What clueless female investors reveal in regulatory queries that numbers don't tell

Ismat Aara (not the real name) appeared clueless sitting in front of a panel of the securities regulator for a hearing on stock price manipulation.
Her BO (beneficiary owner's) account had been spotted among the investors' that had been involved in an episode of artificial price hike of a company through serial trading on the Dhaka Stock Exchange. But she was not aware of the transactions made using her account let alone why they had been made.
Ms Ara is one of a majority of women BO account holders whose accounts are operated by their husband or brother or father or any other male relative.
Of 1.73 million active BO accounts, 24.44 per cent or 0.42 million accounts are owned by women. But brokerage houses say women investors' participation in trading is very low, which reflects the inherent barriers facing women in accessing finance in Bangladesh's patriarchal society as well as women being lagging behind in financial literacy.
While socio-economic problems cannot be solved quickly, the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) has made a few steps to spread knowledge about the market through training programmes.
As per the rules, three BO accounts can be opened by a man and one of his female relatives or any woman with a single DP (depository participant). They have no bar to open the same number of accounts with other DPs.
Talking to the FE, some stock brokers said the number of female investors having authority to take investment decisions is insignificant. Usually, men open BO accounts in the name of their wives, sisters or mothers to serve their own interest.

A senior executive of Modern Securities said around 1-2 per cent of BO accounts of women were maintained by the account holders themselves.
Dr. Sayema Haque Bidisha, a professor of economics of Dhaka University, said women lag behind in financial decision making due to the so-called social practices in giving them ownership in paternal assets.
Dr. Rumana Islam, a BSEC commissioner, pointed out that the country is the best in South Asia in terms of female presence in listed companies' boards and managerial posts.
A 2020 IFC-DSE study showed that around 18 percent of the listed companies' directors were women, the highest in the region.
But women's active participation in the capital market still remains thin as they do not make investment decisions, lamented Ms Islam.
She emphasised that women are generally more prudent in handling financial issues.
The prevalent perception is that the market is a place only to buy-sell of shares of listed companies. Apart from equity-based instruments, there are fixed-income securities, which could be lucrative for female investors who would prefer low-risk, highly secure investment vehicles, explained Ms Islam.
But women's participation in fixed-income securities is low as well.
"We lay importance on financial literacy in workshops so that female participation increases in the market," the BSEC commissioner added.
The securities regulator conducted four training programmes in FY23, where 858 female investors participated.
In the fiscal year, the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) organised three training sessions with 362 female participants. Around 20 per cent of those, who attended the programmes, had BO accounts but only 2 per cent of them could make financial decisions on their own, officials said.
Prof Bidisha said women's higher presence in high-skilled jobs would make them confident and increase their active participation in the capital market.
Until women become responsible for maintaining BO accounts themselves, she said, "The regulator should ensure a gender-friendly environment in hearings" conducted by the BSEC to help them open up.
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