Gender Equality And Social Inclusion Diagnostic For The Finance Sector In Bangladesh

This report assesses how Bangladesh is cutting gaps in gender equality and social inclusion (GESI) in financial services and shows how support for women entrepreneurs alongside better technology access can boost sustainable development. It explains the rapid growth of Bangladesh’s financial sector, analyzes policies, and explores how the rise of mobile financial services is improving inclusion for women and vulnerable groups. Outlining steps including better access to cheap mobile phones and internet, it shows how increasing credit to women-owned small businesses and targeting insurance products can help mainstream GESI and incorporate it into the design and implementation of ADB-funded projects.

Over the last two decades, Bangladesh has made progress in women's participation in the labor force, gender parity in primary education, and women's political representation. Areas of concern include the high prevalence of violence against women, obstacles to women's access to resources and assets, unequal terms of their labor engagement, and impact of their overwhelming responsibility for care work. The Government of Bangladesh has made policy commitments toward gender equality and established an institutional framework to fulfill these. This publication intends to support the government in its attempt to address persisting gender inequalities and gaps through a multisector approach across policies, programs, and projects. It provides insights into gender issues in urban; transport; energy; and skills, vocational, and tertiary education, and gives suggestions for strengthening gender mainstreaming in projects.

This publication presents a gender equality and social inclusion (GESI) analysis of priority sectors in Nepal and identifies how gender equality, social inclusion, and women's empowerment approaches can be integrated into them. The diagnostic focused on six sectors: agriculture and natural resources management, energy, skills development, urban development, transport and water, and sanitation and hygiene. It was conducted with the aim of informing the GESI initiatives of the Government of Nepal, the Asian Development Bank, and other development partners of the country.

Women owners of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have a great potential to contribute to economic growth and poverty reduction through employment creation and income generation. In Bangladesh, women-owned SMEs have different characteristics when compared with men-owned SMEs and tend to face specific challenges and obstacles. To capitalize on this potential, these challenges and constraints have to be addressed in initiatives that aim to support SME growth. The Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise Development Project supported the development and expansion of SMEs in Bangladesh from 2009 to 2013. In specific pilot districts, the number of women-owned SMEs increased by over 10%. The training of women SME owners in business development, accounting, loan application rules and processes, and in the regulations governing businesses facilitated their improved access to institutional finance. The formation of advocacy groups and membership in different associations enhanced the confidence of women SME owners and their ability to lobby for policy changes. Dialogue and relation building between participating financial institutions and women's SME associations helped foster mutual understanding and cooperation, leading to better outcomes for women-owned SMEs. Participating financial institution policies and products require further adaptation to meet the needs and circumstances of women-owned SMEs.

This paper considers various dimensions and sources of gender inequality and presents policies and best practices to address these. With women accounting for fifty percent of the global population, inclusive growth can only be achieved if it promotes gender equality. Despite recent progress, gender gaps remain across all stages of life, including before birth, and negatively impact health, education, and economic outcomes for women. The roadmap to gender equality has to rely on legal framework reforms, policies to promote equal access, and efforts to tackle entrenched social norms. These need to be set in the context of arising new trends such as digitalization, climate change, as well as shocks such as pandemics.

Topics discussed in this collection include financial inclusion in under-served markets, financial inclusion products and services, financial inclusion for sustainable and responsible business, micro, small, and medium-sized business practices.

This publication presents a gender equality diagnostic of education, energy, transport, and water and sanitation in Sri Lanka—four sectors which are the major areas of cooperation between ADB and the Government of Sri Lanka. The sector-focused chapters provide insights into the gender equality issues and considerations relevant to sector planning, related government policies and legal frameworks and commitments, and institutional structures for promoting gender equality actions. Each chapter concludes with gender issues and opportunities to consider in designing sector-related interventions for possible use by and discussion with government, civil society, and development partners.

This tool kit assists staff and consultants of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and partner governments in conceptualizing and designing gender-responsive programs and projects in transport sector operations. It aims to help users identify gender equality issues and to develop practical design elements into transport operations. It guides users on key questions to be asked and data to be collected during project preparation, and provides a menu of entry points for designing gender-inclusive transport projects. The tool kit presents the rationale for why gender equality issues are important in transport sector operations and provides guidance and suggestions for integrating gender in key transport subsectors. Case studies from ADB projects have been included to illustrate good practices in mainstreaming gender concerns in transport sector operations.