Globalisation and Gender : Changing Patterns of Women\'s Employment in Bangladesh

Contents: Preface. 1. Industrialization, export promotion and the changing pattern of women\'s employment in Bangladesh: an overview/Nasreen Khundker. 2. The labour use of women in rural Bangladesh/Simeen Mahmud. 3. Becoming a garments worker: the mobilization of women into the garment factories of Bangladesh/Nazli Kibria. 4. Sociological implications of female labour migration in Bangladesh/Rita Afsar. 5. Gender issues and the ready-made garment industry of Bangladesh: the trade union context/Shamsul I. Khan. 6. Prospects for internalizing global opportunities in the apparel sector in Bangladesh/Debapriya Bhattacharya, Mustafizur Rahman. Index.

"The volume contains a set of papers which summarize the findings of a research study undertaken by the centre for policy dialogue in collaboration with the United Nations Research Institute on Social Development. It complements the work in other countries such as Viet Nam, Uganda, Morocco and Jamaica. The main issues addressed are the implications of globalisation and changes in the macro-economic context in Bangladesh. Its impact on women\'s employment, particularly the unprecedented growth of female employment in the ready made garments sector of the economy and the rapidly growing export processing zones of the country. Other parallel changes in the economy which are also explored include the gender impact of targeted micro-credit and other programmes of NGOs, which influenced women\'s participation in the economy, particularly in rural areas.

The study thus makes a significant contribution in understanding the female labour market in Bangladesh. Its various dimensions are looked into, such as household decision making processes and the role of the community; the socialization processes of female labour into the urban setting and at the workplace, including efforts at labour organization; the continued changes in global configurations and adjustments made at the plant level with implications for women workers.

The analyses and the recommendations put forward in this volume are expected to be valuable for both researchers and policy makers in Bangladesh and abroad, and will be useful for designing gender-sensitive policies in the context of rapid globalization." (jacket)