrimination in different parts of their life in this area.

People are not equally treating in South Asian culture yet.

In short, it can be said that, though it is not possible to have the best of culture, but still

people of this region have to solve cultural problem related with human rights to speed the

development.

1Damen, L. (1987). (n.d.).Culture Learning: The Fifth Dimension on the Language Classroom.

Retrieved from: http://www.carla.umn.edu/culture/definitions.html


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Organizational CultureBy the term of organizational culture we can understand that it is the collective behavior of

people of the organization. An organizational culture also shows the values, visions, norms.

The culture of organization also gives us the picture about systems and symbols of that

particular organization. Organization cultures show that how the employees of the

organization approach to the work, again what they believe, what they think. A clear

organizational culture helps the organization to sustain in long run and gives a message to the

public that what they may expect from this organization. It is also important for the new

employees, because it helps them to learn how they have to work in that place.

By the definition organizational culture is, The set of the set of beliefs, values, and norms,together with symbols like dramatized events and personalities that represents the unique

character of an organization, and provides the context for action in it and by it."

Organizational Culture in Bangladesh and South Asia:

Now, in terms South Asian countries, the term of organizational culture does not build up in

different organization sector. Most of the organizations are following the old method and still

they are highly depending on paper based work. In term of facility, most of the organizations

in South Asia along with Bangladesh do not have any. But again, the private sector is giving

importance to build up their own organization culture as their identity. In recent blow, many

private organizations and also some governmental sectors are updated with current

technologies. Also, some organizations are becoming the paper free and they are now being

more focused on increasing the facility of the employee. Now, most of organizations are

following the cultural base for dress code, language and talking style etc.

Again, as in the culture of the country the discrimination rate is high, many organizations are

still following the quota system to keep a balance condition based on the criteria like gender

issue, tribal people and many other issues. . Also as the culture support discrimination itself,

so automatically it creates impacts on the different organizational cultures.


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Impact of Gender role on our Societal CultureKaniz Almas, Giti Ara Safia, Siddiqa Kabir are few names of successful women in

Bangladesh, but compared to the western culture if we try to find the proportion of successful

women entrepreneurs or working women in our country, then the number is very low. The

women in our country have to face challenges every day in both their organization and

society. And additionally if the working woman has a family, then the responsibilities also

add mainly onto their share.

From generations to generations all over the world women take the responsibility of

multitasking between work, family, and their society. In many cases women even have to

choose between their work and family. Mostly women are not allowed to work, especially in

the Asian countries and developing countries, such as Bangladesh. This masculine culture

that women should not work along with the social pressure from family is constricting them

to prosper and flourish.

Across cultures, the family is the basic social structure most likely to meet individual needs

and expectations. Women typically spend much more time in the house than men as they

perform their reproductive and household roles. In all societies women are the prime cares

of children, the elderly and the ill, and do most of the domestic tasks.Women's lives are

greatly affected by reproduction, which has an incisive and direct impact on their health and

on their educational, employment and earning opportunities. In societies where women marry

very young and much earlier than men, wives defer more to husbands, and this has a

substantial bearing on women's chances of finding paid work and receiving an education.

More women than men are illiterate; and the lower a country's literacy rate, the wider the gap

between the two sexes. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization(UNESCO) estimates that 41 percent of women in developing countries are illiterate,

compared with 20 percent of men. In some countries, the illiteracy rate of rural women

between the ages of 15 and 24 years is twice to three times that of women in urban areas.

Girls leave school earlier, especially in rural areas where they are needed to help with

domestic and productive work. The lack of transport or of schools located near the home

widens the literacy gap by directly affecting girls' school attendance, as parents tend to worry

about the personal safety of their daughters. In some societies, rigid cultural patterns and

social rules restrict women's movements outside the home.


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Gender inequality is a persistent feature of the public and policy-making spheres. Women

continue to be under-represented in governments, legislative bodies and many other crucial

sectors affecting public opinion, such as the mass media, the arts, religion and culture.

Worldwide, there are only 16 countries in which more than 15 percent of ministerial posts are

held by women, and in 59 countries there are no women ministers at all.Although women

have the right to vote in nearly every country in the world, there are very few women in

government; in 1994, only 10 percent of the world's parliamentary deputies were women.

Available data on health, nutrition, education, and economic performance indicated that in

the 1980s the status of women in Bangladesh remained considerably inferior to that of men.

Women, in custom and practice, remained subordinate to men in almost all aspects of their

lives; greater autonomy was the privilege of the rich or the necessity of the very poor. Most

women's lives remained centered on their traditional roles, and they had limited access to

markets, productive services, education, health care, and local government. This lack of

opportunities contributed to high fertility patterns, which diminished family well-being,

contributed to the malnourishment and generally poor health of children, and frustrated

educational and other national development goals. In fact, acute poverty at the margin

appeared to be hitting hardest at women. As long as women's access to health care, education,

and training remained limited, prospects for improved productivity among the femalepopulation remained poor.

Finally, it can be seen that due to this high masculinity culture and difference in gender roles

among men and women in Bangladesh, which results in high population rate, less healthcare

for the mothers. Women are mainly seen as a product for house hold work and child bearing.


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Impact of Gender Role on organizational cultureGender roles form a fundamental part of everything people do. This fact includes the

behavior of males and females in business organizations. And, male/female nature plays avital part in how businesses market and service their customers in the corporate word.

Over the past few decades, many nations and communities have made great strides in

accepting and adjusting to new definitions of gender roles within their respective

organizations. With the increased presence of women in the workplace, old attitudes and

behaviors have had to change. Women are getting more qualified in every aspects and areas

and giving a tough competition to the male dominated society. Men and women are more

aware of sexual harassment than previously; whereas 20 years ago a woman who refused to

have an affair with her boss may have had to quit, she now has other options. Companies are

now experimenting with policies that are family-friendly, such as flex time, job sharing, and

on-site child care--policies that benefit both men and women. In addition, in many areas even

after working equal to men, women still earn far less money than men do for the same work,

even though their salaries are vital to maintaining their families' economic health. Since 80%

of the worldwide nations are male dominated, that is why the women are still lacking behind

men instead of working just like their male colleagues.

At this 21st

century, we many say that now, men and women are getting equal rights and there

is no discriminations on corporate world but still we cannot deny the fact that, we do

gender while we are at work, while we produce an organizational culture and its rules

governing what is fair in the relationship between the sexes. The inner ambiguity of gender

construction is expressed in the dilemma: how can we do gender without second-sexing the

female? The management of cross-gendered situations is based on a two-stage ritual

involving the ceremonial work of paying homage to the symbolic order of gender and the

remedial work of repairing the inequality inherent in gender difference. Studying the

ambiguity of gender symbols enables us to use indirect speech and discursively to change

gender relationships in organizations.

In the corporate culture of Bangladesh, the participation of women is remarkable. Now

women are getting degrees from foreign countries to work and they are joining each sector

like teaching, engineering, medical, literature etc. Though they are working with men at the

equal levels but in many cases they are being deprived of many opportunities and getting


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victimized of sex discriminations. Like their male counterparts, they are not able to enjoy all

the benefits they deserve by contributing with their works. And in many cases, Bangladeshi

women are fine with it. According to them, they have always been dominated by the male

members of the society and their work always comes second after their family. They do not

want to go too high on the ladder of success in their organizations because, they think that if

they do so that might hamper their social life which they value more than their workplace. Of

course, not each case are same, in many cases women want to be independent and want to go

to t6he peak of the success. The ideology in our country is that, women are suppose to take

care of the family and household but this ideology is changing and the change is in a high

rate. Even if we look at the lower levels, in the RMG sector in Bangladesh, which gives the

highest amount of DFI in our GDP, 80% are women workers. So we know how much women

our contributing in the organizations through their respective works.

The shifting of gender roles in the past 30 years has been huge. It has happened so quickly

that men and women are still trying to sort out what the new roles and rules mean to them.

Although women are no longer expected to be the keepers of the house, in reality, they are in

most families. Although men are generally open to the successes enjoyed by the women they

share their lives with, some still find it hard to celebrate a woman's triumphs because theyfeel it diminishes their own.

However, rather than blaming each other for the situation, men and women are increasingly

willing to work together to learn about their new roles. Successful marriage partners learn to

negotiate and share tasks. Managers take employees aside and tell them when comments are

inappropriate. It will take time to sort out all the implications of the changing gender roles of

Americans, but new expectations should result in better workplaces, better relationships,

better schools, and better lives.


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Findings from Working Women

1. How much do you believe your organization is encouraging women

participation?

In the first question women of both in private and public sectors were asked, how much

encouragement they get from their respective organizations. Three out of four women (2

public and 1 private) chose the option A, which was Supportive. Only 1 woman chose the

option C, which was fair policy. And no one chose option B or D which represented Holds

back and Discriminations. So, we after analyzing their answers, both in private and public

sector it can be cleared out that, public organizations are seen to be more supportive than

private organizations.

At the same time we can also agree at the point that in our country women participations in

job sector is getting more and more encouragement. Compared to last 10 years, now women

are engaging in jobs and organizations are encouraging them to do so, which is actually

helping our economy. These two both public and private organizations we have taken

interviews, the result shows that the Holding back and Discrimination is 0%, which

means in both of these organizations women are treated equally like their male colleagues.

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

a. Supportive b. Holds back c. Fair policy d. Discrimination


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2 Do you believe you and other women have good career development

opportunity in your organization?

In answering this question, there was an equal weight on two options. They are option A and

option C. Option A says; Yes they believe that she and other women have good career

development opportunity in those organizations. On the other hand two out of four women

said that, the career development opportunity in their organization was dependent on the

potential of those people. No-one chose option B or option D. The responds were mixed in

terms of private or public organization means, 1 women from private chose option A, 1

women from public chose option C, 1 women from private chose option C and 1 women

from public chose A.

The analysis of the answers can be explained this way that, women in both public and private

sector believe that, yes female employees working in organizations are actually having good

career development opportunities now a days compared to their male colleagues. 50%

women believe that the career opportunity actually depends on the potential of that individual

employee. This means that, if male/female any employee has the proper potential then they

had career development options which were not dependent on their sexes. So, by this answer

their satisfactory level regarding their career development within their own organization can

be traced out, which is very good news for the working women of our country.

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

a.Yes b. No c. Depends on potential d. Happy with existing

position


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3) Is there any sex discrimination or is all male and female employees

treated equally?

When the interviewed women were asked if they encountered any kind of discrimination

within their organizations or not, 75% women answered, they did not faced any

discrimination and all the procedures were same for both male and female. Though one out of

these four women who was from public sector, chose option C, which said, Yes, in certain

circumstances. This means, she thinks there are some discrimination among men and

women in some cases in her organization. None of the women chose, option A or option D.

This simply means that in private sector women get more equal opportunities while in public

sector some women find that they are being discriminated sexually and male and femaleemployees are not treated equally in those organizations though this is not the case for all

public organization. One reason might be for thinking this way is that the old mentality of our

male dominated society where women are still being dominated by the males. Though

women are working out of the house and being independent, still they are not being treated

equally in the organizations. Many women stay behind their male colleagues even after being

more qualified than them because, the society had made this stereotyping that male members

should always be ahead of those women members within an organization.

a. Yes.

b.No, all procedures are fair

c.Yes, in certain circumstances

d.No idea


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4.How do you think your friends and relatives view your work?

This question was asked to those working women to know the view of their friends and

family about their jobs. Surprisingly, four out of four women chose the option A, which says

Appreciates. It simply means that these women get full appreciation from their friends and

family members for the works they do. They do not have to face any kinds of problem given

the ideology of our culture that women should stay back home and should do go out in order

to earn money.

In our culture, in past hardly women were encouraged to get out of the house and work for

their living, but through this question, we clearly see that both in private and public sectors

women are being very much appreciated for the work they do. Their friends and family

support them and even some of them said that, their in-laws and other family members not

even appreciates it, they also help them whenever they face problems regarding the work-life

balance and their children. This understanding mentality really helped a lot in their career

path and it also helped them to concentrate on work and flourish their career. Not a single

women chose option B, C, or D that means, they never got any discouragement, or any kinds

of complains from those family and friends, rather they have always encouraged them in

every level of their career path.

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

120%

a.Appreciates b.Discourages c.Neutral d.Some have complains


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5) Do you get enough encouragement and support from the society you

belong to?

By this particular question, we tried to find out if enough encouragement is given to these

working women from the society they belong to. Just like the previous question, even here all

the four out of four, both from public and private sector went with option A, which said, Yes,

they get enough and foremost support from the society they belong to and they do not have to

face any kinds of complains from these people. Which means that, all these women get

supported from their family members at home and also from the people who lives around

them in the society.

In Bangladesh culture this was not the case even a few years back. Back then, women wereexpected to stay back home and not go out to work and earn money for the family. That was

supposed to be done by the male members of the family. But in this 2012, the picture has

turned over and now women are being independent and going out of home to work and earn

for living to support their family. By the answer of this question, we can see that not single

women went for option B, C or D that means they have full support from the society they

belong to along with their family and friends.

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

120%

a.Yes b.No c.Only from close ones d.People misunderstand


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pg. 17

6) How supportive is your husband about your work?

This question to the respondents was, to see how much support to they get from their

husbands regarding their works. And by the answers of this particular question we can come

to the conclusion that women get 100% support from their husbands and they do not have any

complaints regarding their wives jobs. We can say this because; all the women chose the

highest degree of supportiveness from their husbands.

In addition to this answer, some of these women respondents said that their husbands are the

main motivation for which they came into their career. They got full support from their

husband from the very first stage and without them it was close to impossible to go out and

work for their living. From the perspective of our society, husbands are the main decision

maker of a family. If a husband does not support his wifes work, then it is very hard to have

a peaceful family life for a wife with working outside. But we can see that, the mentality of

Bangladeshi husbands is changing. They are supporting their wives with full encouragement

which is a very positive sign for women who wants to be independent on their own and want

to build up a career given their qualifications. Both in private and public organizations,

women are getting supported from their better-halves and it is making them to be more

confident and enthusiastic regarding their work which is completely needed to use the women

empowerment in our male dominated society.

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% 120%

a.1

b.2

c.3

d.4

e.5


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pg. 18

7. Do you face any restriction from your social arrangement?

The question was asked keeping the context in mind that the working women of Bangladesh

in private and public organizations, that is do they face any restriction from their family

regarding their work, do they have to compromise with their career. And we came across

some expected and unexpected findings. We saw that women working inpublic organization

have mixed reaction towards this question. One respondent answered that she did not face

any kind of restriction towards her work through her social arrangement. Another respondent

mentioned that she faces a lot of restriction in many cases. For example a common case can

be, when she has two social gatherings on the same day, one from her organization and one

from her family, she has to choose one she prefers to choose her family gatherings. Therefore

we can see that inpublic organizations the women working there prefer to choose their

family rather than their work.

Whereas inprivate organizations both the respondents answered that they have no

restrictions form their social arrangement whatsoever. This also shows that the masculinity

culture in private organization is much less as compared to the public ones.


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pg. 19

8. Who is mainly responsible for the bringing up of your

children?

The answer to this question was same forboth theprivate and public organizations that the

responsibility of bringing up the child is shared by both husband and wife .And in one case

where the respondent belonged to a joint family where she lived with her in laws, her answer

was that along with her husband the responsibility of bringing up her child was equally

shared by the grandparents of the children. In fact she agreed that if a family where both the

parents are working living in a joint family had more advantages rather than disadvantages

she shared her experience how her both mother in law and father in law helps in taking care

of her children when both she and her husband are out of country for conferences.

Therefore we can see that all these situations depend on the family structure itself not entirely

on the organizations where they are working. Even though Bangladesh is a masculine culture

the views of educated people are somewhat changing from the womens side. But still the

men in public organizations tend to think in accordance with the masculinity culture.

ME(MOTHER) FATHER BOTH EQUALLY GRANDPARENTS OR

OTHERS

0 0

3

1


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pg. 20

9. Does your family esp. your husband share your household

work?

The result of this question was quite surprising and unexpected because from thepublicorganization as we can see from the pie chart given here; both the respondents agreed that

their husbands and family both help them with their household jobs. But inprivate

organization one respondent answered that her husband did not help her with household

chores. And one respondent agreed that her husband helped her at times.

Thus it can deduced form the facts that more or less people in public organizations where

their spouse is also working is understanding towards the workload of the mother and the

family more or less at least try to help her with the household chores and responsibilities.

Even though the woman prefers to do their responsibilities themselves and doesnt consider it

as a burden given upon them.

Does your family

members esp husband

share your household

work

YES

NO

HE CANT

AT TIMES


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pg. 21

10. Are you willing to compromise work and career for your

social life?

For this question both the respondents from thepublic organizations prefer to compromisetheir work and career for their social life. This shows where their commitment lies to both of

them their family gets their first priority then comes their career. So it is unquestionable that

where their priorities are. One of the female respondents shared her experience that how

important her family is for her and to what extent she is ready to compromise. She won the

commonwealth scholarship for the 3rd

time in a row for her PhD but she did not go at the 11th

hour because her daughter became emotional about her being away for such a long period of

time. And finally she cancelled her trip for the third time due to her commitment towards her

family. This was her viewpoint and she didnt seem to regret her decision. So we can deduce

it is not always the male or societal pressure which pressurizes working women to divert

away from their work. Rather its the other way around in many cases women prefer to

compromise for their family and social life. These types of cases are mostly seen for the

women who are working inpublic organizations.

Whereas inprivate organization there is a mixed reaction, one respondent was compromising

that her family comes first and she is willing to compromise her work and career for her

social life and family. But another respondent was more career-minded and her reply was that

she cannot compromise her work and career for her social life. Here we can see the difference

between the mindset of both public and private organization.


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pg. 22

11. Do your family members support you while you are needed to

attend organizational crisis?

Here we found out that inboth public and private organization the respondents more or lessgets the support from their family at times of organizational crisis. For example one of the

respondents shared her experience when she faced an organizational crisis how her family

supported her and this was the respondent from apublic organization. She shared that living

in a joint family with her in laws helps her a lot for them and her husband to understand her

problems very well. There was this case when she needed to be at a very important meeting

and at the same day she had an invitation at a very important relatives house. She couldnt

decide which one to forfeit but her family was understanding about this and supported her to

go to the meeting.

Thus we can see that the mindsets of families are changing gradually in the urban areas of

Bangladesh towards supporting the female working population. But this is not very

widespread throughout our country. Especially the rural areas where women are barely

allowed to do any work outside for incoming in the household she is only considered to take

care of the children and do house hold chores.


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pg. 23

12. Which one do you prioritize most?

From the above chart we can see that majority of the respondents voted their child as the

most important part of their life, and then comes their husband, parents, work and finally

social life. For a woman being a mother and taking care of her child is the most important

thing in the world she can do anything for her child and all the other priorities are seconded to

that. Its not only the Bangladeshi context but it is common all over the world. The

respondents forpublic and private universities also fall under this category.

0 1 2 3 4 5

CHILD

HUSBAND

PARENTS

WORK

SOCIAL LIFE


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pg. 24

Male Findings

1) Do you find any sex discrimination in your organization?

This question was asked to the respondents to know that, is there any discrimination in the

organization, which is related with sex discrimination. By the word sex discrimination, we

like to know is in the organization involves in treating their male and female employees

because of that persons sex. Sex discrimination can be happen during the time of

recruitment, employment terms and conditions, pay and benefits, training, promotion and

transfer opportunities, redundancy and dismissal.

Sex Discrimination in your organization

Now, from the answer, we have found that both the male respondents gave the answer

that, there is no sex, discrimination in their organization. It is a very positive sign. As, we

have seen that in both public and private organization there is no sex discrimination as the

respondent claim, thats mean in both types of these organization, both female and male

get the equal chance to work.

Sector Yes No

Public 0 1

Private 0 1

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

Yes No

Male

Male


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pg. 25

Now, the picture we have got from this survey about the sex discrimination, that gives a

picture to us that in Bangladesh currently, the female and male both are treating equally. This

is a balance condition and it creates a friendly condition in the organization environment.

2) Do you agree women are compatible to any situation or crisis arising inthe organization?

In the second question of the survey we tried to get the individual idea about the capability of

woman to deal in crisis situation. We also tried to find out that what the male employees are

thinking about their female colleague in critical situation. In corporate world, dealing in a

critical situation is very important.

Women are compatible in crisis situation

Now, based on this question we have found that 50% of our male respondent strongly agreed,

that women are highly compatible in the crisis situation. On the other hand 50% of ourrespondent is giving neutral view on this topic.

We also have found some dissimilarity here between the private and public organization.

From our respondent of public organization gives a neutral view on this case while our

respondent from the private organization says that they are strongly agreed those women are

compatible in crisis situation. Now, this type of different view from private and public

organization may come, as the organizational culture of public and private organization is

different than each other.

50%

0%

50%

0%

Strongly Agree

Agree

Neutral

Disagree

Strongly Disagree


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pg. 26

View about womans response in crisis situation

3) Would you like to work under a female supervisor?

We have asked this question to find out the mind frame of male employees to work under a

female supervisor. The situation is, Bangladesh is a male dominant culture and in most of the

cases male has got all the superlative power. So, it can be an issue of ego for some male

personnel to follow the instruction of female superintendent. In some cases, male workforces

are showing less loyalty to woman leaders.

Males perception to work underfemale supervisor

Now, the research we have conducted, we have found that 100% of our male respondents are

saying that they will not mind to work under a female supervisor. Here, an interesting point

is, we have found same respond from public and private sector in this issue.

Yes I don't mind No

Public 0 1 0

Private 0 1 0

0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1

Strongly Agree

Agree

Neutral

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

Private

Public

0%

100%

0%

Yes

I don't mind

No


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pg. 27

Now, from the feedback of our male respondents about Would you like to work under a female

supervisor? we have found all of our male respondents were answered that I dont mind,

but none of them said, Yes. From, this answer, we can assume that male employees may

feel uncomfortable to work under female, and it does not cause for their personal wish but for

the psychological mind set which based on culture.

4) Are your job responsibilities the same in comparison to a female colleagueworking in the same position?

We asked this question, to our male respondents to know that, whether male whether male

and female are getting same responsibilities in the same position. In the context of

Bangladesh, women have lots of limitations. Most of the cases women left their job place

before evening as the culture demands. So, in many cases women are not given all the

responsibilities. Again, this condition is changing rapidly. Many of Bangladeshi

organizations are giving some special treat to the women (e.g.: transport facility) which

increase the efficiency level of woman.

Male comparison about females responsibility

Now, from the research we have conducted we have found that 50% of our male respondent

believes that female and male are sharing same responsibility in same position while 50% of

our other respondent says it depends.

Yes, It is the

same

No, males are given

more responsibility

Depends on the

position

No, females are

given more

responsibility

Public 0 0 1 0

Private 1 0 0 0

50%

0%

50%

0%Yes, It is the same

No, males are given more

responsibility

Depends on the position


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pg. 28

Now, we have found an interesting point from here as our male respondent of public has said

that the responsibility level of woman depends on the position. On the other hand our male

respondent from private says yes as there the male and female are sharing same level of

responsibility. It shows that the private sector of Bangladesh it practicing more efficient level

of organizational culture as woman are have equal responsibility as man, but in public sector,

the level of responsibility of woman depends on certain issues.

4) Do you have any restriction regarding the work of your wife?Its another type of social culture based question for our respondents. As we mentioned

earlier, Bangladeshi culture is not a total favorable place for woman, and it happens in most

of the male dominant countries. Now, from this question we tried to find out that whether

men are creating restriction to their wife to wok.

Males restriction to working wife

Again from here we have found that 50% of our respondents saying no, he does not create

any restriction to his wife to build their career, in contrast other 50% respondent says, no;

only if they can manage the work and home in a good manner.

0%

50%50%

Yes

No

No, if she can maintain

work and home


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pg. 29

Also, we have found that our respondents of public organization is saying that he will not

create restriction to his working wife only if they can manage the home and working life in

equal basis, again our respondent from private organization say no he does not create

problem or restriction to their wife. From, here we have found the clear distinction between

the employees of private and public organizations.

6) Do you help your wife in household work when you go back home?

In next question we have asked to our respondent about the sharing of their personal work at

home with their wife. It is very important for the working couple. As our culture goes on, still

now it supports that woman will do all the household works and in most of the cases both

male and female are agreed with in Bangladesh. But, now days for a working woman it is

very hard to do the entire households work without the help of her partner.

0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1

Yes

No

No, if she can maintain work and home

Private

Public


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pg. 30

Husbands sharing household work of their work wife

Now we have found that, from our male respondents who working wife, 50% of them has

stated they are always share their households stuffs with his wife, then again our other male

respondent says at times they share his wifes household works.

Again we have seen that our respondent from private organization has claimed that he shared

her wifes household work whether our male respondent from public organization has

mentioned he helps her wife at times in household works.

50%

0%0%

50%

I do

I don't

I can't

At times

0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1

I do

I don't

I can't

At times

Private

Public


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pg. 31

7) How much do you expect your wife to contribute to household

maintenance?

The question was asked with the purpose of understanding how important the Bangladeshi

male population thinks it is for women to work at home, even when they are working outside.

The answer we got from the male working in the private organization was very interesting

indeed and it gave a new dimension to our thinking. The respondent answered that his wife

should contribute to the household work as much as he contributes. It is very fair of him to

think that too much should not be expected from his wife and she should contribute only as

much as he does. Both of them work, so if the husband cant give full contribution to his

home, then he should not expect his wife to be able to do it either.

However, the second male, who works in a public organization, expects his wife to contribute

100% to the household work and balance both work and home. It implies there are still many

male who expect that women have to and should contribute completely to their household

chores, without any miss. At times, it might not be possible for a woman who works outside

to maintain both her household and office work. However, there are many male who expect

that their wives, regardless of what other engagements she has, should look after the house

with full dedication.


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pg. 32

8) How important do you think it is for BOTH the parents to contribute

equally in the bringing up of a child? (1=least important, 5=very

important)

As a response to this question, the male working in the private organization ticked 5, which

shows that he considers it to be very important for both the parents to contribute equally in

the bringing up of their child. The roles of parents in the bringing up of a child are unique and

unmatched in their own senses. This is what is believed by our first respondent. During the

interview session, he said he finds the work his wife does for their son to be very difficult and

he himself could not have managed to do all that single-handedly. However, he also believes

that a child needs equal support from a father in several areas and the child should not be

deprived of it under any circumstances. So, he believes a father should also be equally

responsible and should always be willing to support his wife in taking care of their child.

However, the male working in the public organization marked 4, which shows that it is just

important for both the parents to contribute equally. He believes it is more important for a

mother to look after a child and a child needs his/her mother more than he/she needs a father.

Though he believes a father should take care of his child with utmost responsibility, but he

still believes a mother has and should have more contribution towards the bringing up of the

child.


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pg. 33

9) How do your parents see the fact that your wife has to go out to work?

As the above chart shows, one respondent out of two said that his parents are supportive

about his wife working outside. The respondent is from a private organization. For a woman

to work outside, it is very important that her family supports her in her work. The response

shows that there are families who give full support to their daughter-in-law. The gender role

of women to be at home and taking care of the in-laws is changing with time.

However, the respondent from public organization said that his parents are neutral about their

daughter-in-law going out to work. They are neither positive nor negative in attitude about

the work of their daughter in law. This shows that some in-laws are very indifferent about the

fact that their daughter-in-law works outside.

1

0

1

0

Supportive Discourages Neutral Complains at times


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pg. 34

10) In which areas do you help your child/children?

Out of the two respondents, the male working in the public organization said he helps his son

in completing his homework, preparing for the exams and other school related work.

However, he cannot manage to help him finish his daily, usual activities. It was very honest

of him to share that as he is a professor himself he can only help his son in his academic

work. The response shows that mothers are still considered to be mainly responsible for the

completion of a childs daily activities, like feeding him and making him go to bed. During

the interview, the professor said when he goes back home, he makes sure his son has

completed his school work.

However, the respondent from the private university said he helps his son in both school and

day to day work. He helps him do his homework and at the same time helps him do other

necessary work. With time fathers are trying to share the usual roles of a mother.

School work At home In both Can't give time

1

0

1

0


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pg. 35

11) How do your friends and relatives see the fact that you both work?

The male respondent from private organization said that his friends and relatives support the

fact that his wife works out in an organization. For any women to feel encouraged about

work, it is important that the society she belongs to supports her work. The gender role of

women perceived by our society is gradually changing. However, it is restricted to few social

classes. In the rural areas according to our secondary resources the society still holds back

women interested to work outside home. Relatives encouraging both the spouse to work is

indeed a positive trend.

The male respondent from the public organization, however, said that his friends and

relatives are neutral about the fact that both of them are working in a public organization. His

parents are neutral about his wifes work and his relatives are neutral about both of them

working outside. This shows that there are many families who are not much bothered if both

husband and wife work and earn for the family.

1

0

1

0

Appreciates

Discourages

Neutral

Some have complaints


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pg. 36

12) Do you believe women should be encouraged to balance work and lifesimultaneously?

From the two respondents we have, the male respondent from the public organization said

that women should definitely be encouraged to balance both their work and life. It shows that

lots of husbands expect their working wives to be successfully able to balance their house

work with office work. It is a good sign that they believe women should be encouraged so

that they can achieve it. The gender role of women in our society is more or less still the

same, so women are expected to look after their family and house work even if they are

working somewhere.

The male respondent from the private organization, however, understands that it is very

difficult for a working woman to be able to manage both house and office work. However, at

the same time he believes it is not impossible on their part to achieve a balance between the

two. Thus, he thinks women should be encouraged to balance both the important areas of

their lives. The gender roles, thus in those families can be shared.


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pg. 37

RecommendationsThe whole research is based on working women and we have found that in many steps of

their working life women are facing lots of problems. These problems have great impacton the career of woman and on their personal lives too. Now, problems of working

woman are a whole societal problem and if they are not solved then the society cant

develop. So, we have given some recommendations to improve this condition.

1. Understanding the environment: Women have to understand the complaints rose byher or by her first, and then she needs to react in the particular situation.

2. Communicate with husband: Communication with husband is very important from thepoint of view of a woman. This is develops understanding and reduces

misunderstanding.

3. Taking external help: In current time, its a very common practice in westerncountries to take external help to solve the problems of working women. Like baby

sitters etc.

4. Changing the organizational culture: Organizations need to be more encouraging andmore supportive towards female employees.

5. Men are now not with conservative opinion that the household should be taken careby a woman. Working couple should share the responsibility equally at the home

6. Kids suffer a lot when parents are working. Giving financial security is not enough;He needs care, concern love and support. Thus make sure we must not neglect ourchild.

7. A working couple has to perform dual responsibility which includes professional aswell as home front. A little understanding and selfless attitude will help a couple

maintain fine balance between home and workplace. The best thing of help is to think

with WE perspective and not with I. Then we will see ourselves flourishing at our

work place as well as in our loving home.


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Conclusion

Some reasons why women in South Asia, such as in Bangladesh, opt out of professional

careers are to raise their children or take care of house. Because of continued stigma attached

to women and raising children at home, a woman's continuation of work after birth remains a

cultural obstacle. Women in South Asia also continue to have an uneven share of

responsibilities when it comes to taking care of their elderly parents and/or parents-in-law.

Combined with having to take care of children, many South Asian women find it

exceptionally difficult to resume their careers at the level they left since they are unable to

remain connected or develop professionally in a linear fashion. The movements of female

workers at the workplace are more scrutinized with a magnifying glass than their male

counterparts. "As women, we already face advances from our male colleagues. I have even

been advised to flirt with them in order to be heard. The definition of what is appropriate and

inappropriate behavior is definitely much more difficult to navigate for us than it is for our

male colleagues. There is just too much cultural pressure," said one female communications

manager for a multinational corporation in Dhaka who asked for anonymity. At the workplace, it is more difficult for women to break into a male-dominated industry, since a woman

in leadership or seeking a leadership position must showcase that she is as capable as any

other man at work. She must work hard, if not harder, to gain staff respect and understanding.

Thus, women often have to choose between their career and their family life as both

components require much attention and physical presence. However, if the recommendations

are well followed then, we believe many of the barriers can be overcome.

Gender Equality in Bangladesh

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