Over 90% women work at informal sector: study

Over 90 percent of working women in Bangladesh are employed in the informal sector, which was particularly hard-hit during the pandemic, a new study has found.

The findings were shared at a seminar titled "Strengthening Systems for Pandemic Preparedness among Working Women Living in Informal Settlements in Urban Bangladesh" yesterday.

It was jointly organised by icddr,b, the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR), the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, and SickKids, Canada, with funding support from the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Canada.

The event, held at the icddr,b in Dhaka, brought together key stakeholders to discuss the Women RISE study findings and their policy implications.

Led by Dr Sohana Shafique, the study assessed the experiences of working women in informal settlements and factories in Dhaka and Gazipur before and during the pandemic.

"I believe the results of this study will help all of us to prepare for any impending pandemic. We should be careful now as Covid-19 cases are increasing. Again, providing us with further refining and embellishing what we have been doing," said Dr Tahmeed Ahmed, executive director of icddr,b.

Health ministry additional secretary Mohammad Nora Alam Siddique said, "The ministry is committed to collaborating with the cross-sectional groups to improve the systems."

Dr Tahmina Shirin, director of IEDCR, stressed the importance of evidence-based collaboration to enhance pandemic resilience and social protection coverage for urban poor working women.

The research showed notable improvements following targeted interventions.

Knowledge regarding respiratory infection exposure routes increased by 29.59 percent overall, with a 36.28 percent rise among informal sector workers.

Preventive practice also improved by 15.95 percent overall, while knowledge of Social Safety Net Program registration increased by 16.26 percent among informal workers.