A third of young women who were employed in Bangladesh before the pandemic were out of jobs in January 2021, finds a survey unveiled by the BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD) yesterday.
The ratio of young men out of jobs was 11 per cent. The study said incomes of youths who again found jobs did not fully recover to the pre-Covid level. Income recovery for women was much lower than men, said a press statement.
Income of male youths was 10 per cent below the pre-Covid level while for female youths it was 21 per cent, said BIGD Executive Director Imran Matin while presenting the paper at a webinar hosted by the BIGD and BRAC’s skills development programme (SDP).
The survey found that private tutoring, handicrafts, factory jobs, tailoring and light engineering were among the areas where more young women used to find employment conventionally.
Again these are among the hardest hit economic areas in the pandemic, according to the study.
The survey, referring to respondents, said recovery of these particular areas would be tough and would take time even once the pandemic was over, making it difficult for female youths to come back to paid employment.
Matin said as many working women were out of jobs for a long time, it may cause many to permanently stop working and leave the job market, further reducing the already low rate of women’s participation in the labour market.
The proportion of females not in education, employment, or training could increase further, it said, adding that this would have a negative impact on the economy and women’s empowerment in Bangladesh.
The Covid shock may threaten to undo much of the progress made around women’s empowerment unless corrective measures are taken, he said.
At the webinar, speakers emphasised on greater awareness on the importance of technical and vocational education, and training and development of other skills relevant to both local and global economies, said the press release.
