Gender budget expands, yet women's economic participation continues to lag

Bangladesh has proposed its largest-ever gender-responsive
budget for FY2026-27, allocating Tk3,26,059 crore – 34.8% of the national
budget and 4.8% of GDP – to promote women's development and empowerment.
Yet despite years of expanding
allocations, women continue to lag in economic participation, with experts
pointing to poor implementation and persistent structural barriers.
According to the finance ministry,
the proposed gender budget marks another increase from the revised allocation
of Tk2,63,588 crore in FY2025-26.
However, government spending records show a recurring pattern of underspending,
with substantial portions of allocated funds remaining unused.
In FY2024-25, actual expenditure
reached Tk2,03,949 crore against a revised allocation of Tk2,48,434 crore. In
FY2023-24, spending stood at Tk1,99,557 crore compared with a revised
allocation of Tk2,38,264 crore. In FY22-23, actual spending stood at Tk1,90,850
crore against a revised allocation of Tk2,21,650 crore.
The gap between allocation and
utilisation has coincided with slow progress in women's economic empowerment.
According to the World Economic
Forum's Global Gender Gap Report 2025, Bangladesh ranks 87th globally in
economic participation and opportunity, trailing regional peers such as Vietnam
(24th), Malaysia (39th) and Sri Lanka (62nd), though remaining ahead of India
(117th) and Pakistan (106th).
The report attributes Bangladesh's weak performance to the low presence of
women in senior management, limited female entrepreneurship, inadequate
childcare services, unsafe public transport and workplace insecurity.
Experts say increasing allocations
alone will not improve outcomes unless funds are effectively implemented and
accompanied by reforms that address labour market barriers.
Professor Tania Haque of the
Department of Women and Gender Studies at the University of Dhaka said
budgetary commitments have yet to produce meaningful changes in women's working
lives.
"Women have progressed, but
they have not achieved genuine empowerment," she said. "The desired
progress in ensuring equal pay, workplace security and equal rights has not
been achieved."
She said policymakers should focus
not only on increasing allocations but also on ensuring that gender-responsive
spending translates into measurable improvements in women's employment, wages
and working conditions.
Rasheda Begum Hira, a reserved-seat
member of parliament, said eliminating wage discrimination requires stronger
policy interventions.
"If women receive lower wages
despite performing the same work, it is a clear form of discrimination,"
she told TBS, adding that she is prepared to raise the issue at the
policymaking level through evidence-based initiatives.
Syed Sultan Uddin Ahmed, executive
director of the Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies (BILS), said women
continue to face multiple disadvantages in the labour market, particularly in
low-paid and informal employment.
"Women representatives have
played a limited role in addressing issues such as employment, wage
discrimination, workplace violence and labour rights," he said, arguing
that stronger advocacy could help accelerate meaningful reforms.
The report, however, highlights one
area where Bangladesh has performed comparatively well. Women account for
16.28% of parliamentary membership, placing the country among Asia's stronger
performers in female political representation. Bangladesh outperforms India,
Malaysia and Sri Lanka on this indicator.
Experts caution, however, that
political gains have yet to translate into broader economic empowerment. They
argue that unless the expanding gender budget is fully utilised and targeted at
removing barriers to women's participation in the workforce, Bangladesh's
growing investment in gender equality is unlikely to deliver its intended
economic impact.
















