FE Report
Speakers at a roundtable on Tuesday stressed for investment focusing on women and girls with impact assessment to get multiple benefits and ensure their economic empowerment.
Emphasising the need for economic empowerment not only to mitigate risks but also for financial security, they recommended addressing the challenges and gaps in employment, financial inclusion, and equal access to information, technology, and wealth.
The suggestions came at a roundtable - 'Potentials and challenges of women's empowerment: Budget towards women's economic empowerment' - organised by Bangladesh Mahila Parishad (BMP) at CIRDAP auditorium in the city.
Presided over by BMP President Dr Fauzia Moslem, Economics Professor Sharmind Neelormi of Jahangirnagar University, BIDS Research Director (GED) Dr Atanu Rabbani and Senior Research Fellow Dr Azreen Karim, World Bank Bangladesh Social Development Specialist Sabina Parvin, CPD Research Associate Pritilata Khandaker Haque, and SANEM Deputy Director Ishrat Sharmin, among others, spoke on the occasion.
Speaking at the roundtable, economist Selim Jahan said for women's economic empowerment, the gaps in employment, financial inclusion, equal access to information and technology, and access to wealth must be overcome.
He said women must have control over wealth, and freedom in economic decision-making, and added that inequality must be addressed at the individual level while in terms of security. Without ensuring personal security, security from violence, economic security, and real economic empowerment of women will not be ensured.
Ministry of Planning Additional Secretary Dr Sadia Sharmin focused on identifying the challenges that obstruct women's empowerment and the ways to address them.
She emphasised ensuring equal opportunities and dignity in the labour market, and sector-based development, adding that multifaceted steps should be taken to resolve the existing problems.
She also suggested community-based monitoring, taking real needs of women into consideration for infrastructural development and determining the importance in the field of development.
Speakers also stressed creating awareness, research-based problem identification, and ensuring facilities accordingly to accelerate progress, taking the aspects of women from special needs groups into consideration.
Other suggestions included assessing impact of climate change on man and women, gender-targeted policy with clear understanding on gender, increasing budgetary allocation for health and education, tracking the allocation with public disclosure, investment in human resource development, etc.
They also recommended reducing pay gaps, gender disaggregated data, safe transportation, ensuring nutrition and decent workplace, day care centre, and strengthening social safety net for economic empowerment of women.
Munni_fe@yahoo.com
