Bangladesh has made striking gains in educating its women. Universities and colleges now turn out more female graduates than ever before, nearly half of all students. But the labour market has failed to accommodate them, with female graduates nearly twice as likely to be unemployed as their male peers.
According to government data, females accounted for 47 percent of all public university graduates in 2023, up from just 14 percent in 1973.
However, the 2024 Labour Force Survey (LFS) by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics show that the unemployment rate among female graduates stood at 20.39 percent, compared with 11.31 percent for their male counterparts.
The disparity is even sharper among the young. Among those aged 15 to 29, unemployment hits 34 percent for women, against 26 percent for men.
As Bangladesh observes International Women’s Day today under the theme “Leading the Change: Women Shaping a Sustainable Future,” the gap between aspiration and opportunity remains glaring.
Analysts point to a lack of suitable job openings, inhospitable work environments, and entrenched social attitudes as the main culprits behind unemployment among women with higher education.
“Despite narrowing gender gaps in education, the labour market continues to present a starkly different reality for women,” says Sayema Haque Bidisha, a professor of economics at the University of Dhaka.
She said even the official figures may understate the problem, as unemployment is counted based on just one hour of work in the previous week. Labour market trends consistently show that unemployment among women remains higher than among men.
“One key reason is the mismatch between the types of jobs available and the expectations of highly educated job seekers,” Prof Bidisha added.
Individuals with higher degrees usually look for jobs that match their educational qualifications. But the number of such jobs is limited, particularly for women, she pointed out. The range of job options available to women is often narrower because of social and structural constraints.
“Many women have to consider safety, commuting, housing, and rigid working hours when looking for employment,” she said. “These factors naturally limit the range of jobs they are able or willing to pursue.”
She also noted that progress in women’s education has yet to translate into equal representation in senior roles.
“Only about 6.2 percent of managerial positions are held by women,” said the economics professor.
“This shows that even though the gender gap in education has narrowed, women’s presence in high-skill and leadership roles remains very limited.”
She also pointed to broader structural issues, including the lack of childcare services and flexible workplace arrangements. “Many educated women initially enter the labour market but later drop out because supportive facilities such as daycare centres and flexible work arrangements are still quite limited.”
Resolving these issues will be crucial for improving employment prospects for educated women, she said. “Without creating more opportunities that accommodate women’s needs, many qualified female graduates will continue to struggle to find suitable employment.”
The ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has pledged to address some of these gaps in its electoral manifesto. “Through education and skills development, the government will expand women’s employment in the formal sector,” it states.
“Increasing women’s employment will raise family income and facilitate education for children and poverty reduction targets,” it adds.
The manifesto also promises to establish childcare centres at workplaces and set up breastfeeding corners in garment factories, industrial units, offices, and courts where mothers can safely nurse their newborns.
Providing interest-free loans to women in micro, cottage, and small industries, along with tax exemptions and marketing support to increase the self-reliance of women have also been promised.
Munia Zaman, executive director of eco-friendly lifestyle brand Kalindi and an entrepreneur, says many women abandon jobs or never enter the workforce at all because balancing family life and career proves too difficult.
“Some even end their professional careers during motherhood, especially when there is no one to look after their child at home, or they cannot take the child to the office,” she said. Reflecting on her own choice to leave a traditional job before venturing into entrepreneurship, she said, “I left to become an entrepreneur because it allows me to balance family, personal life, and work more easily.”
Yet entrepreneurship is no panacea. “Many women have tried, and some have succeeded, but most get stuck in documentation or business formalities. The government still has a lot to do to support women in these areas.”
Rizwanul Islam, former special adviser for the employment sector at the International Labour Office in Geneva, said that in the absence of rigorous analysis, one can only speculate about the causes of higher female graduate unemployment.
Possible explanations span both supply and demand, and location – rural versus urban – may also matter. The labour market may be segmented along gender lines, he said. “If women prefer certain sectors such as education and health, and opportunities in those areas are limited or stagnant, unemployment is likely to rise.”
Islam also pointed to a rural-urban divide. “Urban educated women, particularly young job seekers, often show higher unemployment rates than their rural counterparts.”
On the education side, he highlighted the role of subject choice. “If they choose fields with limited labour market opportunities, higher unemployment is an inevitable outcome.”
He added that gender discrimination in recruitment could be a factor.
“With men dominating managerial positions, this may be a real factor contributing to women’s limited access to high-skill jobs.”
