"Women’s participation in labour force falling", 15 Sep 2025

Bangladesh's labour force shrank by 17 lakh in just one year, with women accounting for most of the decline, according to the final report of the BBS's Labour Force Survey 2024.

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The report shows that the total labour force stood at 7.17 crore in 2024, down from 7.34 crore the previous year. Male participation remained largely unchanged at 4.8 crore, compared with 4.81 crore in 2023. Female participation, however, fell sharply from 2.53 crore to 2.37 crore over the same period. This marks the first contraction in the country's labour force since 2010. Between 2010 and 2023, the labour force expanded by more than 1.6 crore, driven largely by rising female participation, which grew from 1.72 crore in 2010 to 2.53 crore in 2023. "Women's labour force participation tends to vary with the level of development," said Rizwanul Islam, former special adviser at the International Labour Organization's (ILO) Geneva office.

..Employment opportunities, especially in manufacturing, are shrinking. This may explain the decline in urban labour force participation among women with little or no education.. ..women with higher levels of education, the picture is more complex. Limited availability of jobs matching their aspirations, the absence of supportive infrastructure such as childcare facilities, and social factors all play a role.. ..This is tied to structural transformation. The economy is naturally moving away from agriculture, but the fruits of this transformation are not reflected in employment, especially not in female employment.. ..If job creation is weak, women's participation also suffers.. ..in the female-specific context, competition in the garment industry has intensified with the advent of automation and advanced technologies.. ..women's participation as entrepreneurs is limited due to barriers such as a lack of capital, market access, and information..