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The Contested Relationship Between Paid Work and Women’s Empowerment: Empirical Analysis from Bangladesh

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  • Naila Kabeer

    (London School of Economics and Political Science)

  • Simeen Mahmud

    (BRAC Institute of Governance and Development)

  • Sakiba Tasneem

    (BRAC Centre)

Abstract

The debate about the empowerment potential of women’s access to labour market opportunities is a long-standing one but it has taken on fresh lease of life with the increased feminization of paid work in the context of economic liberalization. Contradictory viewpoints reflect differences in how empowerment itself is understood as well as variations in the cultural meanings and social acceptability of different kinds of paid work. Research on this issue in the Bangladesh context has not been able to address these questions because it tends to use very restricted definitions of work and narrow conceptualizations of empowerment. This paper uses a combination of quantitative and qualitative data from Bangladesh to explore this debate, distinguishing between different categories of work and using measures of women’s empowerment which have been explicitly designed to capture the specificities of local patriarchal constraints.

Suggested Citation

  • Naila Kabeer & Simeen Mahmud & Sakiba Tasneem, 2018. "The Contested Relationship Between Paid Work and Women’s Empowerment: Empirical Analysis from Bangladesh," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 30(2), pages 235-251, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:eurjdr:v:30:y:2018:i:2:d:10.1057_s41287-017-0119-y
    DOI: 10.1057/s41287-017-0119-y
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    Cited by:

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    3. Prasheela Karan & Jung-Sook Lee & Richard Hugman, 2021. "Combatting Gender Oppression: Applying Intersectionality in Microfinance Self-help Groups," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 33(6), pages 1649-1665, December.
    4. Murshedul Arafin & Jubayer Ahmed, 2023. "Use of Anthropology in Developing Sustainable Projects," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 7(11), pages 855-871, November.
    5. Donato Romano & Silvio Traverso, 2020. "Disentangling the Impact of International Migration on Food and Nutrition Security of Left-Behind Households: Evidence from Bangladesh," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 32(4), pages 783-811, September.
    6. Faisal Bin Islam & Madhuri Sharma, 2021. "Gendered Dimensions of Unpaid Activities: An Empirical Insight into Rural Bangladesh Households," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-12, June.
    7. Karimli, Leyla & Lecoutere, Els & Wells, Christine R. & Ismayilova, Leyla, 2021. "More assets, more decision-making power? Mediation model in a cluster-randomized controlled trial evaluating the effect of the graduation program on women's empowerment in Burkina Faso," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).

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